The iMac has traditionally been the cash cow for Apple Computers. They sell more of them than any other model. Lately the laptops, the iBook and the PowerBook have been selling slightly better than the iMac. In fact, as innovative and as cost effective as the second generation iMacs have been, their sales have gotten sluggish this year.
Right now in fact, there are no iMacs for sale from Apple. Their supply line has dried up due to the fact that the new iMacs were supposed to be released for sale in June. That never happened for some reason, known only to Apple.
In Apple’s Third Quarter Conference Call, several details regarding the next generation iMac were revealed. “IBM’s manufacturing problems have also impacted our next generation iMac. We normally don’t talk about unannounced products but we feel you need to know about the current situation. The new iMacs are based on a G5 processor. We could not secure the necessary supply of G5 processors to launch our new iMac on schedule and as we indicated a few weeks ago, we now plan to announce and ship it in September.” It is also believed that heat issues contributed to the delay. New Zealand based Campus IT states on it’s website that new models are due on the 5th of September. Source: Invision Board June 14th
Therefore, the new iMacs are coming out next month, or so said Apple a few months ago. However, since the original iMac was announced three months before it shipped, some pundints are predicting the G5 iMac will only be introduced next month, but will not ship till Christmas!
But what will the new G5 iMacs look like?
Apple has hinted that it would be just a monitor, with everything inside and behind it. Think of the current iMac, but without the base. The new G5 iMac will also be an exclusive Aluminum model.
Most all-in-one computers, or the computer-in-the-monitor are ugly! Witness the parade of flat screened all-in-ones on the PC side of the fence, and you will see what I mean. No Johnathan Ives here, folks.
There are also all kinds of engineering issues with an upright all-in-one computer-in-a-monitor. First there is the heat issue. Then there is the issue of the CD-R or DVD not being horizontal. Then there is the issue of being able to reach your ports to connect things. A computer-in-a-flat screen monitor is not a pretty thing, because of all these potential problems.
However, here is one all-in-one PC that is not ugly, but is well engineered:
Designers know that there are not very many things you can do with an all-in-one form-factor computer. Designing it so that it will also be unique and world-class is very difficult. Apple knows this, and traditionally their designs have led the industry every time they have come out with a new version of the iMac.
Will they knock one out of the ballpark again with the new G5 iMac?
Here is an example of what people fear the new iMac might look like
We know Apple’s new iMac will have a single G5 chip, slightly slower (well under 2 GHz) than the PowerMac version, for heat stability, and that the base model will probably be close to a thousand dollars. More than that, the new G5 iMac will probably come in two screen size, (17″ and 20″) models. So regardless of what it will look like, at least it will have cool performance and usability.
Will the new G5 iMac set the trend for all the new computers in the future? If so, the newly designed G5 iMac will breathe new life into their traditional cash cow. Can’t wait for September 5th!
Stay tuned to this station for further developments!
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