new iMac for <$500

[Prot]

I think the idea of a <$500 iMac is a smart move by Apple. Some people are looking at Apple in a different light, with the success of the iPod and iTunes. One of the main things that prevent people from buying Macs is the outrageous price. I am not a Mac user, nor do I want to be, but what I am saying is that this would be a smart marketing move on Apple's part. Here is a link to the story on this:

http://msn-cnet.com.com/A+new+iMac+...745.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_2510&tag=mymsn

There are also two embedded links in that story for more information. Apple has not confirmed this information. I just thought I would share this information here to see what people thought about it. I know it probably won't be the fastest thing on the block nor will it have a gigantic hard drive. What I am guessing is it will be fairly utilitarian without a lot of whistles and bells and have what the average person needs and will be something to give the consumer a taste of apple without breaking the bank.

 

[Aslan]

It's definitely a good idea by Apple. Considering the garbage that PC manufacturers sell at that pricepoint and the name recognition that Apple has due to the Ipod, a $499 Mac could easily carve out a significant niche in the marketplace.
I know that I would rather have a $499 Apple than a $499 HP or a E-Machine, but only if it came with OS-X, if it comes with OS9 they can keep it.

 

[penquissciguy]

I would be absolutely shocked if Apple sold an iMac at this price point. They have never shown a desire to increase market share by lowering prices. One look at the iPod alone will tell you that Apple is out to sell the best product in a market at a healthy price.

Ken

 

[MLMIB]

it would also remove one key benifit to apples. apple enjoy's not being targeted by virus often because of their small user base, it dosn't make sense for virus makers to target such a small base. if they started to sell these cheap machines than they're user base would increase, 'n they'd be open to all the crap we on PC's are exposed to, and the rich people who do have apples would be mad because right now they don't have to worry about viruses, 'n they don't have to worry much about spyware, but than they would have to.

 

[9mmCensor]

Apple has been following an interesting stategy recently (since trying to rebuild the company).

They have re-estabilshed the brand, and now it looks like they are going for market share.

Hmmm...

 

[cack01]

Its a good move by apple, but it could hurt them a few years down the road. Apple is thought of being more of a luxury brand than anything else. Selling at less than $500 could possibly kill this luxury image and only hurt them in the long run.

I do not know who came up with the idea, but I doubt Steve Jobs was very fond of it at first. When Jobs took over he changed to a KISS (Keep it simple stupid) strategy, and Apple's stock has risen ever since. If they offer one product under $500 I think Apple is going to be fine; but if they start a budget war with the rest of the industry and start offering different selections Apple will sink back to to their old self.


On a second note, if Apple can offer a full fledge computer at lets say $450, and at the same time offers a 40GB IPOD at $400. What does that tell you about the profit margin of the IPOD?

 

[Captain Slug]

$500 without a monitor? Whoopy-doo, every other OEM on the market offers machines in that price range that include a monitor.

 

[Tatuya]

On a second note, if Apple can offer a full fledge computer at lets say $450, and at the same time offers a 40GB IPOD at $400. What does that tell you about the profit margin of the IPOD?

By making this assumption, you overlook the fact that the tiny, specialized parts of the iPod cost a lot of money to manufacture. If Apple wanted massive profits they could easily jack up the price of the iPod and people would still buy them.

 

[Prot]

$500 without a monitor? Whoopy-doo, every other OEM on the market offers machines in that price range that include a monitor.

The point is not that there will be a computer that can purchased at that price. The point is that Apples are notoriously expensive, so for them to offer something at that price is significant. I mean, if the excitement was that a computer can be bought for cheap, then this thread would be about the emachines that Best Buy sold on black Friday for $199 including monitor after rebates. What does the average person do with their computer at home? Surf the web, send chain letter emails, download music, and maybe some lite gaming. None of those activites require lots of computing power. None of those activites tax the cpu nor do they require memory capacity measured in gigabytes instead of megabytes. They also use approximately 15 to 20gigabytes of their hard drive. These folks probably don't spend $50 to $60 on a computer game. For them $19 - $30 is more of the norm. Games that sell for those prices will run on virtually any computer built in the last few years.

The front page article describes this cheap iMac as the cMac. It allows people to try out an Apple for about the price of a midrange pc. My guess is once the consumer becomes accustomed to its peculiararities, Apple hopes they will fork over the money for a Big Mac.

