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- 2001.12.04
You've read the rumors. They've been around for a year or
two. Apple will be replacing the iMac's big, heavy CRT with a flat
panel display.
Sorry, it's not going to happen.
The iMac is Apple's lowest cost, entry level computer. Flat
panel displays cost a heck of a lot more than CRTs. Sure, there's
some saving from shipping a smaller lighter box, some from not
having to dish out at much power to drive the display, and
some from not having to worry about aligning the display and not
damaging it in shipping, but between them they don't outweigh
the simple fact that the iMac with a CRT may always cost less than an
iMac with a flat panel display.
Besides, Apple already has a flat panel iMac - it's called
the iBook. For not too
much more money than you'd pay for an iMac, you get a 1024 x 768 flat
panel display, a small footprint, a light package, portability, and
hours upon hours of battery life.
What would Apple gain from selling a flat panel iMac instead of an
iBook? Nothing. The iBook is the more flexible computer.
What would users gain from a flat panel iMac instead of an iBook?
A small footprint desktop computer more portable than the
original Macintosh and an easier-on-the-eyes display.
What would Apple lose from selling a flat panel iMac? iBook
sales. Power Mac G4 + flat panel display sales. Maybe
even some PowerBook sales.
What would users lose with a flat panel iMac compared with an
iBook? Battery power, a more fully integrated design (keyboard
and trackpad built in, not plugged in), and high portability.
It Won't Be an iMac
For the near future, Apple will keep the CRT-based iMac going,
hopefully reducing its price a bit more every six months or so. But
Apple recognizes that the fastest growing segment of the
personal computer market it portables. I'm one of many users who
migrated from a desktop Mac to a PowerBook or iBook over the last
year or so. Over time, that
will become a more common pattern. When there's a small difference in
price between a desktop and a display compared to a laptop, the
laptop will generally be the logical choice.
Not to say that Apple won't try to fill the
Cube's empty niche an release a worthy successor to the 20th
Anniversary Mac. I half expect to see a new flat panel
Macintosh at Macworld Expo in January, probably built around the same
15" flat panel display Apple now sells separately. It will be less
costly than a Power Mac G4 and Apple's 15" display, but it will be
more expensive than the top-end
iMac.
As a fan of the old compact
Macs and someone who adores the Color
Classic's design (if not its performance), I'd love to see
Apple do one of two things:
Release 12", 15", and 17" flat panel Macs using the iBook's
display on the low end, the 15" display or TiBook display in the
middle, and a 1280 x 1024 display at the top end.
Create a docking system that allows a computer module to
couple with a 12", 15", 17", or even 22" display, essentially
turning the duo into one computer.
Whether Apple will do different sizes, I don't know. Whether they
will have a flat panel Mac to show in January, I don't know.
But you can count on one thing - they won't call it an
iMac.
- Anne Onymus
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