Comments on: Apple launches new Intel Mac Minis, iPod Hi-Fi

Mac maker introduces two new Minis with Intel chips and a speaker system that CEO Steve Jobs says is of home stereo quality.

[xxtrashcanxx]

OMG mac book pro+new intel mac mini shock

New intel mac mini more expensive????? what is the point in that
Just got MacBook Pro battery life is only 2.4 hours. I am not kiding.
I wa on the phone with apple they sad that they have no stats but i
measured it myself. My 15inch G4 gets around four. I am shocked.
SRY didnt know where to post this

[Ryusuke78]

ZOMG how i spell words?

Post it somewhere with a spellcheck, maybe?

[RedRider977]

Goodbye to the eMac

Not surprisingly, the eMac is now a thing of the past with the coming of the new Intel Mac Mini's.

[J.G.]

Is the eMac a goner?

I'm not aware of an official announcement. Seems to me that a
low-end computer with a screen is still needed for the elementary
school market. Laptops are more suitable for tweens and teens.

[J.G.]

Why it makes sense

A lot of the people complaining are regular Apple bashers.
They've said in the past they would never buy any Apple product.
They were going to ***** and moan regardless of what was
released today.

I think the reasons Apple is producing these items are obvious
to people who follow the company.

1) Designer iPod cases are selling very well, including in Apple
Stores. Apple decided to collect some of that bling for itself.

2) The Mac mini is the ambassador computer for Apple -- the
inexpensive model first time Mac buyers are urged to try. So, it
makes sense that it get the Intel processor. It is also the closest
thing Apple has to a Tivo-type device. A larger hard drive for
storing video was a must.

3) Bose has done quite well with high-end home audio for the
Mac. I will hazard a guess Steve Jobs thought that a device
could be even more iPod friendly. So, he had Apple produce that
device.

Apple has withdrawn products from the market, such as the
Cube. But, to prematurely find fault with new releases is naive.
Time will tell.

[darrius3365]

re: Ambassador

I'd rather see the iMac used as the ambassador computer for consumers. When the average person sees "Mac Mini for $599", they will be shocked to discover that it doesn't come with a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, while the $299 after-rebate PC counterparts (regardless of how bad they are)come with all of that.

How boring - shows no initiative

yet again Apples hype doesnt meet with reality. $99 for a leather case what an absolute rip off.

I wont be touching these items.

[J.G.]

$100 is not a grand

Don't get out much, do you, Phil? There are designer cases for the
iPod in the $200 range. Apple decided to take a middling stab at
getting some of those elitist purchases for itself.

[indrakanti]

how dare you...

say that! With Apple you are not paying for the prodct. You are paying for the design excellence and the quality of engineering..hmmm..wait. OK I give up.

[altagrace]

Hmmm

I was very excited about Apple making the announcement today. While I was disappointed, I know that is no one's fault but my own. I, like many of you, had great dreams of what might be introduced today. But Apple is not responsible for us, media, etc. reading a lot more into the invitation than was there. That is a dangerous game, sometimes you win sometimes you lose. Just take it for what it is.

[Don Key]

my question still stands, where is the $500 macintosh?

wasn't that the big selling point of the mini... is that you could get a macintosh for under $500?

[J.G.]

Where is common sense?

In your imagination, dear. Like prices on everything else, prices on
computers rise. Now, an improved model of the Mac mini is
available for $100 more.

[Tobyhamilton]

I'm incredibly impressed that they fixed the RAM isssue with the Mac Mini

That second Gig slot gives the Mini two to three more years of life,
if not more.

I think the new "500" just might be 599.

[J.G.]

Hot damn, more RAM

I agree. The additional RAM is an excellent selling point. Reminds
me that I need more for my increasingly sluggish PowerBook G4
though. Funny how RAM is a perennial issue.

[mark1214]

iPod HiFi

Was this iPod HiFi designed during a lunchbreak 20 minutes before a deadline? It looks like my center channel speaker, albeit in white. I saw pictures of the rear and it only showed a AC input and on other connection. It should have both video and audio connections. Also, drivers seem very large to offer adequate high frequency dispersion. Who designed this? Stick to iPods Apple.

[mark1214]

iPod HiFi

Was this iPod HiFi designed during a lunchbreak 20 minutes before a deadline? It looks like my center channel speaker, albeit in white. I saw pictures of the rear and it only showed a AC input and on other connection. It should have both video and audio connections. Also, drivers seem very large to offer adequate high frequency dispersion. Who designed this? Stick to iPods Apple.

[Mister Winky]

Check the specs

Frequency response is quoted at 53Hz to 16kHz +/- 3dB, and that was probably measured with a swept sine wave, not usin program material. I agree that it'll sound fairly dull with these lowly (and probably optimistic) specs.

http://www.apple.com/ipodhifi/specs.html

Mister Winky

[ServedUp]

A Little Lame.

