“Apple is leaning on the iPod to give its stagnant computer business a kick-start,” Paul Durman reports for The Times. “The most surprising thing about Apple’s hugely successful iPod is not its sleekly minimalist design, or its ease of operation, or even the pleasingly effective way it works with iTunes, the computer company’s music website. No, the most surprising thing about the iPod is the astonishing disparity between the enormous shot of corporate adrenaline it has given Apple
18 Comments
Reader Feedback (You DO NOT need to log in to comment. If not logged in, just provide any name you choose and an email address after typing your comment below)
Apple plans to smarten up Siri with generative AI infusion
A new report suggests that Apple’s Siri virtual assistant is undergoing a major revamp with the integration of generative AI…
Apple’s latest Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro offers array of new and improved features
Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro delivers an amazing typing and trackpad experience in a sleek, portable new design with an aluminum palm rest…
Apple’s belated AI reveal had better not be ‘off the mark’
If the company misses the mark when it unveils its belated AI features next month, Apple stock could be in a lot of trouble…
After caretaker Tim Cook, who’ll be Apple’s next CEO?
Since taking over as Apple’s CEO from Steve Jobs in 2011, Tim Cook has trotted out iterations of products started under Jobs…
‘Dark Matter’ is easily the best Apple TV+ sci-fi series of 2024 (so far)
In mid-April, Apple TV+ unveiled the trailer for its new sci-fi thriller “Dark Matter,” starring Joel Edgerton alongside Jennifer Connelly…
an Apple a day keeps the doctor away
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
Comparing like-for-like (as far as it is possible), that is with Wintel all-in-one flat screen boxes, the new iMac simply is not more expensive. It’s the same ballpark and has extra features (e.g. firewire, dedicated graphics card). It’s a really good deal for a machine that has been designed rather than cobbled together from existing parts and a case thrown around the result.
If you want to compare with cheaper PCs, then the eMac should be used instead. There again, like-for-like (adding firewire and a graphics card to replace the intel-integrated-shared-memory nonsense), and it’s the same ballpark.
Nothing Apple makes is going to compete with cheap and nasty homebrew boxes, but then who would want them to ?
It’s interesting about the number of iPods sold. Why didn’t the article give us more information as to what has been the average number of hard drive mp3 players sold? I’m sure that Apple hs sold more iPods than Dell has sold DJ’s. Is LESS than 4m iPods a bad thing? I’m not understanding why he is comparing one device to the total sales of personal computers. Doesn’t seem fair. I ‘m not sure Apple could supply an iPod for every person on earth with in the 4years that it has been out.
To me, it’s like counting the number of BMW’s sold then comparing it to the total number of bananas sold world wide. Then saying though it’s sold quite a few, it hasn’t caught up to the number of bananas sold world wide.
Why can’t they just say that the iMac is a nice product and leave it at that until they can actually review one?
iPods and experiencing-Mac- with iTunes for Windows are a good reason to look at an Apple iMac now..
But the 90% pc-masses believe Wintel is it … and do compare it, right or wrong, with Wintel prices.
Why do these frickin, dumb-ass reporters always get the details wrong?! Durman wrote that iTunes is Apple’s “website” instead of the jukebox program. The iTMS could technically be considered a website (although a new generation, perhaps) since it uses the Internet.
As for the price comparison, his argument would be stronger if he supported them with a chart showing a side-by-side comparison of the Apple and Dell computer. Even then, there are some things that are easily overlooked, such as Apple’s ease of use, virus-free environment, stable OS core, higher productivity, less down-time, the wide screen format, and the cool factor. This reporter is clueless to the advantages of the Mac. I bet he hasn’t even touched one before. If only he’d spend an hour with it, he would see that there are other more important factors to consider when comparing price points. You get what you pay for.
Most tech reporters are simply dumb-ass!
Apple is selling as many iPods as they can make. If it was not for the iPod, 1.8″ hard drives would continue to be sold as laptop accessories. If four million 1.8″ drives were available in one year then that is how many iPods Apple can sell. The iPod market is in its infancy, unlike mobile phones and laptops which are refered to in the article.
