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Two Mac-focused sites--Think Secret and Apple Insider--reported on the possible release of a low-end Apple PC this week, citing unnamed sources. The rumored $499 Mac will have no monitor, 256MB of RAM, a 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor and a hard drive with storage capacity between 40GB and 80GB, according to the reports.
These details, while concrete, have not been confirmed by Apple. However, the strategy itself sounds sensible, said Gene Munster, a senior research analyst with investment firm Piper Jaffrey. Apple has garnered incredible shopping traffic through its stores but has not had great luck in turning browsers into buyers, he said.
"It is not out of the question that they do something like this," Munster said on Friday. "The problem this would solve is that the good traffic through the stores could be converted into new Mac users."
Munster believes that such a move could build additional momentum behind the so-called iPod halo effect. This theory suggests that the success of Apple's music player can attract customers to other products made by the same company. A Macintosh priced at $499 could convince Windows users and new computer buyers to make the switch, he said.
Apple could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker commands the lion's share of the hard drive-based music player market, even though it did not pioneer the segment. In the U.S. retail market, the iPod accounted for more than 80 percent of sales in the 12 months ended this October, according to research firm The NPD Group. That's up from about a two-thirds market share in the same period a year ago and a 40 percent share in its first year.
Converting some of that market share into a boost for Apple's anemic single-digit PC market share is a powerful incentive to building a lower-priced Mac, Piper Jaffray's Munster said.
"The Mac has always been considered a premium-priced product," he said.
The rumors of a new Mac follow the pattern of speculation that precede the annual MacWorld San Francisco Conference, the next edition of which is set to start Jan. 10. Before the 2004 event, rumors focused on the possible release of a $100 iPod music player. Those predictions turned out to be false; the company released its iPod Mini music player at a price of $249.
This year, some Web sites have been betting on the release of a flash memory-based iPod music player. Some analysts believe that suggestion to be solid and have predicted themselves that Apple will sell millions of flash iPods in short order.
Bear Stearns analyst Andy Neff said earlier this month that Apple could sell 6 million units in the current fiscal year, which ends in October 2005, and 13.5 million the following year, but at $160, a lower average price than Apple gets for its iPods (which retail from $249 for the iPod mini to $599 for the 60GB iPod Photo). Looking ahead to next year, Neff forecasts Apple may be able to grab 30 percent of the 34 million players that market researcher IDC estimates will be sold.
While product rumors boost interest in the semi-annual Mac pilgrimage, Apple has not appreciated details leaking out about its plans. The company has filed suit against three sites, including Think Secret and Apple Insider, for information about the sources of stories about Apple developing what's known in the music industry as a breakout box--a device for connecting musical instruments and other analog audio sources to a computer.
CNET News.com's Ina Fried contributed to this report.
See more CNET content tagged:
Andy Neff,
Macworld,
music player,
Apple iPod music player,
Apple Computer
I am one of the people that surf apples store, wanting but never buying.
The neglect in this market I believe is the reason that OSX has a much better reputation than OS9 but never translated to more market share.
$500, and it would probably be more inline with what you
expect a computer to look like. They're well-engineered and will
give you lots of upgrade options.
confirmed by Apple..."
HELLO! Until The Steve reveals his infamous "and one more
thing..." at MWSF IT IS NOT CONCRETE.
CNET constantly under estimates Apple in its' journalism, but
some how they have a clue what goes on within Apple HQ in
Cupertino? NOT!
Start being professional technology journalists & stop being
High-Tech National Enquirer hacks.
little sucker in a living room, instant TiVO, Stereo, DVD, MP3,
everything.
Man I hope it's true!
strongly feel that CNET should be focusing on news and shying
away from rumors that have yet to be confirmed. So far, only
one major rumor site (ThinkSecret.com) has 'broken' this story,
and it seems as if every major news site is sourcing their
information as 'fact'. Please, CNET, focus on tech news -- not
tech rumors.
Krishna Sadasivam
Cartoonist
http://www.pcweenies.org
Lub ya.
Thanks..
those who already have a monitor and/or want to purchase a
computer that does not have a monitor built-in.
CRT monitors are not expensive, so why fuss on the price and
then inflate it for your own reasoning?
monitor. The monitor does just what the name implies; it allows
you to visually interact with the computer itself.
People like you who are so blinded by an irrational rage against Mac (and vis versa for Macheads) make me sick. Please do grow up.
"These details, while concrete, have not been confirmed by
Apple. However, the strategy itself sounds sensible, said Gene
Munster, a senior research analyst with investment firm Piper
Jaffrey."
How are they concrete? Where is the proof that this product
exists? Who has seen this product for themselves? This
speculation seems to have originated on Apple rumor websites
and has spread like wildfire.
Something that *sounds* sensible doesn't make it necessarily
so.
Where's CNET's proof? If you can offer none, it is still speculation
and this story from a journalistic standpoint is void of reliable
sources to support such a bold declaration.
