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Apple's New CineMini
- 2000.06.07
6/7/2K: Getting a good rumor from Apple is harder than pulling teeth these days. The Jobs regime may have made the Apple campus more secure than the CIA.
Of course, that doesn't stop the leaks, let alone speculation. After all, Macworld New York is coming in mid-July. There has to be some new hardware.
The predictable: faster Macs based on IBM's new PowerPC 750CX and 750CXe processors, which draw less power, run at higher MHz speeds (up to 700 MHz!), and have an internal 256k cache to really boost performance.
Also predictable: faster Power Macs based on as fast a G4 as Motorola and IBM can ship.
But there will be surprises. In the Wintel world, more computers sell with 17" screens than 15" monitors. Expect Apple to address that with a next generation computer that may or may not be the oft-rumored 17" iMac. Our best guess is a very small computer with iMac insides but no display; users will be able to connect any sized monitor or one of Apple's Cinema Displays.
You read that right - plural. The rumor sites are absolutely right about the 18" Cinema Display, dubbed CineMini by insiders. The flat panel display will share the 1600x1024 output of the current 22" Cinema Display, but with a smaller footprint, lower weight, and far more attractive price.
This is what comes of Apple's investment in Samsung's LCD production facility.
Better yet, the 18" panel will form the basis for not just one product, but three.
18" Cinema Display
The first is the commonly rumored 18" Cinema Display. But it will one-up the old 22" display in several respects. First, it will act as a powered USB and FireWire hub with two ports for each. Second, it will have enough intelligence to show live video from a camcorder via either FireWire or S-video input. Third, it will swivel like Apple's 15" Flat Panel Studio Display. For those who prefer a vertical perspective on things, turning the screen 90° counterclockwise turns it into a 1024x1600 portrait display.
Expect a very attractive sub-$2,000 price tag.
The CineBook
Our last column about a PowerBook Cinema missed the mark in one respect: we believed it would be based on the 22" Cinema Display. The prototype shown at the WWDC did use the larger display, but Apple determined it made the computer too large and heavy, not to mention too expensive.
It's still going to be large, just not as large. It will be just under 19" wide, 13.5" deep, and somewhere around 2" thick. Weight will be in the 10-12 pound range. Part of the reason for this is the third battery mentioned in our previous article.
Thanks to the smaller display and the new PowerPC 750CXe (G3+) processors, each battery will provide 3.5-4 hours of use, so a three-battery configuration will last for 10.5-12 hours in the field. Of course, you do have to remove one of the batteries for a DVD or CD-RW drive. (Rumors that the CineBook will support two CD or DVD drives proved correct!)
Price should still be stratospheric, probably starting $4,499 for a CineBook 500 with one DVD drive and one battery, and reaching $5,999 for the CineBook 600 with one DVD, one CD-RW, and two batteries. Build-to-order configurations will be available.
The CineMac
Part Cinema Display, part iMac, part iBook, the CineMac can sit on your desk, hang on the wall, or survive a trip in your backpack.
Behind the 18" flat panel display beats the heart of an iMac DV, but based on a 600 MHz G3+. The slot loading drive is vertical and located on the right. Speakers are located at the bottom right and left corners - and it will work with iSub.
There's an infrared receiver on the front for use with a new IR mouse, keyboard, game controller, and remote control. A TV card is a standard feature; with the IR remote you can watch DVDs, listen to CDs, or watch television. (The TV card and IR remote are options for the 18" Cinema Display.)
The sides of the CineMac are rubberized, just like the iBook, so you're less likely to drop it. Apple will provide a clear Plexiglas® cover to protect the screen and DVD drive during transit.
The CineMac is nestled in a base that supports it on the right and left, just over halfway up the sides. This allows the user to tilt the screen to eliminate glare.
The CineMac will also have a unique feature among desktop computers - at least we've never heard of it before. It will have a bay for a PowerBook battery, allowing the user to put the CineMac to sleep and transport it. The battery will also power the CineMac for a couple hours in the event of a power failure.
All this comes at a price, but not an unreasonable one. With the iMac DV SE selling for $1,499, the iBook SE for $1,799, and the CineMini expected at about $1,999, all the functionality in one unit for $2,999 could be a huge hit.
Apple is certainly learning how to target users with disposable income.
- Anne Onymus
Recent Rumor Mills
- Microsoft Announces Cash for Clunker PCs, 07.29. Beleaguered Microsoft, with declines in profits and market share, is offering cash for old computers to boost sales of new PCs with Windows Vista installed.
- StealthMac: 2 Hardware Solutions for Mac OS X on Windows PCs, 01.26. Apple has been working on hardware to put a Mac inside a Windows PC for over a decade. The latest developments, according to our MacMole.
- Apple Announces Mac OS X Licensing, 01.14. Apple decided it would rather switch policies than fight Pystar and others. OS X licensing program could change Psystar's future.
- New Apple drive supports Blu-ray and HD DVD, 09.11. Tired of being second-guessed and sometimes outmaneuvered by Microsoft, Apple has embraced both next gen DVD formats with its new SuperDrive Extreme.
- More in the Rumor Mill index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
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