Apple Raising Prices of New IMacs
washingtonpost.com
By Mike Musgrove
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 22, 2002; Page E01
"I've got some good news and some bad news on the iMac," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs told attendees at the Macworld trade show in Tokyo Thursday.
Jobs said Apple Computer Inc. has sold 125,000 new iMacs since its January launch but has had trouble filling orders for the computer, which has drawn attention for its flat-panel screen and half-spherical base. In addition, higher component costs have forced Apple to hike the price of all three models by $100.
They now sell for $1,399, $1,599 and $1,899, though several online computer sellers were still offering iMacs for the old prices yesterday. Apple said it would honor the original prices on existing orders.
Greg Joswiak, senior director of hardware marketing at Apple, said the price increase was necessary because memory chips have tripled in price and flat-panel display screens have increased 25 percent since the iMac's debut.
Stephen Baker, director of research at NPDTechworld, said both components' costs have been on the rise since November.
"One of the things Apple has done in the past few years is to rejigger their supply chain to become more Dell-like," said Baker, referring to Dell Computer Corp.'s habit of minimizing its inventory. "When you do that, you are very subject to the whims of the component business." |
