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Apple introduces 20-inch LCD iMac

updated 09:50 am EST, Tue November 18, 2003

20\" iMac launched

Apple today new 20-inch iMac, which it says is "the largest flat-panel display ever offered in an all-in-one desktop." The new 20-inch iMac offers twice as much screen area as the 15-inch display model, enabling users to view more than two full pages side-by-side and includes Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. The widescreen display offers a resolution of up to 1680x1050. The 20-inch iMac is $2,200 and features a 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256MB of 333MHz DDR SDRAM, 4x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW), NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics processor with 64MB video memory, two FireWire 400 and three USB 2.0 ports, internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth, an 80GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive running at 7200rpm, and Apple Pro speakers.

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11/18, 09:59am | report spam | close Reply |
hmmm...

so it seems the rumors are true...

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11/18, 10:12am | report spam | close Reply |
Blows!

When is Apple realize these iMacs are so last year! Wake up Apple! No one wants your iMacs. We want headless iMacs! For $400. And stop scrimping on the accessories!

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11/18, 10:18am | report spam | close Reply |
no one wants or you?

I know several people who want iMacs. I'm not sure if the $2200 iMac will go ove as well, but it's a nice option.

A $500-area headless iMac would be nice as well. If they can do an eMac for $700, they probably could do a headless e/iMac for $4-500.

But I would say if you want a $400 computer, you won't get far saying "And stop scrimping on the accessories!" as your next sentence.

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11/18, 10:25am | report spam | close Reply |
$400 headless Mac

If they would make it bare bones they could easily get it down to $400. Zero RAM, zero disk, no video card. Let us buy those bits ourselves at lower prices locally. But then, Apple wouldn't be reaping its margins any more, which would not be a good thing in the long run.

They tried a headless Mac -- it was called the cube, and nobody bought it, mostly due to price though. I would have thought a bit of engineering could bring the price down.

Hey wait a sec, isn't an Xserve a headless Mac? Hah! The cheapest one is $2,800 -- is that around the cube's price point? LMAO if it is.

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11/18, 10:40am | report spam | close Reply |
Why?

Why would you want to pay such a premium for that screen when you're going to have to leave it behind when you upgrade?

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11/18, 10:42am | report spam | close Reply |
$400

get real. you can barely buy a crappy PC that will die on you in 4 months for that.

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11/18, 11:07am | report spam | close Reply |
cool!

it's a niche product. Like the 17" PB was when it first came out with its high price tag. It will lower in time...

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11/18, 11:35am | report spam | close Reply |
A great new addition

I have an "old" 17" iMac 800, and it has been an incredible machine. It runs Panther very snappily, so I would imagine the 1.25GHz machines have many years of usable life ahead of them.

I think what gets lost in these discussions that compare a Flat Panel iMac with a headless iMac or a cheap PC is just how well built these machines are. Perfectly integrated, built like a tank and absolutely beautiful. The iMac has always been about the "all in one" concept, and I think Apple has consistently done it better than anyone else. The only weak spot I thought it had were the wires from the keyboard and mouse and Apple has now addressed that issue as well.

Those who don't appreciate the iMac's quality, beauty and simplicity should simply look elsewhere IMHO. I think Apple got it right and you can put me on the list as one who lusts after the new 20" iMac.

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11/18, 12:19pm | report spam | close Reply |
more!

we want the the 23" iMac!!!!

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11/18, 12:37pm | report spam | close Reply |
Never enough!

I wondered why that pivot arm looked so overly "beefy" when the 15" model first came out. Now we are all finding out why it was so "overbuilt"!

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11/18, 12:47pm | report spam | close Reply |
I'll vouch for that

I have a 400Mhz iMac Graphite SE, and let me tell you, although its slow in comparison to newer models, this thing is a work horse. A dinasour that just won't die. Its taken a beaten, literally, and it still takes on the task of video editing, vid compression, and other things.

Im not the type of person that buys a new comp every year or every few months, when I buy this new 20" iMac I can be certain the $2200 I spend on it will well be worth the years of use it will serve me. UNLIKE my brother who buys cheap PC's on after the other, every time the previous one fails to last as long as he hoped it would.

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11/18, 12:49pm | report spam | close Reply |
wtf?!

Apple has gone off the f****** deep end. I thought the 17'' was retarded... this is even worse.

Yea baby, give me an overpriced, insanely large apple display I can't upgrade! Woo hoo!

Zip drive? No. Modern video card? No. Modern CD burner No. Upgradablity? No. $2200, more then you would pay for most gaming PCs, will all the best hardware? Yes.

If people buy this, it's solely because of Steve's RDF.Mark my words, this will be another cube.

