The Next iMac, Update or C2 /"Kihei"? What's In It?

After being so sure about an Apple-branded PDA (personal data assistant) being announced at Macworld Expo '99 NYC and being so wrong, I probably should give up prognostication. In hindsight, such an announcement would have usurped some limelight from the center-stage iBook. The "other hardware to be announced" that influenced my forecast turned out to be the much more appropriate AirPort, a device that enhanced the iBook announcement. Actually, I think I just missed the timing/venue and we will still see an Apple-branded PDA sometime in the reasonably near future.

With regard to iMac, I think the next version of the apparently still successfully selling iMac 333 will receive only essential market-enhancing upgrades, i.e. if the iMac really is still selling very well. After all, the "iMac To Go" (iBook) is still a couple weeks away from hitting the streets. Well, what sort of market-enhancing features could the iMac use? iMac 333 still has the simplicity edge in hardware and software. Certainly, a fair sales presentation to "The Rest Of Us" type folks would still favor the iMac 333. However, the low end Wintel competition now has an apparent-to-consumer faster 466 MHz CPU, an apparent faster CD ROM drive, better video options and larger hard drive and some have a 17" (15+" viewable) monitor.

iMac could use a "4" in the third CPU speed figure and the cool IBM 400 MHz G3 seems reasonable to expect given that they are used in the PowerBook and that the Power Mac Pro has moved on to the G4. It could easily get a faster CD ROM, maybe a 42x or 52x multibeam Kenwood as they are getting pretty cheap. A DVD-ROM would be a real coup but with the low end of the new G4 sporting only a CD-ROM and the price being still a bit high, DVD is likely still another revision away. Better video graphics is also possible. With Apple exclusively using the OEM ATi Rage 128, which does a fine job on most of today's games even if not quite up to 3dfx Voodoo quality, the cost should be low enough. A larger hard drive is really not necessary for entry-level consumer use but we're talking the marketplace here and Apple could take this issue away at very little cost. What about AirPort? Will the port compartment plate of Rev.A and Rev.B come back again for an optional AirPort card? I would certainly hope so. I'm leaving out FireWire as I don't see a ready widespread entry-level consumer use just yet.

The biggest iMac rap is the 15" (only 13.8" viewable but gorgeous) iMac monitor with 17" monitors becoming so common. Fitting a 17" CRT in the iMac without a major redesign is improbable and it would add a lot to the iMac's weight. True, with the iBook coming out the iMac's portability is less of an issue but it's all-in-one, easily-out-of-the-box feature is a critical one to retain. Any 17" CRT that I am aware of would cripple this essential iMac feature. Maybe it would be best to use a 15" CRT that can squeeze 14+" of viewable size, instead of a mere 13.8", without losing any quality. These are all reasonable candidates but using all would probably prevent Apple from staying at $1199. Apple could just include the necessary but virtually no-cost features like CPU speed and hard drive size and drop the price. However, iMac sales have been surprisingly insensitive to its price so dropping it further seems unlikely. Perhaps a significant feature leap from among better graphics, CD and monitor at the current price or $1299 with an optional AirPort card will happen. Only Steve knows for sure but the iMac should be up next...and I'm not predicting when, okay?