Mac

Despite iMac boost, Mac sales still set to decline

As expected, February was not a good month for Mac sales.

Piper Jaffray has analyzed a month's worth of NPD Group data on Apple's Mac sales during February, and is projecting that Apple will sell between 2 million and 2.2 million Macs during the first calendar quarter of the year, which ends in a couple of weeks. That's the same number it was working with based on January's NPD figures, and the estimates would range from a 13 percent decline to 4 percent decline compared to Mac shipments in Apple's first fiscal quarter of … Read more

Apple and the Nvidia 'problem'

Nvidia is again at the center of a graphics tempest in the media, this time surrounding performance issues of Apple's new 17-inch MacBook Pro. Two little pesky questions haven't been answered yet, however. Are Nvidia graphics chips really the problem? And are the issues really that widespread?

Postings in an Apple discussion forum cite a smorgasbord of problems: Some cite the Nvidia GeForce 9600M, while others point to issues with fan speed. Another post points to faulty wiring and another to the main processor (i.e., Intel). But this is just one forum. Does this really indicate widespread … Read more

Another analyst lowers earnings estimates for Apple

Update at 8:52 a.m. PDT, with additional information from the research note and charts.

A Wall Street analyst on Monday lowered earnings estimates for Apple's fiscal second quarter and year, marking a second whack from a financial soothsayer in the past few days.

Doug Reid, an analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, lowered Apple's fiscal second-quarter earnings estimates from $1.10 a share to $1.05 a share. Its fiscal second quarter ends in late March. For the fiscal year, Reid cut estimates from $5.31 a share to $5.10 a share, according to his research … Read more

Apple analyst lowers estimates, shares fall

Correction, 11:06 a.m. PST: This story initially misstated the day the report was released. It was Friday.

Update at 10:31 a.m. PST, with more information from the analyst report and a chart.

A J.P. Morgan analyst cut his financial estimates for Apple's fiscal second quarter and fiscal 2009 on Friday, pointing to expectations that its iPhone and Mac sales may be weaker than previously anticipated.

Apple fell as low as 7.3 percent in early morning trading Friday to $82.33 a share.

"We are lowering our estimates for the March quarter and … Read more

As mobile future looms, Apple milks iMac margins

Apple's long-awaited Mac desktop refresh Tuesday is evidence of the company's determination to preserve its margins in a category that's fast going out of style.

Three Mac desktop categories were updated Tuesday, but only one really matters: the Mac Mini and Mac Pro aren't nearly as popular as the all-in-one iMac. Apple did improve the specifications of the iMac at the same price points, lowering the cost of acquiring a 24-inch version to $1,499. But it made few significant changes to a design that hasn't been updated since September 2007 and resisted calls to … Read more

Apple overhauls iMacs, 24-inch models more affordable

Editors' Note: As of October 20, 2009, the iMac reviewed here has been replaced by 27-inch iMac models.

In addition to updating its Mac Minis this morning, Apple has new iMacs. Each of the four default models received an update, so we'll break them out below list-style for convenience, with new specs in bold.

$1,199 iMac

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 2GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 320GB hard drive

256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chip 20-inch LCD

$1,499 iMac

2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 4GB 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 640GB hard drive

256MB (shared) … Read more

Apple polishes its desktop line

Updated 8:25 a.m. PST with analyst note.

As expected, Apple announced desktop updates on Tuesday with a focus on energy efficiency.

There are new Mac Pro high-end desktops powered by Intel's Nehalem-based Xeon processors, new and more graphics-intensive Mac Mini machines, and updated iMacs that offer the lowest price yet on these consumer desktops.

All the new machines meet the requirements for Energy Star 5.0 certification, which kicks in this summer.

The new Mac Pro is priced at $2,… Read more

Signs building toward March iMac launch

It's as clear as it gets in the Apple rumor business that if you're in the market for one of the company's iMacs, it's probably worth waiting a few weeks.

Several rumors flew across the Internet over the weekend and Monday, hurled by World of Apple and others, that Apple is finally gearing up for the long-awaited refresh of its all-in-one iMac desktop sometime later this month. Such an overhaul is long overdue in the minds of many Apple watchers, who have been hearing about a potential iMac refresh since last November.

Surprisingly, few details are available about what changes Apple is planning to make to the iMac, which could suggest that the changes will be under the hood rather than design-related. The Nvidia integrated graphics chipsets used in last October's MacBook refresh are a decent bet, perhaps combined with the 9600M discrete graphics card as Apple did with the MacBook Pro.

Maynard Um of UBS put out a research note Monday saying that one sure bet for the new systems are Intel's Nehalem processors. The server version of those chips is scheduled to be out relatively soon, which means Apple will probably also have a new high-end Mac Pro soon, as OSX86 contributor Netkas (via Ars Technica) has uncovered.… Read more

Purported Mac Mini video surfaces

Either Apple's about to launch a Mac Mini, or somebody is really determined to get into the Apple Rumor/Hoax Hall of Fame.

A day after a photo surfaced supposedly showing Apple's design for a next-generation Mac Mini--which was then debunked through some crazy spectral analysis or something--a video has surfaced in the forums of MacRumors claiming to depict a new Mac Mini. The computer shown in the video has the same five USB ports and MiniDisplay port that graced the Mac Mini shown in the photo.

An immediate discussion regarding the video's authenticity flared … Read more

Survey: Apple's Mac customers highly satisfied

Apple may be in for some short-term pain when it comes to the Mac, but it can take comfort in the fact that recent buyers seem very satisfied with their purchases.

ChangeWave released another one of its surveys Wednesday, which chart the likelihood of respondents to buy a personal computer over the next 90 days from one manufacturer as opposed to another. As we pointed out earlier this week, Apple appears to have finally run into the economic storm that is hurting the tech industry, although the more interesting number was the various customer satisfaction ratings assembled by ChangeWave.

Apple customers over the past 90 days reported by far the highest level of satisfaction in ChangeWave's survey, with 81 percent of Apple customers saying they were "highly satisfied." Asus customers were the second-most satisfied group, with 67 percent reporting they were highly satisfied with their purchase, while 61 percent of Acer customers fell into that category. Lenovo was last, with only 50 percent reporting such levels of satisfaction.… Read more