Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

OWC: Mercury On-The-Go FW800+USB2 up to 1.0TB. Bus Powered, no external power supply needed. Macworld ‘Editor’s Choice’, CNET ‘Very Good’ Starting from $99.97, 500GB $159.99. Click here

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

The iMac Channel

My Three iMacs

28 September 1999 - Dan Knight

Three iMacs?

Well, Apple's done it before. Despite the amazing success of the iMac, there always seem to be two previous versions available on the close-out and refurbished market.

But three different iMac models in production all at the same time? What is Apple thinking?

The Specs

According to other sites (see Further Reading), there will be two basic models. Both will have a 100 MHz system board. Both will share a short-neck 15" monitor, making the next iMac a bit less bulk than the current one. Both will have 64 MB of memory, better sound, 2X AGP video, two separate USB buses, and a video port for an external monitor or projection device.

And they'll be AirPort ready.

The economy iMac will apparently run a 350 MHz G3, have a slot-loading CD-ROM drive (that's how most car CD players work), and include a 6 GB hard drive. Rumor is this model will only ship in Blueberry. Expect a price of $999, making this the first sub-$1K (at introduction) Mac since the floppy only 1 MB Mac Classic introduced in October 1990.

The deluxe iMac will have FireWire, a 4X DVD, a 400 MHz G3, a 10 GB hard drive, and be available in five fruity colors. Expect similar pricing to today's $1,199 Revision D iMac.

At the top of the heap, say these sites, will be a graphite, silver, and clear model to match the look of the Power Mac G4. It will also come with a whopping 128 MB of memory and a slightly larger 13 GB hard drive. (This model may be exclusive to the Apple Store.)

Confusion?

Earlier rumors of up to five different configurations were quickly put to rest by those who reminded us that the iMac is simple (see Gilding the Lily for one example). Too many models with too many options destroys the simplicity of the iMac.

The three tier lineup looks like a winner. On the bottom, probably priced at $999, is the basic blueberry iMac. No extras. It's pretty much today's iMac in a new package.

For the serious Macophile, the deluxe iMac offers DVD, a bit more horsepower, and a choice of colors. It will also help drive the FireWire market, which Apple must do before the USB 2.0 specification is finalized. This model will probably outsell the economy iMac 04.1.

And for the guy whose just got to be one up on everyone else, the unique graphite iMac - a premium computer at a premium price. This will be a cash cow for Apple, although it will only account for perhaps 5-10% of iMac sales.

Apple has a lot of experience with two- and three-tiered computers. For a while, the PowerBook G3 came in three different speeds and had three different screen options. That was too confusing. The current PowerBook only comes in two models. The Power Mac G3 was consistently available in three configurations, as it the Power Mac G4.

By offering good, better, and best, Apple answers the objection that there is no sub-$1K Mac - and gives customers a way to buy a better computer with no need for the dealer to install anything extra. LEM

Further Reading

Links for the Day

Recent Content

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.