I love it when a conjecture comes together!
Last September I mused that perhaps
Apple would use the G4/350 processors Motorola was producing in the
iMac, since that was too slow to use in the Power Mac G4.
A lot of people reminded me that it wouldn't happen with current
export restrictions, but the US government is in the process of setting
a higher power level for export restriction, improving Apple's ability
to sell G4 Macs around the world.
That opens the way for a PowerBook G4 and an iMac G4. There's
rampant speculation that Pismo, the next generation
PowerBook, will be designed to accept a G4 processor, although Apple
may not offer that option when Pismo is first released.
The other persistent rumor is a 17" iMac. I have a feeling that if
Apple is to offer an iMac G4, it will have a 17" screen. Likewise, if
Apple is to offer a 17" iMac, it will have a G4 available (possibly as
a high-end model).
I just can't see putting the extra cost of the G4 processor (it adds
$300 to $400) in a computer with a fixed 15" screen. Sure, it would
help DVD playback immensely, but the people who are going to most
benefit from the AltiVec enhancements run Photoshop and use larger
screens.
MacUser (UK) speculates that Apple will offer an iMac G4 once the
G4 shortage is behind everyone, which most sources put at somewhere
around June 2000.
My guess is that Apple will continue to offer G3-based iMacs with
15" screens, since it can offer them for several hundred dollars less
than G4 systems.
I'm also tempted to believe that Apple will not call the larger
model an iMac, although it will be an all-in-one design obviously
related to the iMac. Apple wants to keep the product line simple, but
there would be so many differences between the G3 iMac and the larger
17" G4 computer that Apple will need to clearly differentiate this
souped up model from the run-of-the-mill iMacs.
At the very least, Apple could go back to its history and resurrect
one of two great product names: iMac Plus would share its name
with the longest running model in Macintosh history, while iMac
II would give homage to the venerable Apple II line and the Mac
II, the first Mac with serious horsepower.
This is all conjecture, but I think the pieces fit together well. I
hope the next iMac fits together as well as these theories.
Update: Apple introduced the eMac in April 2002, which
is a 17" CRT-based G4 computer. This was three months after it
introduced the 15" iMac
G4, which was the first iMac with a flat panel display.
