Jan 04
New prices and toys from Apple
2005 at 08.15 am posted by Veerle Pieters
If you’re in the market for one of those beautiful Apple Cinema Displays 2005 may be a great start because Apple just quietly dropped prices for those displays.
- 20” Cinema: 1029 Euro coming from 1499 Euro
- 23” Cinema: 1858,99 Euro coming from 2329 Euro
- 30” Cinema: 3089 Euro coming from 3839 Euro
In case you didn’t know the 20 and 23” are PC compatible. That wasn’t the only news today. Apple’s top server line now has a dual 2.3 Ghz G5 Xserve and Xsan, Apple’s SAN file system for Mac OS X is also shipping. The iMac has also got a nice price cut of minimum 100 Euro.
Other product price cuts below:
- PowerMac 1.8 Ghz: 1.439 Euro coming from 1.659 Euro
- PowerMac 2x 1.8 Ghz: 1.969 Euro coming from 2.199 Euro
- PowerMac 2x 2.0 Ghz: 2.459 Euro coming from 2.749 Euro
- PowerMac 2x 2.5 Ghz: 2.949 Euro coming from 3.299 Euro
- Powerbook 12" combo: 1.629 Euro coming from 1.779 Euro
- Powerbook 12" SuperDrive: 1.828 Euro coming from 2.019 Euro
- Powerbook 15" combo: 1.989 Euro coming from 2.139 Euro
- Powerbook 15" SuperDrive: 2.479 Euro coming from 2.729 Euro
- Powerbook 17": 2.779 Euro coming from 2.969 Euro
- iBook 12" combo: 999 Euro coming from 1.079 Euro
- iBook 14" combo: 1.299 Euro coming from 1.399 Euro
- iBook 14" SuperDrive: 1.499 Euro coming from 1.619 Euro
- eMac combo: 799 Euro coming from 850 Euro
- eMac SD: 999 Euro coming from 1.099 Euro
- Airport Express: 129 Euro coming from 149 Euro
- iSight: 149 Euro coming from 169 Euro
Everybody who got a delivery between the 14th of Dec '04 and the 3rd of Jan '05 of a product that received a price cut is entitled for a refund. For me this news makes it a safe bet that MacWorld will be consumer orientated. So think iPod, iPhone, iLive etc... Looking forward to next week ;-)
16served
1
I switched from a crummy 14 inch circa 1980s (seems like it anyways) PC monitor, to the iMac’s stunning 20”.
I hereby declare, I am going to be a monitor brat from now on…
*furiously starts saving pennies for the 30” Cinema*
I am in love with Apple’s monitors. If they were pies I would eat them with vanilla ice cream…mmm….so yummy!
2
I bought a 12” power book nearly a year a go. It’s a nice little thing, and I love to work with it. For school I have to work on a windows computer but it really sucks :-(
hopefully I’ll have enough money when school ends to through away my windows computer and to buy a new power mac…. then work would be more fun ..... it seems that apple also would help me to do that with decreasing their prices
I am looking forward to MacWorld and hope that nice new products will be presented there ;-)
3
Just out of curiosity, why do you spell out “euros” instead of using “€“?
4
Hi Jeff, just because it is a special character ... my page doesn’t validate unless I type & euro; (without the space after the &). I find it easier to type just Euro instead. I had to change your comment too btw because I get validating errors.
5
Hi Veerle,
My apologies contacting you here…(since I don’t have direct email address).
I believe you have purchased Xserve.
If it’s possible, could you share your experience(s) using it.
I have small ‘web design’ + ‘controlled, private hosting’ studio. I’ve been using Cobalt RaQ last four years.
Thankx in advance,
Arthur
6
Hi - I too would be interested in hearing about Veerle’s experience with xserve. as well as from any others here. Also I am shopping for a powerbook… big ? ... 12” or 15” ... Note it will not be my main computer. I have a desktop at home and also a big screen. (ps if it’s a used model what is the min. in mghz I should get) thanks to all and happy new year. Say hi to Vito…
7
hmm.. Maybe the right time to buy my first Mac.. Is there someone who owns a 20” iMac and can share some experience?