Interesting analogy on the front page of the perverted aspect of operating an iPod by the way.

 

[theMonster]

It's a G4, it's a generation old, that's why it's cheaper. They're experimenting. If people buy this, then the samewill happen to the G5 when the G6 is released. They probably over produced the G4 cpu and this is a creative way of dumping them. Smart business.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

^^^ good point - it is there way of selling old parts they over stocked

 

[zip22]

it would also remove one key benifit to apples. apple enjoy's not being targeted by virus often because of their small user base, it dosn't make sense for virus makers to target such a small base. if they started to sell these cheap machines than they're user base would increase, 'n they'd be open to all the crap we on PC's are exposed to, and the rich people who do have apples would be mad because right now they don't have to worry about viruses, 'n they don't have to worry much about spyware, but than they would have to.

thats merely a side effect. i bet apple would MUCH rather have a larger market share and have to deal with viruses, etc than keeping their small market share.

 

[hkgonra]

$500 without a monitor? Whoopy-doo, every other OEM on the market offers machines in that price range that include a monitor.

Actually they offer them for a little more than half that price with a monitor and usually printer.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

thats merely a side effect. i bet apple would MUCH rather have a larger market share and have to deal with viruses, etc than keeping their small market share.

if they wanted a larger market share, they would of tried to get it already.

Perhaps with the Ipod and such that was there step to creeping in the back door.

 

[zip22]

isnt everbody trying? its a market, they're all struggling to stay afloat. and if they can float, they're trying to get more people on their boat.

isnt coming out with new products trying to get a larger market share? isnt advertising trying to get a larger market share? if they werent doing either of these things, then i would say they arent trying. but they are just like almost everyone else

 

[hkgonra]

From the front page
http://www.overclockers.com/tips00704/
Here Comes The cMac

 

[MadSkillzMan]

as a G3 user whos SICK OF X86 id do it...my only complaint is the fact its single CPU..500$ for all that ..hell id throw in my current HDDs and ram from my G3...no monitor is no big deal to me..the old macs only had a special monitor and you hadda buy a special adaptor..now, most of the video cards have mac or PC VGA connectors...im for it...im a video editor/spfx guy, so you can see my point of veiw. but i beleve apple will come down in prices, as this is jsut the start.

 

[Snagle]

this is a very smart move by apple, me and other mac folks have been asking for a cheap mac for years but in hindsight it is good that apple had waited until now.

Apple did a study of PC users who bought iPods and the vast majority said that the main thing preventing them from switching to a mac was that the price was so much higher than a comparable PC. Up until now, the cheapest mac you can buy is (if i remember correctly) and eMac for $799. By offering a $499 imac w/o a monitor, apple is inviting PC users to buy one and just plug it into their current monitor.

Now the ace up Apple's sleeve here is the software package they are offering. Last year Apple hired a group of developers that worked on the old Claris programs for the old Mac OSes. Now it's nearly confirmed that Apple is going to be releasing an office suite called iWork that will come BUNDLED with the new $499 imac. So not only will these $499 macs have the iLife apps all installed, they will come with iWork, and of course an OS X license out of the box. Now call me a mac fanboy (im typing this on my PC btw) but I seriously doubt you could get a PC for $499 that comes with that much QUALITY software.

 

[Elif Tymes]

I agree with Snagle.

Software will make or break this move, and the if theres one thing Mac always gets right, its software.

 

[Stumpjumper5200]

I don't know about a "luxury brand," but they definately seem to be a powerhouse for the audio/video community.

I just purchased an iPod the other day, and it is a very nice gadget. Great build quality, and the software is top-notch. Well worth the money.

Personally, I wouldn't go with a Mac for a one-and-only machine because of my desire for gaming/tinkering/overclocking/modding. As a second machine it would make a more appealing choice, especially if I was going to go big on the multimedia production, but even then I would probably give it up just to build a sweet dually or something.

Every product has its place. I believe for "normal users" (ie: not us, people who DON'T do things to their hardware that drops a bomb on the warranty ) a Mac would be a good choice, but it seems that very few people want to be "singled out" in a sense. They like being part of the same hardware/software package that a bazillion other people are in, I guess they feel safer.