Too much attantion is drawn to the design of the new iMac when everyone should be getting excited at the prospect of an affordable G5 computer. This is a 64-bit consumer PC and when the iLife applications are updated to utilise this hardware they will make the latest Windows PCs look slow.
First, everyone needs to be aware (definitely Apple’s marketing department’s fault!) that the G5 in the lowly home computer called iMac is a full 64-bit processor, as is the rest of the G5 chipset design.
I really tried. I did. But the closest I could get to buying a 64-bit (Xenon) Dell system similar to the 17″, 1.8 Ghz, iMac Specs was a Dell Precision Workstation 470 with a 17″ LCD monitor for $2,083. A similar iMac would be $1,574. I had to add extra memory to the iMac to make them equal.
Not only is the iMac $500 less, but it is also 23.5 lbs less (18.5 lbs vs 42 lbs, not including Dell 17″ monitor).
Initially, the Dell seems to be faster at 3.0 Ghz Xenon vs iMac 1.8 Ghz G5, but if you surf around the web, you’ll find out hat the benchmarks are very close to each other regardless of clock speeds. This is due in part to the G5 being capable of performing more instructions per cycle.
In short, Apple fails to inform the general population that the iMac is powered by a CPU that the PC world thinks of as a Server or Workstation class processor. Imagine completely tossing out all of the Pentium 4 based computers and using just the Xenon Workstations as home computers. Now, reduce their weight by half and place them in a thin case attached to the back of a high quality LCD monitor. THIS is what Apple had done… and no one noticed this huge leap in home desktop power, design and price.
The new iMac ain’t nothin’ like the other computers at Best buy. Go shopping for Xenon-based computers, “Workstations”, and then you’ll be in the G5 iMac league.
Aryugaetu:
Of course you are perfectly correct, and I am ashamed that what you said had not penetrated my small brain. I want (along with the rest of the world) a G5 Powerbook, and I am not going to purchase any G4 machine in the interim because lack of 64-bit G5 compatibility will bite me sooner or later.
32-bit vs. 64-bit is a huge difference.
Thanks for the insight.
Mike
Aryugaetu
Well said! But why does Apple not leverage these arguments?
John C
Macintosh computers are the best kept secret that is not a secret in the computing world.
Great Point Aryugaetu! I will pass on that pricing info to some soon to be switcher friends. Also MDN’s point about the OS being the biggest point is right on. The stylish designs Apple comes out with are just the icing on the cake.
Sure wish the Apple Marketing dept. would jump on these points. Since they are letting it slide a bit I guess that is where we come in.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
I want (along with the rest of the world) a G5 Powerbook, and I am not going to purchase any G4 machine in the interim …
~~~
The rest of the world??? Yeah, there are probably a milion PC users who can tell you what the 64-bits signify, other than that it’s..
“1400 for a new 1.6 Ghz Mac!? PFFFFT.. I’m sticking with Wintel”
I know.. disgusting..and I hate it.. the world is full of complete morons who get lied to everyday.. i hate it..
Apple hasn’t jumped on these points because John and Jane Q. Public like their purchasing information to come in small, easily digestible sound bites.
Regardless of what product is better, they can choose between the iMac G5 information that Aryugaetu has provided, or this:
“2.8 GHz Dell Dimension 2400 – from $512” – I got this directly from the Dell site; this includes the Labor Day promotional discount.
Isn’t it rather odd, though, how the entire IT press manages to comment on the new iMac design? Every revision gets plastered on magazines (remember the G4 iMac on the cover of Time?) and people will talk about it for weeks, if not months. When was the last time you heard someone say, “Gee, I can’t wait to see what Dell has done with the new Dimension!”? Apple is the design leader, and everyone pays attention to them.
It’s becoming more and more obvious that despite higher overall owner satisfaction, the Mac is probably never going to have significant marketshare. My feeling is, I’m okay with this. As long as Apple makes a superior product, I don’t have a problem with paying a little more. Apple has had low market share for such a long period of time, and they’re still here. I think Microsoft has proven that having 90+% marketshare can be quite a burden.
You know, except at the very low (cheap!) end of things, I can _never_ configure a Dell machine with comparable specs for the same price as a Mac. I don’t know why these yokels who call themselves analysts don’t do a bit of online shopping before they just claim “Dells are cheaper”. They’re flat out not cheaper…..
