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And even odder may be that the pricing for both sets of computers is the same.
During his
Yet, the
Apple could not immediately respond to questions about why it's continuing to sell computers that are now obsolete for the same price as their replacements.
According to one Jupiter Research analyst, Michael Gartenberg, there could be some continued demand for the older desktop machines from people who already have a large supply of older applications and aren't looking to upgrade immediately.
But Jobs said Apple's new Rosetta software will allow anyone running one of the new Intel-based machines to use their pre-existing applications. And Gartenberg added that the continued availability of both machines was more likely a tip of the hat to clearing off warehouse shelves.
"There is inventory, and when you have inventory, you sell it," Gartenberg said.
Meanwhile, Apple's new laptops, the so-called MacBook Pros, will also be priced in the same range as the old PowerBooks, even though Jobs said the new laptops will be as much as five times as fast.
The 15-inch PowerBook G4 with a 1.67GHz PowerPC processor currently goes for $1,999, while the new 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 1.67GHz Intel dual-core processor will sell for the same price. A souped-up 1.83GHz MacBook Pro will run at $2,499, the same price as the current PowerBook G4 17-inch machine with a 1.67GHz processor.
However, the new MacBook Pros, which Apple began taking orders for Tuesday, will not be available until next month, Jobs said.
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won't run hence it does make sense for Apple to sell both
processor lines for a while.
For example apps that make exclusive use of Altivec aren't
supported by Rosetta.
stage today. Not blazing fast but usable. It seemed very sufficient
for most home use, though maybe not heavy studio use. If the apps
didn't work at all that would be one thing, but marginally slower for
the time being (until the app updates) is no reason to by a slower
over all machine when macs tend to be about a three - five year
investment. Especially when most apps will be updated by next
year.
for what is essentially an obsolete architecture.
is it because there is something we don't know about the new intel chips that don't work as gracefully as the time-tested powerpc G4-5s?
call me a critic, but my gut tells me that the new machines won't match the simplicity of the old. only time will tell.
more software, including "Classic" software.
So it's a tradeoff during this transition. Buy what you need.
BTW ... love your music.
See, you didn't have to call Apple for that "hot news," you could have just asked me.
X. Kids games & educational software comes to mind. Also some
companies still run Classic for apps they haven't upgraded. In many
cases, they are still "good enough". I have consulted to several such
companies. Call them backwards, but it works for them.
programming, eg., Aldus's PageMaker and SuperPaint. Adobe
bought them from Aldus and then basically hosed them up with
'improvements', eg., the CS series. Maybe that's business, but it
also one of the reasons I don't buy or use Adobe products.
New users will come to the Mac scene without the burden of legacy applications and legacy expectations of the new hardware platform.
Mac and Intel will be nothing but good news for everyone in 12 months. Expect universal binaries for many years to come, as well as improvements to Rosetta||PM
2) i-games idea downloadable games for your game consoles way lower ditribution costs and packaging. It is a no brainer Put BOB(likes to be called Robert(big-ego)) kondrk on it!
no cheap screw solutions, no do it yourself kit bashing options
for the basement nerd, just quality products for quality
appreciating people.
The Intel powered Mac has yet to demonstrate the ability to run
the Windows OS or Windows programs - tho I expect to see that
very soon. But the general business manager mentality will not
expand to consider anything but the cheapest solution to his
computer needs - nor should he. IF cheap-screw gets the job
done, it's good enough. Dell, Compaq, Gateway and others have
known that for twenty years. Cool looking does not improve
office costs.
Routine games are available for all computer platforms. If a
gamer needs some cranked up computer to play his particular
focus of interest, go diddle a PC.The Mac user world isn't
interested and doesn't care = or if there are some who do, they
already have a diddled PC, or a game console.
Actually, where ever a PC is supposedly better than a Mac, a
cheap PC is readily available. No sense messing up the Mac
design to meet PC requirements.
By the way, there is Virtual PC on the Mac, but no Virtual Mac on
the PC (except perhaps for Pear's abortive attempt). There is a
reason for that.........
premium for the new Intel based iMacs over the price of the
equivalent iMac G5. This is despite Steve Jobs saying they are the
same price and the US website indeed charging the same for both.
This is on top of the fact that UK (and European) customers already
get charged more than the equivalent US Dollar cost.
:-(
wink*
Routing the shipping of their systems to different countries
costs more for a California, US based company than to ship
within the US. That is why you pay a little more than the
equivalent US Dollar cost.
As for why the Intel iMacs cost a little more, well, I'm sure there
was already an existing stock of G5 iMacs within UK borders.
This is the extra cost of getting this new computer to you
quickly.
-CN
The iMac and MacBook are designed in Cupertino, Calif. and manufactured in PRC (China). The pricing reflects the economics of that market, which is what people are prepared to pay.
- Hardware / Software
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by bigberetta
January 13, 2006 6:01 PM PST
- It doesn't really matter what the hardware is if Apple is
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Reply to this comment
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See all 28 Comments >>controlling it. The 2 things that have always made Mac better is
the OS and the Hardware being controlled by Apple. Apple had
older versions of the OS running on Wintel machines a long time
ago. They just knew that MacOS would be like windows if you
allow for the kit-bashing. Apple always knew that their OS
would run on their machines because they controlled the
hardware. I liked the PowerPC. I have always been cautious of
Intel. However if Apple likes it and controls it, hopefully it will
be good. One advantage is if someone absolutely needs to run
windows, they probably will be able to have a Mac and run
windows at full speed too.