Apple to drop sub-$500 Mac bomb at Expo

[Spartan_X]

December 28, 2004 - With iPod-savvy Windows users clearly in its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-based iMac without a display at Macworld Expo on January 11 that will retail for $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret.

The new Mac, code-named Q88, will be part of the iMac family and is expected to sport a PowerPC G4 processor at a speed around 1.25GHz. The new Mac is said to be incredibly small and will be housed in a flat enclosure with a height similar to the 1.73 inches of Apple's Xserve. Its size benefits will include the ability to stand the Mac on its side or put it below a display or monitor.

Along with lowering costs by forgoing a display (Apple's entry-level eMac sells for $799 with a built-in 17-inch CRT display), the so-called "headless" iMac will allow Apple's target audience -- Windows users looking for a cheap, second PC -- to keep their current peripherals or decide on their own what to pair with the system, be it a high-priced LCD display or an inexpensive display. Sources expect the device to feature both DVI and VGA connectivity, although whether this will be provided through dual ports or through a single DVI port with a VGA adapter remains to be seen.

The new Mac is expected to have a Combo drive only, but will possibly have an upgrade path to a SuperDrive at a higher price. It is unclear how big the hard drive capacity will be, although sources indicate it will be between 40GB and 80GB.

Other expected features of the iMac include:

256MB of RAM

USB 2.0

FireWire 400

10/100 BASE-T Ethernet

56K V.92 modem

AirPort Extreme support

Continue at source: http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0412expo2.html

:woot:

[BajiRav]

I am a recent "switcher" from my dell laptop to iBook G4 (in addition to a XP desktop) and until Apple does some serious improvements on OS X UI, they will probably have to do with such gimmicks.

[trashpickinman]

I think i just found a reason to save my Christmas money, that and a little more from my paychecks. I might be a switcher here soon. :)

[NeoXY]

Posted already....

[exc]

When/If these hit australia it will definatly be on my to get list. Finally had a go of OSX last week and loved it!

[giga Veteran]

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=263706&st=0

[tariq]

this thread makes three! :)

[Chad]

already posted in BPN

closed