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

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.

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.

Forget the Flat Panel iMac

- 2001.12.04

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, Twentieth Anniverary Mac 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

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: Power Mac 7100, Mar. 1994 - Desktop model has three slots, enhanced video, 66 MHz PowerPC speed.
Group of the Day: G4 'Books an email list for G4 iBooks and PowerBooks.
March 14 in LEM history: 01: Outlook Express 101 - 03: Fuel cells - Are older Macs lower than low end? - Pismo G3/800 upgrade - 05: Apple vs. PowerPage - 06: Play MP3s on 680x0 Macs - The solution to piracy - 08: Mac 'security' site serves malware - MacBook Air tossed out with newspapers
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

Best iPod classic Deals, 03.12. Used 20 GB, $119; 40 GB, $139; 60 GB, $159; 30 GB video, $129; 60 GB, $159; 80 GB, $169; refurb 120 GB, $189; new, $214; 160 GB, $228 shipped.
Best G3 iBook and AirPort Card Deals, 03.12. 366 MHz 12" clamshell, $89; 466, $125; 500 white CD, $100; 600, $199; 800 Combo, $239; 14" 900, $225.
Best Xserve Deals, 03.12. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $499; 2.0 dual G5, $599; 2.3, $749; refurb 2.26 4-core Nehalem, $2,499; new, $2,699; 8-core, $3,449; refurb 2.66, $4,299; new, $4,799; more.
Best iPod touch Deals, 03.11. Refurb 8 GB, $149; 16 GB, $199; 32 GB, $249; 64 GB, $339; new 3G/8 GB, $184; close-out 2G/16 GB, $229; 3G/32, $270; 64, $355. Shipping included.
Best 17" MacBook Pro Deals, 03.11. Used 2.33 GHz, $1,099; 2.5, $1,349; refurb 2.66, $1,949; 2.93, $2,199; new 2.8, $2,249 after rebate; 3.06, $2,749.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 Deals, 03.11. "Leopard" one user, $180; upgrade from 10.4, $150; 5 users, $400; Server, 10 users, $493; unlimited users, $600.
Best iPod nano Deals, 03.10. Refurb 4G/8 GB, $99; 16 GB, $119; 4G/8 GB, $129; 16 GB, $139; new 5G/8 GB, $134; 16 GB, $160. Shipping included.
Best 15" PowerBook G4 Deals, 03.10. 1 GHz Combo, $400; 1.25 GHz, $460; 1.33 GHz SuperDrive, $539; 1.5 GHz, $550; 1.67 GHz, $589; hi-res, $800.
Best iPod shuffle Deals, 03.10. New 3G/2 GB, pink, $53; other, $55, 4 GB, blue, $71; other, $73. Shipping included.
More deals in our archive.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 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.