MacUser UK: No LCD iMacs, Faster CRT iMacs (With Rebates) At MWNY

by , 4:00 PM EDT, July 13th, 2001

MacUser UK has reported that Apple will not be releasing a flat panel iMac for MACWORLD New York, and will instead speed bump the current design and introduce new colors. MacMinute broke this story, with fewer details, on Tuesday. MacUser UK is also reporting that Apple will be offering rebates on the new iMacs to stir demand. From the MacUser UK story:

Sources confirmed new iMacs announced next week will remain in their current form factor, and there will be three new models, with G3 processors in the range of 650-750MHz. Two of the configurations will be available immediately. Two new colours will also be announced, replacing the Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power designs announced earlier this year. It is also expected iMacs will now come standard with 128MB of memory to accommodate the minimum requirements for OS X, which is now shipping on all Mac models.

The mail-in rebates - which will be available for all Mac models and not just iMacs - will range from $50 to $80 on inkjet printers – theoretically making some models free – to a $100 rebate on digital still and video cameras, PDAs and MP3 players. They will be announced on Wednesday, and will last until 14 October. It is not yet known if or when the rebates will be made available in the UK and Europe.

There are more details on the nature of the rebates in the full MacUser UK story.

The Mac Observer Spin:

The Mac Observer has reason to believe that this report is legit, though we hope that we are wrong. Assuming the report is accurate, let's examine it. For one thing, Apple has to at least speed bump the current line, and we see boosting the iMacs to 750 MHz as a good thing. In addition, it's very good to see that Apple is aware that there is a perception problem with the current enclosure being a tad old, and that the company is prepared to offer incentives to get consumers interested. The rebates described in the MacUser UK story should go a long way towards doing just that.

Since we perpetually see the glass as half-full, here's to seeing the G4 break the GHz barrier! :-) On that note, 750 MHz iMacs give us some hope to seeing a good bump in the G4 line.

MacUser UK Report