8
@Thomas: A friend of mine has an iMac 20” and the only thing he said was that the screen took some getting use to since it is rather large, but that is something that fades away quickly. He updated from a sun flower 15” model. The machine booted 10 times faster maybe partly because he added an extra 512MB. If you listen to music on the computer a lot you’ll need some extra speakers since the build in speakers are only fine for day to day use. For the rest it’s a wonderful and quiet machine.
9
@Arthur & Thomas: It is correct we have an Xserve, a single 2Ghz G5 model with 1.5GB ram and an optional PCI raid card. Our Xserve has 3 80GB disks set up as raid 5. Setting up this raid had to be done from the terminal but Apple has supplied an understandable manual for doing this. Most things can be set up through the graphical interface of Mac OS X Server.
It’s only when you need high end stuff that you’ll need to grasp terminal access. Ours is being used as file/print server and test platform for sites we work on. It’s a breeze to work with, quiet for 1U rack server and fast. Our previous server was a G4 466Mhz and the difference is stunning. Setting up MySQL, PHP websites etc is doable thanks to the graphical interface and supplied apps. We just use NaviCat for managing MySQL instead of doing by terminal. For the rest it is a reliable machine for day to day use. Even when we’re working with large Photoshop files the machine only uses 15 percent of its resources, so plenty of room left to grow.
When you’re stuck you can always rely on the AppleCare Premium Service and Support. It is fast and accurate. Even the online forums at the Apple site can be a great assistance.
@Thomas: If you want a PowerBook and it’s only being used to carry around and as second machine then I would opt for the 12” since is so small that you hardly even notice that you have it with you. Our programmer has one and he loves it. But if you’re planning on working on it like in graphical apps then you’re better off with a 15” or 17” model. I have a 17” model and the screen estate is a real bonus. Still the machine is light enough to carry around.
10
Thanks for your advice Geert and Veerle!
@Geert: I can imagine about getting used to the big screen. I will have to learn to not maximize windows :-)
I plan to buy 1G RAM. Guess that should do. concerning the speakers, this will be a dillema. Good sound or desk clutter…
@Veerle: No, it is not going to be a PowerBook. I have a Dell Latidaude at work and want a desktop (iMac) at home. But i agree that the 12” is the most posh.
Can you upgrade an iMac with bluetooth and WiFi or do you have to decide when you buy it?
Then there is still one doubt…
iMac 20” = 2.138 Eur
PowerMac + 20” Cinema = 2.788 Eur
The display of the iMac can not be re-used once the rest of the harware is outdated. You will have to trow it away with the rest. So if i spend 500 extra I have a cinema display that will last for the next ten years. But I will have a bulky PC (Sorry, I mean Mac).
Again, life is difficult on me.
11
I didn’t know about the refund page, that will come in very handy. By the way the link should be http://registration.euro.apple.com/store/pricech/ not http://registration.euro.apple.com/store/pricech/index1.html I get a 404 from the second link.
It should also be noted that the main reason for these price cuts (excluding the cinema displays) is because of the strength of the euro compared to the dollar. You’ll notice that the US store did not incorporate the Price cuts that people in the euro zone received.
12
@bittered: Apple must have changed the url then because I’ve double checked when posting this article yesterday. Thanks for informing me and it’s now pointing to the correct url.
@Thomas: I think Bluetooth has to be decided when buying but WiFi can be done afterwards. The cheapest PowerMac G5 is essentially the same machine as the iMac but you have the upgradeability instead.
13
Ohfergoodnesssakes, now I want a cinema display even more than before :(
14
Veerle, thanks for the refund link! I was just moping about the 1499 Euro I’d spent in mid-December. I *just* made the refund date by a day so! Nice new year surprise. :-)
15
I’m stopping by to say hi since it’s de-lurker day… so hi and Happy New Year! :) That cherry is really cute by the way.
16
I have to admire the marketing strategies from Apple. They certainly are good at psychological pricing techniques.
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