Reader, Timm Hackett writes:
Have you heard any reason why the iMac DV+ is “temporarily unavailable” on the Apple Store site?
Conspiracy theorists unite! It’s no secret that Apple has been working to clear current iMac inventories with rebates and special offers for the past few weeks in anticipation of a new iMac revision with some success (like above). It’s also not a secret that Apple really wants to start adding more CD-RW and CD-RW/DVD combo drives to its lineup to strengthen its iTunes multimedia powerhouse position and sell more of those iMacs. Is this a sign of impending fruit-flavored goodness? The better question would be when and what.
As for the when, the next big Mac event is in three weeks at Macworld Expo Tokyo in… Tokyo. After that, neither the Game Developer’s Conference or NAB sound like adequate venues and both are kind of late (March 20th and April 21st, respectively). The air is good right now for a new speed bump. Money is on Tokyo.
The what part is also pretty interesting. AppleInsider reported a while back (“Apple to Offer G4 iMacs“) that they expect the low-end to stick with the G3 processor and standard CD drive while the middle and high-end configurations move up to G4 processors (CD-RW and CD-RW/DVD combo drives, respectively). The low-end will probably be a 400-450MHz G3 while the middle and high-end configurations can be anyone’s guess. Apple has to ship these machines with enough megahertz to catch the eye of Joe Public while not threatening its other product lines. This should be interesting how it plays out.
These machines will likely be marketed as more than a speed bump but a multimedia feast for the eyes and ears (it’s midnight so shoot me). So we’re likely to see a new designation other than the current “DV” designation (DV/MP3?). And new colors: Lavender? Turqoise? Apple has pretty much used most of the popular primary colors, including white for Snow, so who knows? Graphite will still probably be used for the high-end configuration though. Stay tuned as it develops.
Post your guess for new iMac colors at the reader feedback link below.
-drwill, who would rather see flavors such as “flannel”