I have to admit that was quite disappointing.
I hope their next product announcement will be better.

Don't get me wrong I love the IPOD! But the Ipod is losing
interest for me bring out something new like a PDA with an Ichat
camera or or an Airport Express that streams video... these are
doable aren't they??? Something neat like that..

The IPOD is great but its old news! I'm even wondering what
other companies are doing. Maybe MS Origami won't be quite as
bad as I thought... nah its bad!

[ServedUp]

My Mistake not as lame as I thought.

The Mac Mini and Bonjour... wow! Thats great!

The Mac Mini hooking up to a HDTV Widescreen TV is such a
fantastic idea especially the fact you can stream stuff from other
Macs in your house. This is definitely a reason to buy a mac mini
for sure. Think I'll get one for my home entertainment center its
perfect.

[J.G.]

Reporters 'get' new products

I've also been reading accounts from the mainstream press by
people who went to the press conference and saw the products.
Their remarks and articles are largely positive. They've had actual
contact with the products instead of offering opinions based on
just reading a blurb and seeing a photograph on a website. My
inclination is to suspect the Hi-FI dock and new iMacs are attractive
products. The new case, though it seems to escape commenters
here, is all about competing with the designer market.

[J.G.]

Correction

Mac minis.

[lkrupp]

Same people, same predictions, always wrong...

1.The iMac will never sell because it doesn't have a floppy disk
drive!

2.The iPod will never make it because it doesn't have an FM
tuner!

3.The Mac Mini will fail because it doesn't include a keyboard,
mouse, or monitor!

4.The iPod Shuffle won't sell because it doesn't have a display
AND doesn't have an FM tuner!

5. Apple will go down the tubes unless it can produce a
professional grade computer for $1.99!

Same old whiners and criers making the same lame predictions
that will turn out to be dead wrong as usual. This whole thread
is quite entertaining. There's always one missing feature that's a
deal-breaker, one price point that's being ignored, one market
segment that's being disrespected.

No wonder it's called the "Cult of the Mac."

[Ryusuke78]

Predictable...

...The responce from the public, that is.

No one is EVER happy. Apple macs a little announcement, everyone hypes it THEMSELVES, and then begin ******** when it doesn't live up to THEIR hype.

I didn't expect much from this little announcement, but I was curious. And now, I feel pleasantly satisfied with what was shown. People need to chill.

[Ryusuke78]

Seriously!

Now all it needs is woodgrain!! Then I can have it match the woodgrain on my Xbox360!

I'm actually kind of serious. I like the retro look the speakers have. I'd certainly run this thing with the speakers exposed if I do invest in it down the road.

[Ryusuke78]

woops

This was supposed to be a reply to:
"the hi-fi was the best announcement today"

[Mister Winky]

The real story is MARGIN

Dell's gross margin on consumer PCs was something like 4% last year -- their enterprise gear keeps them in the game. Apple prides itself on maintaining high margins on its products to please shareholders and support their relatively high R&D budget.

That is why Apple is selling $99 leather cases
That is why Apple must compete in the iPod boombox space
That is *one* of the reasons why Apple has grdually moved to PC standard components

Consider this: we purchased an iPod Mini for my sister in law this christmas, along with an armband, a case, an extra charger and a dock. The accessories cost about as much as the iPod, but I'm certain Apple made more money on the accessories and accessories don't require anywhere near as much tech support, so they're better for the bottom line.

Apple has probably realized that licensing the iPod logo to 3rd party accessory makers is not enough -- they have to compete in the same space to retain a high margin mix just like best Buy has to sell you cables and an extended warranty to go with that new LCD TV.

Expect more of the same.

Oh, and the Intel video is not unexpected -- Ever since the world discovered that Celerons and Pentiums did not make much of a performance difference for most users, Intel has completely refocused their chipsets and motherboard designs to force artificial differentiation between low end PCs and high end PCs. Expect the same to happen across the Apple line.

Mister Winky

[J.G.]

Misconceptions, not information

Why do people who don't know much about a topic insist on
commenting about it? Care to explain, Winky?

For the record, most peripherals and cases sold for the iPod are
sold by third-party manufacturers. All Apple gets is a licensing
fee.

Apple has decided to sell some products for the high-end
market, such as the leather iPod case and the iPod Hi-Fi. But,
most buyers will not choose items at those price points. The
licensing fees will remain the main return on peripherals.

Nor is it true that Apple's margins are exceptionally high. The
margins have been declining for years. The low-end iPods and
the Mac mini are the most recent low margin products. The
iTunes Music Store is virtually a loss leader to support selling the
iPod.

