September 1st, 1999

[12:25 PM]
G4 Availability Promoted As "Immediate," Apple Store Says 30 Days
[Editor's Note: We have posted a follow-up story about changes in this situation.]

Yesterday's keynote speech from Steve Jobs at the Seybold conference cited immediate availability for the 400 MHz G4. This was reiterated in Apple's press release covering the G4:

The Power Mac G4 400MHz, priced at US $1,599, is available now on The Apple Store™ (www.apple.com) and through Apple Authorized Resellers.

Calls to local dealers have not found any G4s available any time soon, and visits to the Apple Store find a "30 Day" availability. This is a far cry from "available now."

As of this writing, Apple had not returned our messages.

The Mac Observer Spin: We are emphasizing this because we took what was said at face value and praised Apple for making the G4s available immediately. It is not reasonable for Apple to say that the product is available now when it is not, plain and simple.

A hopeful scenario is that Apple actually just sold out of all the available inventory in the first day. This would make this another situation entirely! If this is the case, it bodes well for Apple's bottom line and the future of the G4. Editorially speaking, we are very much hoping this is the case. Any Observers who have ordered G4s and been given a delivery time earlier than 30 days are asked to tell us about it.

Apple