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