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11/18, 01:30pm | report spam | close Reply |
The same old story

you know it seems like everytime Apple releases a new iMac the same idiots come out of the work with comments like, "i cant replace the processor with a pentium 4chip!? Wah!!". or "look at the price! wahh!!" or "it doesn't have a built in Zip drive and USB coffee warmer?! wah!!!" or my favorite comment, "why pay $2200 for an iMac when i can get a PS2 for $150?"

retards, if you want a zip drive or a firewire back massager, buy it as an accessory. If you want a pentium 4 buy a PC. if you want an xBox, get one for well under $400.

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11/18, 01:56pm | report spam | close Reply |
Missing Upgrade Path

I agree with the idea that you can't expect everything and keep the price to $400, unless you want to lower the quality of what you get to the level that $400 PC offers.

I also agree that a Mac has a lot longer life span than any PC I've ever seen. I have a iMac DV (G3 600)and it is still running along jsut fine for most anything I need to do.

However, I have to wonder about attaching a 20 inch flat panel display to a base that has a limited upgrade path. Sure, you can hook up all sorts of external stuff to upgrade drive space, etc. But it does not sit right in my mind to have to replace a monitor that size just to get a faster CPU.

This is where a headless iMac would be a great idea. Even if the price point for a headless unit still came in at $2,200. At least you could keep the $1,200 monitor and just replace the box when the next advance in CPU speed or configuration came along.

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11/18, 02:21pm | report spam | close Reply |
cool upgrade

but would just worry that it's top heavy with the larger screen. i know they make the base pretty heavy to make it upright, but to see an iMac tip over and break would kill me.

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11/18, 02:22pm | report spam | close Reply |
perfect for my studio

Oh Finally! A nearly-silent computer, running Mac OS X, with a 20" screen, that takes twice as much deskspace as a coke bottle...

perfect for a studio!! woohoo!!

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11/18, 02:25pm | report spam | close Reply |
Well

If only Apple would offer better prices on their displays now. I can go down to the local comp store and get a Samsung display (same as apple uses) for half the price... or a cheap brand for a 1/3rd of apple. I need a nice display within a reasonable price range and am holding out for apple to deliver, might not be able to wait that long though.

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11/18, 05:48pm | report spam | close Reply |
Choice is GOOD

What are these complainers whining about now?

Apple did NOT discontinue the 17" iMac or even the 15" iMac (not to mention the eMac). All of those options are still available, plus now this amazing high-end model for people who can afford it. What's the problem? This is great for comsumers.

Now if you were an investor and owner of Apple stock, and you thought Apple was making a bad business decision by releasing this model, you should voice your opinion, but I doubt that the MacNN forum would be the best venue.

Apple could easily build a $400 bare bones system. Apple actually has an advantage over the Wintel PC companies because (1) they don't have to pay a licensing fee to Microsoft and (2) G4 chips are really cheap these days. But THAT would be a bad decision in the long run because they would be re-creating a situation similar to the one that almost put them out of business - clone makers putting out cheapo Mac systems.

Apple has high R&D costs to do what they do. By buying Apple, you are making it possible for them to continue releasing great products in the future.

People who want a stripped down Mac so that you can build their own "dream" machine should just buy an old PowerMac G4 on eBay. With so many G5 upgraders, there should be tens of thousands of good used G4 PowerMacs entering the used market. I'm all for that... I love installing upgrades myself. But I'd rather have a "slightly used" built-like-a-tank former top-of-the-line Mac than a cheapo new Mac any day.

- Ken

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11/18, 06:02pm | report spam | close Reply |
Headless

Apple will surely never release a headless, driveless, memoryless, videocardless Mac, as Apple is all about integratio and user experience.
If you want that sort of thing, I am afraid, a PC it will have to be.
Everything in that iMac is perfectly adequate for the job it is designed to do.
I have a 17' PowerBook (old model), and the only thing I am missing is USB2.
I have found everything else more adequate than any Mac I ever had before.
It is snappy (now with 10.3), runs everything I do (and that is graphics) at double quick speed and is a joy to use.
If anyone truly needs all the configurability you are looking for, I think he will probably look at a G5 anyway.
For iMac customers, that is one h*** of a computer.
For PC customers, it is obviously not.

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11/18, 08:07pm | report spam | close Reply |
don't worry about flipag

i own the 17inch model, and there is no need to worry about the 20 in flipping. The base is very secure and the "neck" is HEAVY DUTY. The way the iMac is designed the thing wouldn't flip over even if you brought the monitor all the way forward.

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11/19, 07:26am | report spam | close Reply |
$400 ???

Why are you guys even comparing this machine to a $400 system? because some unknowing r***** used that amount easrlier on in his comment?