John
If you want blame someone for why no one compares Macs to Dells with comparable specs, try the real culprit: Apple. If Apple came out with a computer with comparable specs to the LOW-END Dells (even with OS X, iLife, etc.), then they would be compared to the $520 Dells. (That would be easy for Apple to do, of course: start with the eMac minus the CRT.) Contrary to what Apple obviously believes, I think it would help Apple sell Macs at ALL levels, including high-end computers because it would erase once-and-for-all the perception of a big $$ price premium, which is such a huge obstacle for most of the public even considering a Mac. There would still be the gigahertz myth and perceptions about software availability, but the perceived price premium is absolutely the biggest problem.
P.S. I love Macs (esp. my PB), so I’m not a troll.
Exactly. People see the $500 Dell, compare it to a superior $1299 iMac, buy the Dell and don’t know any better. Sure it’s only $500 – but it has a CRT monitor, integrated graphics, a small hard drive, no CD-burner or Firewire, and comes with XP Home. Upgrade everything to the iMac equivalent and the prices are much more comparable – and it still runs Windows. Too bad that’s not the breaker for most people…
I think that if people actually used one, the price of an entry-level eMac or iMac would be a moot point. People don’t realize that we can still run Office, don’t worry about viruses or spyware, and use an operating system vastly superior to Windows.
<h1 style=”font-size:1px; LINE-HEIGHT:1pt; margin:0px; padding:0px;”>You are invited to check out some information about high blood pressure medication | high blood pressure medication | http://www.high-blood-pressure-medication-pharmacy.info/ | <br/> roulette games | roulette games | http://www.top-site-2003.info/ | <br/> depression treatment | depression treatment | http://www.depression-treatment-pharmacy.info/ | <br/> ditropan | ditropan | http://www.best-online-shop-24×7.info/ | <br/>… Thanks!!! </h1>
<h1>You are invited to visit some relevant pages about free slot machines games | free slot machines games | http://www.free-slot-machines-games-gambling-4u.info/ | <br/> holdem freeroll | holdem freeroll | http://www.holdem-freeroll-win.info/ | <br/> prozac and phentermine | prozac and phentermine | http://www.prozac-and-phentermine-top-deals.info/ | <br/> free online texas holdem lessons | free online texas holdem lessons | http://www.free-online-texas-holdem-lessons-win.info/ | <br/> strategies software poker texas holdem | strategies software poker texas holdem | http://www.strategies-software-poker-texas-holdem-games.info/ | <br/> holdem online poker | holdem online poker | http://www.holdem-online-poker-win.info/ | <br/> phentermine online cheap diet pills | phentermine online cheap diet pills | http://www.phentermine-online-cheap-diet-pills-top-deals.info/ | <br/> how to win texas holdem | how to win texas holdem | http://www.how-to-win-texas-holdem-games.info/ | <br/> holdem fence charger | holdem fence charger | http://www.holdem-fence-charger-game.info/ | <br/>… Thanks!!! </h1>
<h1>You are invited to visit some relevant pages about free slot machines games | free slot machines games | http://www.free-slot-machines-games-gambling-4u.info/ | <br/> holdem freeroll | holdem freeroll | http://www.holdem-freeroll-win.info/ | <br/> prozac and phentermine | prozac and phentermine | http://www.prozac-and-phentermine-top-deals.info/ | <br/> free online texas holdem lessons | free online texas holdem lessons | http://www.free-online-texas-holdem-lessons-win.info/ | <br/> strategies software poker texas holdem | strategies software poker texas holdem | http://www.strategies-software-poker-texas-holdem-games.info/ | <br/> holdem online poker | holdem online poker | http://www.holdem-online-poker-win.info/ | <br/> phentermine online cheap diet pills | phentermine online cheap diet pills | http://www.phentermine-online-cheap-diet-pills-top-deals.info/ | <br/> how to win texas holdem | how to win texas holdem | http://www.how-to-win-texas-holdem-games.info/ | <br/> holdem fence charger | holdem fence charger | http://www.holdem-fence-charger-game.info/ | <br/>… Thanks!!! </h1>