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Initial iMac Availability To Be Limited, Sources Say

Apple Expo - Initial iMac Availability To Be Limited, Sources Say

by , 6:15 AM EDT, August 31st, 2004

PARIS, FRANCE - Apple dealers are being told that flat-panel iMac G5s will be in very limited supply until late-November, early-December. Apple introduced the new iMac today to cheering crowds during the Apple Expo keynote in Paris, France.

Independent dealers say that the flow of new iMacs will be a "trickle" when they initially become available in mid-September. TMO was also told that the 17" model will be most readily available unit in the beginning, and that 20" models will be virtually non-existent when the iMac G5 first ships in mid-September.

Supply constraints should ease across the product line in late-November or early-December.

Dealers were not given specific reason for supply constraints, but were told that Apple will be shipping the new iMacs one at a time from manufacturing facilities in Asia. Apple has similarly turned to air-freight shipping to meet initial demand with other product rollouts in the past.

You can find the iMac G5 product line at the Apple Store. You can find additional details on the iMac at Apple's iMac Web site.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:kenaustus Posts: 602 Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Subject: Ordered!

20" with a 3-4 week ship time.

Eat your heart out RC.

Close Name:AFCdtLoeb Posts: 2533 Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Subject:

Mid-November? That's a disgrace. Apple can't hope to keep a happy user base on the vapors and waiting lists its been providing. Then again, its worked for Ferrari, so I don't see why not.

Close Name:Bookman Posts: 543 Joined: 22 Apr 2002
Subject: 5200

Tell me, what is a 3d graphics card good for other than gaming? If nothing else, why not put in a good one when it is NOT upgradable. Just wondering....

Close Name:slinky259 Posts: 91 Joined: 24 Jun 2004
Subject:

eh who knows. i would have liked a better card too. not that i'm going to buy one anyways. my ibook is plenty awesome.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: What the heck does this have to do with Ferrari?

Apple has nothing to sell and their revenues will reflect this. They are between the proverbial rock and a hard place. By the time there are significant shipments of the new iMac it will be almost six months old and ready for a new update cycle (which, of course, will not happen, putting things farther behind).

Close Name:kenaustus Posts: 602 Joined: 27 Jun 2003
Subject: Ship time might not be tht bad

I think the long ship times are based on expectations for very high order levels - just like the iPod. I ordered this morning at 6:30 and have a 3-4 week estimated delivery - which Apple might beat.

The key is IF you are going to get one you have to order very fast today as first orders get first shipments. Wait until 3 months of production are sold and you're going to have to wait.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: availability problems

Quote
kenaustus wrote:
I think the long ship times are based on expectations for very high order levels - just like the iPod. I ordered this morning at 6:30 and have a 3-4 week estimated delivery - which Apple might beat.

The key is IF you are going to get one you have to order very fast today as first orders get first shipments. Wait until 3 months of production are sold and you're going to have to wait.


what's sad about this, is i ordered my dual 2.5 june 9th (the day it came out) and it didn't ship until august 22nd.

so in other words, even if you ordered it this morning, you can still probably expect 2 months of waiting *sigh*

Close Name:AFCdtLoeb Posts: 2533 Joined: 20 Jul 2004
Subject:

What does this have to do with Ferrari? Everything. Ferrari's wait lists are routinely up to two years. And noone's abandoning their product!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: How is it like a Ferrari?

Buying an iMac is like a Ferrari,

you'll be waiting so long, you be damn sorry,

Ya order a brand new iMac G5,

When you get it you may not be alive

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Ferraris

You won't be alive long WHEN you get one of these so delaying delivery could be said to be a human kindness perhaps.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Just Once!

It would be really nice if Apple had ample supply of a newly announced product.

View Name:RealityCheck -   Troll Posts: 392 Joined: 06 May 2004
Subject: kenaustus - Please Update In 4 Weeks
Close Name:Guest
Subject: Umm...Ferrari

purposefully limits their annual production to about 4000 cars per year to ensure exclusivity.

Apple is not in the same situation.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: well

just because you placed an order and received a ship date of 3-4 weeks means absolutely nothing

apple can delay your shipment for as long as need be

i ordered a 20" imac last october and it had a ship date of 3-4 weeks, didn't get until january

Close Name:Guest
Subject: plays UT2004 very nicely...

I have the same graphics card the new iMac has, only in a dual 1.8GHz PowerMac, and it plays Unreal Tournament 2004 *quite* nicely, even at high resolutions with all the goodies turned up.

What good is a 3D card for *except* gaming? Well, *everything* in a system that uses it, like OS X does! Your GPU is doing all the work for all of your on-screen windows! It's also great for any 3D maps or other science or design-related OpenGL some program you're using might throw your way. Want a 3D, rotating map? You want a good GPU. And this is one. Not cutting-edge, but hey, it's a consumer machine, and this graphics card is *plenty* powerful.

So I don't want to hear any griping about the GPU. It's just fine. If you want a pro machine with upgradable GPU options, buy a PowerMac. They're really nice

Close Name:KitsuneStudios Posts: 2490 Joined: 25 Oct 2001
Subject: Video Card

Games are probably enough reason for the home user with a wide variety of interests.

However, Apple is increasingly offloading 2d graphics and video to the graphics card. This started with Quartz extreme, and is being stepped up significantly with Motion, and 10.4's introduction of CoreVideo and CoreImage, both of which use the GPU on the video card to accelerate graphics, and allow real-time video and graphic effects. The Demo Apple showed at WWDC was producing high-quality photoshop filter effects in real time without destroying the original image data, by using the Graphics card.

Of course, that's future tech until Tiger ships, so I have no idea just how hard programs using those features will tax the graphics card in the new iMac G5.

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Alas...

This is why APPLE will always be stuck at the <5% marketshare-rolling products out like Perrier or Ferraris -which is why you can go to you average college and find few or no Macs, and nearly none in the business world.
I dont like being so exclusive that I cant find few or no people who know about these lovely computers.
It is likely Gates who is saying "Nice, Steve, but eat YOUR heart out!"

Apple used to have a 20% Marketshare, and even if Steve professes he is content-you KNOW he wants to be bigger....not likely with this 'snob appeal' nonsense.

Close Name:Guest
Subject:

Its shipping now.

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