Rounding Up Mainstream Reaction To New PowerMacs, Displays

by , 8:00 AM EST, January 29th, 2003

Apple's new PowerMac and flat panel announcements from yesterday have garnered a lot of mainstream attention. We have waded through the HTML to offer a roundup of the kind of mainstream reaction Apple has so far gotten. With MHz speeds still lagging far behind Intel's line of processors, one might have expected a negative spin on things, but we have largely found that Apple is getting a somewhat positive reaction from the press, and quoted analysts.

BusinessWeek offered the most comprehensive look at the new announcements, including commentary on Apple's overall business outlook. Swinging from a positive reaction towards new PowerMacs and new displays, to negative comments concerning Apple's market share, the magazine included these comments from Roger Kay of IDC, an analyst we have often suggested doesn't truly understand Apple or the Mac market:

IDC analyst Roger Kay said the performance gains on the new systems and related price cuts are important moves for Apple, particularly as technology spending continues at lower-than-expected levels. "The new (Power Mac line) is well configured and aggressively priced," he said. But "the real draw is the display. The 20-inch Cinema Display is big enough to see a full-page spread at 100 percent, the benchmark for professional layout artists."

Read the full article for comments that are somewhat more negative from Roger Kay, and a fairly balanced look at Apple's product line. ZDNet's Joe Wilcox also used comments from Roger Kay to offer a somewhat mixed review (good and bad together) of Apple's new products:

It's uncertain how much share gain Apple might get from the new Power Macs. But Kay believes Apple is on the right track, as the company adds new enticing technologies to the Power Mac line. Like new PowerBook portables launched earlier this month, the new Power Macs support Bluetooth, 802.11g wireless networking and second-generation FireWire. The new wireless ratchets speed up to 54 megabits per second (mbps)--fast enough to transfer video over the air--from 802.11b's 11 mbps. The new FireWire doubles throughput to 800 mbps from 400 mbps.

ComputerWorld's coverage stuck to the facts, though with a vaguely negative twist. Similarly, TechWeb offered a very succinct article that began with:

Trying to keep up with the multi-processor Joneses, Apple on Tuesday debuted a new line of Power Mac G4 computers, two of which come with dual processors.

Heading to the other side of the globe, thereabouts, we find this, from itNews.com of Australia:

Giving a much-needed jolt to its professional-level offerings, Apple on Tuesday added a 1.42GHz dual-processor Power Mac G4 to an upgraded desktop lineup and trimmed prices on its flat-panel display family, which now includes a 20-inch model.

[...]

The new Power Mac and LCD flat panel answer solution providers' and customers' calls for new pro-level products, a segment where Apple's sales have sagged. For its fiscal 2003 first quarter ended Dec. 28, 2002, Apple reported that its Power Mac G4 desktop unit sales fell 34 percent year over year. For full-year 2002, Power Mac unit sales sank 18 percent, according to the company.

The article takes the stance that Apple's new products successfully provide new features being asked for by customers.

In another piece that largely recapped Apple's press release, Michael Singer of SiliconValley.Internet.com writes:

Hoping to reduce some of its older inventory, Apple Computer Tuesday increased the speed and dropped the price on some of its Power Mac computers and flat panel displays.

We aren't sure how lowering the price on new models helps reduce "older inventory," but there you have it. Mr. Singer also wrote:

As expected, the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker began shipping the towers with the option to buy single 1 GHz, dual 1.25 GHz or dual 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 processors with prices hovering between $1,499 and $2,699.

Again, we aren't sure who was "expecting" this update, at these configurations, at these prices, but it likely looked good to an editor somewhere.

Also hailing from the "curious and strange" department, we noticed this line in a piece published by GlobeNews:

The Cinema Display connects to Apple's digital graphics interface, which is standard on the Power Mac G4.

What's that? We don't know either.

We will close on a higher note, with an article from CBS MarketWatch. That piece begins with flair:

Apple Computer on Tuesday showed it was gearing up for another round of battle in the personal computer sector by unveiling lower prices on its line of Power Mac computers, as well as several of its flat-screen displays.

These articles just about cover full range of reaction from the mainstream, with most of the articles we found actually taking a favorable, or mostly favorable, look at Apple's new towers.

The Mac Observer Spin:

We didn't find any specific references to how far back the G4 lags behind Intel's line in terms of "speed" (MHz), and that is frankly unusual. MHz is usually a hot-button topic that's easy for journalists to grab a hold of, and with the new release from Apple not even taking the PowerMac line back to one-half of the fastest P4, we are surprised at that. Maybe everyone in the mainstream was caught on a good day, but it is much more likely that the significant price cuts from Apple are what made the difference.

Overall, we deem Apple's new PowerMac models and displays to be a success among the press, and so far among users, too.