Analysts don’t always know what they are talking about, but the rumors last week that Apple will launch a portable based on an Intel chip got me thinking that it may be Apple’s consumer laptop — the iBook. After all Apple needs to start weaning itself off of the G4 chips and what better product group than the consumer/educational demographic. Maybe the eMac will also get an Intel chip as well boosting the company’s market share in the education sector greatly. Imagine Apple updating three key hardware platforms to Intel all at once… what a tour de force!
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Analysts don’t always know what they are talking about, but the rumors last week that Apple will launch a portable based on an Intel chip got me thinking that it may be Apple’s consumer laptop — the iBook. After all Apple needs to start weaning itself off of the G4 chips and what better product group than the consumer/educational demographic. Maybe the eMac will also get an Intel chip as well boosting the company’s market share in the education sector greatly. Imagine Apple updating three key hardware platforms to Intel all at once… what a tour de force!
After all the Mac mini, iBook and eMac are not exactly at opposite extremes of the product line. The Mac mini is for switchers and consumers, and portables are the hottest selling item almost outpacing desktops. It makes sense to debut the Intel chip in the consumer line first. You please the typical consumer, the student and educational professionals, and keep in stride with market trends of the ever popular laptop buying frenzy.
But what about the venerable PowerBook? It would be great to see Apple retire the G4 chip from the entire lineup but one has to recognize that their pro applications aren’t ready for Intel yet. So really, Apple can ease off and not pressure itself to jump through hoops for all of us just yet, and commit itself to quality, doing it right on the consumer machines and perfecting it more for the pro machines.
So the way I see it, Apple will have at least a duo if not a trio of debuts at MWSF-06. Debuting the mini, iBook and eMac would be a great trio, after all the buying season for education is in the spring which is right around the corner from MWSF and having the low-cost Intel-based Mac mini on tap through the year for all consumers makes sense.
Either case, I feel Apple will deliver a one-two punch product lineup in January!
(Contributed by Brian Banks)
One reply on “Macworld Expo Preview: Intel Mac minis and iBooks”
Um, the eMac’s been discontinued.