Apple readying next iMAC. CUBE can't you get these guys to use that
secret slot yet? Or maybe get the drive big enough for one of those DVx chips!
Apple Plans iMac Price Cut,
High-End Model
(11/27/98, 1:29 p.m. ET)
By Paula Rooney, Computer Retail Week
Under increasing pressure from the sub-$1,000 PC
market, Apple Computer in February will drop the
price of its flagship iMac system to $999, several
sources said this Friday.
The iMac currently sells for $1,299.
In the same time frame, Apple plans to introduce a
second, higher-end iMac model for $1,299. The new
system will use the same form factor as the original
iMac, but it will feature more hard-disk space and a
faster processor, the sources said. The existing iMac
offers a 233-MHz processor and 4 gigabytes of disk
space.
"The higher-end machine will have the same look [as
the current iMac], but it will have a larger hard drive
and more processing power," said one source familiar
with the company's plans.
Apple also plans to expand its retail distribution, adding
a third national chain to its list of reseller partners to
help it penetrate the consumer market, sources said.
CompUSA and Best Buy are the only national retailers
currently authorized to sell iMac systems. Sears
Roebuck is a serious potential candidate for the No. 3
spot, sources said.
Several regional Macintosh retailers and value-added
resellers are also authorized to sell the translucent green
machine in the United States. Although Sears and other
mainstream national retailers are being considered as
future partners, Apple reportedly has no intention to
seek broad retail distribution of the iMac.
"They still want to have a very limited line-up," one
source said.
Retailers said the planned cut doesn't surprise them
because Apple historically drops prices in the first
quarter. With PC prices running as low as $499, and
the new breed of the iMac being readied, "it's
inevitable," one regional retailer said.
Another regional retailer said the iMac continues to sell
extremely well, but the price cut will add more foot
traffic in stores. "The under-$1,000 price point would
be very attractive to our customers," said Jeff Walker,
executive vice president of ComputerWare, an Apple
retailer based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
"No one's complaining about price. Most customers
come in and have budgeted [for the iMac]. But if Apple
came out with something under [the current price point],
it would attract even more customers."
Walker said he expects record-setting unit sales for the
iMac during the 1998 holiday season.
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