New iMacs--More Afterthought On The Low End PowerMac G4

The new iMacs announced at Tuesday's Special Media Event, as we mentioned September 15th, represent a fabulous market-driven evolution rather than a real revolution just as I forecast on September 8th. While the new iMacs fall short in just one area, the viewable size of the screen remains at 13.8", they surpass my expectations in so many other ways. I forecast FireWire and Desktop Video for the real revolutionary iMac yet to come and there is no one happier than I that I was wrong about that. Readers who wrote that FireWire was a sure thing on the next iMac because Apple needed to push that technology like USB were absolutely right but not for exactly the complete reason-- home Desktop Video will be BIG. I guess my analysis was too pragmatic and lacking the bold vision that we have come to know from Apple's iCEO. I also wrote about the possibility of low and high end iMacs on September 10th and drew a lot of reader challenges. While this move, like FireWire, was earlier than I expected, it is not without the possible ramifications for the PowerMac quadrant that I surfaced, the point of today's editorial note.

Will the sub-$2,000 PowerMac survive beyond the retirement of Yikes, the PowerMac G4/400 constructed from the G3's Yosemite motherboard? Possibly not. Why? Well, take a look at the PowerBook quadrant. The low end PowerBook pro is gone, leaving the $2,500 and $3,500 models. The iBook now fills that spot. There are $2,500 and $3,500 PowerMac pro models and the sub-$2,000 model is scheduled for extinction in the not-too-distant future. Will the iMac fill that slot? The low end iMac can't but what about the high end iMac? My guess is that it is a good business decision for Apple to drop the sub-$2,000 PowerMac. It's only a guess because I don't have the financial data to back me up but it seems reasonable that a further enhanced $1,500 iMac and a $2,500 PowerMac combination without the $1,600 PowerMac could bring Apple a lot more revenue in the long run. Is this where Apple is headed? Your opinions are encouraged here.