Big box stores collect the profit from usually unneeded extended
warranties, not the manufacturers, who aren't parties to the
contracts. How someone could 'miss' a basic understanding of
the situation is beyond me.

[open-mind]

Not that bad....

The HiFi could be nice if the sound is as good as Steve said. But
we'll have to wait for a review to be sure. Seems expensive, but
so are the products it competes with. If sucessful, maybe other
companies will make more iPod compatible stereo stuff.

The new Mini is sweet. Compared to the old Mini, you get two
more USB ports, Streaming FrontRow and remote, digital audio
in/out, gigabit ethernet, twice the RAM capacity, and a faster
processor. All that for just $100 more. Seems like a pretty
good deal. And now it's almost PERFECT for the typical home
audio/video system. I say "almost" because it's lacking DVR, but
my cable TV company includes a DVR with their service, so I'm
not sure that matters to most.

OK, the $99 leather case seems pretty bad, but other than that it
seems like people are complaining about nothing.

[Leelooo]

iPod Hi-Fi

Based on technical data it looks really quite promising! Based on
specs like very linear frequency range, very solid/ rigid box, digital
input and integrated digital amp I think they could be low end B&O.
Mac mini is still quite competitive product based on feauture list,
but not a media server. Leather case for iPod is really overpriced,
even if take in account Apple branded quality and finish.

[rleon]

It is a matter of choice

Apple new products are for peopple who want them or need them,
now it is up to you to take`em or keep shoping.
There are Fruit of loom shirts 3x $5 and there are also CK shirts for
much more money, can`t afford Calvin Klain? then go for fruit of
loom or what ever your salary can buy you. Can`t afford an apple
branded iPod case? Then I`ld ask You: Papper or Plastic?

[dalen7]

revolutionary product held back

First...I really enjoy apple products, this is constructive criticism.

About the move into the living room with the new apple
speakers/ipod set.

This is not revolutionary at all. <almost>
Its an idea that got stuck trying to be revolutionary.

1) An ipod sticking out of the speaker...what was the thinking
behind this?
On your site you have a nice picture of a living room with a
sweet black grill speaker...but there is a strange object
protuding from the top coming from nowhere. Takes away from
the nice living room feel.

1a) this is as awkward as the imac trying to look like a nice
monitor <the "oops wheres my computer"> yet has a mile of
space under the screen. <of which i heard many comments in
the apples stores on its release of "how odd" it looked. (sorry,
nice concept, but you can tell a computer is stuffed in there...the
previous imac was sweet. Like how the monitor swivled)

2) a remote control? Apple you must consider your users to have
excellent vision vision? I cant see that far!
Are we to memorize 1000 songs, etc so we can remote by
memory?

Or perhaps apple thinks we are to lazy once we are close enough
to actually see the screen to click the ipod instead of the remote.
Maybe its less cumbersome, but adds clutter.

SOLUTION:I see where you are going apple...take over the living
room with simplicity and style...first with the speaker, then the
t.v. <like the ipod: first music, then tv, next film>
1) the ipod <all of the models> are to be your remote.
People with ipods carry them anyway. Its plastered to their
bodies.
The shuffle as you click the play button, will detect the speaker
and sound will come out. HOw cool? No wires mom! <same with
the t.v. see below>
2) The ipods with video capability, can be the remote for the new
apple tv.
Sit your butt on the couch, grab your sleek, small, thin, ipod and
click a button...wow, it plays your movie on the T.V.
<Now one may argue that the tech is not there for this part
yet...but have you seen the stuff they have done with touch
screen??<they not being apple, who knows what you are doing>
they have it where you can resize photos with your fingers, Im
sure you have ran across the link in recent days <or are
experimenting yourself with this...this leads to other great
possibilities, but getting back on track?
PURPOSE:
Not to have odd objects popping up like a leech on your stero
speakers back, etc.
By the way can this even hook up to your mac? I would
potentially get one then. (if so its not clear)
Also, again, the ipod is your clikcing remote control device...just
needs to be implemented that way.
Best to all - thank you for your time
Gods Peace
dalen

[Leelooo]

there is digital or analog input

"Input port accepts analog 3.5 mm stereo minijack or S/PDIF
optical digital miniplug"

Rgds, Matt

http://www.apple.com/ipodhifi/specs.html

[lwvirden]

What would be the price of a mac media center today?

Let's say one wanted to go out today and buy the pieces from various vendors to confiure a nice media center that was mac mini based.

What would they have to buy, and what would the pricing be?

Assume that one would want to be able to display either regular or HDTV broadcasts, primarily from cable or satellite.

What hardware would one need, and what additional software would one probably want to get so that they had a really nice media center?

[SeizeCTRL]

hmmm

Does the mac mini even have a TV tuner / input? Perhaps you can do that via a USB device...