C|NET: "Apple's Missed Opportunity"

[Kent Pribbernow]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/Commentary%3A+Apple%27s+missed+opportunity/2030-1042_3-5331861.html?part=rss&tag=5331861&subj=news.1042.5' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/Commentary%3A+Apple%27s+missed+opportunity/2030-1042_3-5331861.html?part=rss&tag=5331861&subj=news.1042.5</a><br /><br /></div><i>"With its new iMac G5, Apple Computer has once again come up with a unique package of design, power and ease of use. But will it be enough? No. Apple has missed the opportunity to stay way ahead of its PC manufacturing competitors by not including Wi-Fi as standard and by failing to catch the early-adopter personal video recorder wave by including a TV tuner card."</i><br /><br />This mirrors much of what I wrote about in my earlier article regarding the new G5 iMac. Apple is taking the wrong strategy by "dumbing down" the iMac even further than its predecessor, when they should be adding features to the product line which enhance or enrich the Mac experience. From a design standpoint, the new iMac can best be described as an over glorified laptop, even less functional than the desk lamp model.<br /><br />Is this really the direction Apple should be taking? Consumers will answer that question by voting with their wallets.

[Gary Sheynkman]

No one was arguing with you last time :P

It just frustrates me...the last gen imac was such a jump from its old form...this is just "ugh" :cry:

[James Fee]

The problem is the iMac is an "entry" platform. What you describe Kent is a "middle" computer that Apple seems to not feel the need for.

[Jason Dunn]

The problem is the iMac is an "entry" platform. What you describe Kent is a "middle" computer that Apple seems to not feel the need for.

Is it truly entry-level though, not being under $1000 USD? That's the magic number for entry-level...

[Kent Pribbernow]

Is it truly entry-level though, not being under $1000 USD? That's the magic number for entry-level...

Agreed. The eMac is Apple's entry level Mac line, while the iMac serves as a mainstream desktop for the consumer market.

It isn't just pricing that is at issue here. Apple is forcing its user base to make the difficult choice between expensive underpowered consumer desktops, or ultra-expensive professional desktops that are overkill for most users. So what's left? Either they pay through the nose for a desktop that doesn't suit their needs, or they give up on desktops entirely and switch to an iBook or PowerBook. Or...*gasp*...a PC!

Call me crazy, but I don't see this Apple's computing strategy as a formula for growth. It's only going to shrink the installed base even further.

[James Fee]

Price aside, it is an entry level computer. With a video card like that, you can't claim it to be anything else. There is a gap between the iMac and the G5 desktop where the Mid level should go. Price is not important to me here, just a computer that I can use that isn't 10 feet tall.

[Mojo Jojo]

It seems as if you all are arguing price. If Apple did add all these features people would turn around and says its too expensive and that Apple priced themselves out of the market.

So I say to look at the all-in-one slim monitor computers....

Sony has some for 1499-1699 (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start;sid=On-HfCKMF0OHSGPFtCiNd22dDyW4WuIahb4=?CategoryName=cpu_VAIODesktopComputers_VSeries&amp;Dept=cpu_VAIODesktopComputers) (&lt;--Link)

Dell doesn't... Hp doesn't... (not that I can find)

There was one Korean company, at least I think korean, that had a model but it too was similarly priced.

So, we need to compare Apples to Apples, so to speak here. The price is in the ball park. Sony gives your wireless, but at the expense of a smaller monitor and intergrated intel graphics.

I don't think it is fair to compare commoditized PC desktops to this Apple offering. Apple as pointed out is a small company who do not have the low price power because of a hundereds of different hardware makers available to them.

Secondly we are talking two inches thick versus a desktop be it a tower in meduim or larger form (dimensions for mid sized 18.3''x8.25''x18.6''). In this two inches they have to fit everything in there *including* an LCD monitor AND power converter (there is no brick sitting on the floor). The G5 is a hot processor that needs cooling.. if you bumped up the graphics card (which these days also require additional large cooling) where would you put that heat sink?

Even the Shuttles and other small form factor PCs are not that 2 inches thick and have heat issues.

So the best thing I can think of is... the iMac isn't for you. Apple choose to go after a market that your not in. (shrugs)

[James Fee]

So the best thing I can think of is... the iMac isn't for you. Apple choose to go after a market that your not in. (shrugs)
Which is why I don't have a working Mac right now. :(

[Mojo Jojo]

So the best thing I can think of is... the iMac isn't for you. Apple choose to go after a market that your not in. (shrugs)
Which is why I don't have a working Mac right now. :(

Got a nice lamp iMac G4 700 mhz with 512 memory, with OS X 10.3, and no dead or stuck pixels in the monitor that I could let go at a good price. Pro-speakers and all. :D

[James Fee]

And there is no real video card in there. ;)

That is the problem....