Thanks.
Stupid Apple freaks must be borned stupid. No one could be working this hard at being so stupid.
Stupid Apple freaks must be borned stupid. No one could be working this hard at being so stupid"
1. It is gigahertz (not gig-hertz)
2. 802.11b is LEGACY wireless standard (Apple uses 802.11g 128-bit encryption wireless)
3. Apples to Apples: a DULL $500 laptop at 2 ghz is not anywhere close to being equal to a 1.5 ghz PowerPC G4 RISC 64 bit chip. IT'S NOT just the gigahertz, it's the gigaflops (bits per cycles) Utilizing more bits per cycle means that the PowerPC chip DOESNOT have to be a 2 ghz in order to outperform the legacy Celeron chip in the DULL $500 laptop.
4. DULL $500 laptop DOESNOT include Firewire / Photo - Movie - DVD - Music applications / slot loading CDR or DVDR drives, etc. ALL OF THAT IS EXTRA.
[Unix/Mac/Win PC User]
running at 2ghz is faster than a powerpc chip running at 1ghz,
and that if it was possible to actually get a such a mac at 500 is
stupid, then you should have your picture posted in the
dicitonary under the following categories:
1. deaf and dumb
2. Insane
3. woefully ignorant
4. stupid
5. uninformed
in 1998 as the cheap mac for everyone, and
sold enough to give Apple a new chance at life
again as a viable company. Then came the
colors and after the death of the Cube, it
became a mid-level replacement for it when it
went to the flower design with the swingable
arm. And now with the flat panel, it is little
more than a laptop attatched to a stand, and
still it remains a mid-level product. The eMac
has not seemed to capture the numbers that
the original iMac did, nor even enough to push
Apple's market share up even a point or two.
The market share continues to drop, at least
for computers. Apple however has found new
life and profits in the iPod, and its online
music site.
And that model is not a bad one to consider
for its computers as well. With Apple pulling
minimal profits from the Music Labels, and
selling their hardware at a premium.
If indeed a $499 mac, headless or no, iMac or
no is in the pipeline, then it could do a lot to
have everyday people take a serious look at
the mac platform, and not just those BMW
owners who need a new stylish computer.
And the iPod model, could be a new and
interesting way to promote it. Could it work?
I'm not a market analyst, but the iPod
numbers are enough to convince me it stands
a more than even chance.
Clone Market Again? What was wrong with the
first time around? Jobs said the Cloners were
underselling Apple and taking profits away. It
was Microsoft's model, sell the software and
license the hardware. I have fond memories
of the Cloners, but Jobs was right, they were
taking market share and Apple wasn't making
enough from the OS to stay alive.
But the iPod model gives the software away.
Embeds it in the hardware and makes it
easier to use, ala the Apple mantra.
But if Apple gave the OS away, actually
licensed it to outside computer manufacturers
at minimal cost . And then had the hardware
shipped in Apples configuration at a halfway
price? Then instead of making 27% profit on
each machine, for only several hundred
thousand to several million machines, you
could look at 10 to 15% profit on several
million to several hundred million machines.
Which will give you more profit?
I thought so too.
So a upside down look at a New Clone
market. A hardware kept in Apple's control,
and a give away license for the OS along with
a minimal priced entry level mac could mean
a big market share shift.
Why?
Because of Windows Security issues.
Because of Blue Screen of Death and lockups
on windows boxes.
Because the proprietary Office Suites that
drive business now are being replaced by
HTML run suites that are accessible to your
browser regardless of the OS you run.
Because that means you aren't tied to
Windows except if you want to be.
And that may change with some right
strategies and some luck, and some re-
thinking, Not only at Apple, but that is where it
starts, but with the public. All of us computer
purchasers who look at new machines.
As a mac fan, I'd like to see Apple do this, and
hope it is a big seller for them as well.
-Chris C
Oh, wait, I forgot you could already buy a 2.4GHz Celeron box for $434 Canadian (http://www.a-power.com/sys/ap12-celeron.asp). Looks like Apple's genius plan is shot.
If you only look at frequency, that just shows you know little about computers.
- You GET what you PAY FOR
-
by Thomas, David
January 4, 2005 7:53 AM PST
- Oh lawdy, lawdy, lawdy.
-
Reply to this comment
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- Real fun starts when...
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by dejo
January 4, 2005 10:19 AM PST
- "But it sure isn't worth while getting worked up about."
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(44 Comments)What's to get excited about? The most expensive part of a mac
is the monitor. One of the most prized parts of a mac is the
monitor.
Whether this is true or not, the only thing that would make this
exciting, and a viable option for those that need a mac, is that it
connects directly to a high definition television monitor.
Beyond that, no thanks.
Hmmm. Maybe they did it, maybe not. But it sure isn't worth
while getting worked up about.
At least, not until it's officially announced. ; )