Apple could be nice to us loyal customers and change the shape of the imac base to a more square unit allowing for a few PCI slots along with an AGP slot and no video card, allowing for a sensible Apple price of around $650-$800 for a headless imac, and the margin will still exist for them to make enough cashola... especially if they offer a smaller unit for cheaper that only has the ability to use an apple digital monitor with that ADC c***.

now 650-800 bucks might be alot for a cheap imac box, but I am certain loads of people would buy them as the cheap upgrade path instead of dumping macs and going with PCs in the business environment. Just the savings on keeping your current mac software compared to buying those $499 Dell shitboxes are enough to make that a major seller.

Oh, and those that whine about the nice big 20" screen being wasted when you upgrade? by thast time you upgrade, how much do you think a 20" flat panel monitor will be worth?

you think by that time you will be going to the store to buy a 20" television set for a coupl hundred bucks, or a 20" flat panel??
Get real, even when this is slow, this machine will still be useful.

Unlike my Beige G3 300mhz, 768 MB Ram, w/ Radeon 7000 + Quartz Extreme PCI Hack which can barely f*** anymore.

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11/20, 09:54am | report spam | close Reply |
Not $400

$1200 display + $1000 base = $2200 iMac. So we are talking about a $800-$1000 mac.

It's the same problem as it's always been.

A) Apple overcharges for it's components.
B) Apple refuses to design (cheap) systems which allow you to use 3rd party components and avoid apple's high prices. You pretty much have to buy a "high-end" machine to get that ability, and then the fact that you pay for a high-end outweighs any component cost benifits.

Either way, apple gouges customers. I don't care if apple's focus is the "whole widget", I care about getting a high-powered mac computer for a reasonable price. Even if apple sold a "bare-bones" system and offered several choices of components FROM APPLE (ie keeping with their repeated insistance that it "just works" because everything is from apple), it would be better then the way it is now.

It comes down to the fact that there just isn't enough choices. At first I thought the reasoning for that was to bring costs down by consolidating the entire mac line into just a few lines. But the cost savings just hasn't happened. Maybe it's brought costs down for APPLE, but not for it's customers.

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11/23, 01:37pm | report spam | close Reply |
You have plenty of choice

Regarding your point A. I can't even count how many crusty old Macs I still see plugging away like the day they came out of the box. Meanwhile, how many of those machines which aren't using "overpriced" components will still be alive and well? Apple has a well documented lead in this area compared to any other computer manufacturer. I'll pay a bit more for an Apple. Even if the components they choose aren't the latest bleeding edge "Ferrofluid cooled Xzanus XR12 TurboHydroHyperDrive" ones. The components Apple uses will work just fine and keep on working.

Regarding your point B. Everytime I've had third party hardware (excluding RAM or hard drives) it either broke or became incompatible much earlier than the Mac it was stuffed in became useless. Apple can't be expected to predict the whims of third party manufacturers into the future. "(Insert name here) went out of business or merged with a luggage manufacturer and will no longer be supporting your (insert name here) card". They make the whole widget, they can keep the whole widget running.

And what price do you put on satisfaction? Excluding people who should have bought a PowerMac in the first place, I have never known anyone that wasn't very happy with an iMac. Is it gouging because it's simply more expensive than a cheap, inferior PC? I think not. I think satisfaction is worth more myself. Also, it is a fact that Macs have a longer useable lifespan due to people's satisfaction with them. I would imagine Apple knows that people aren't going to come back for a replacement anytime soon, so they charge a bit more. It's a perfectly fair trade in my opinion. Satisfaction relates to the price of satisfaction, always has.

These should be good times for those who want to use their own components, but don't have the means to purchase a new G5 PowerMac. There are plenty of G4 towers out there new and refurbished at very reasonable prices, that should fill the bill just perfectly I would think. If not than I guess I have no idea what you are really looking for outside of just bitching about Apple.

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Apple introduces 20-inch LCD iMac

updated 09:50 am EST, Tue November 18, 2003

20\" iMac launched

hmmm...

Blows!

no one wants or you?

$400 headless Mac

Why?

$400

cool!

A great new addition

more!

Never enough!

I'll vouch for that

wtf?!

The same old story

Missing Upgrade Path

cool upgrade

perfect for my studio

Well

Choice is GOOD

Headless

don't worry about flipag

$400 ???

Not $400

You have plenty of choice

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Apple introduces 20-inch LCD iMac

updated 09:50 am EST, Tue November 18, 2003

20\" iMac launched

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Recent Articles

hmmm...

Blows!

no one wants or you?

$400 headless Mac

Why?

$400

cool!

A great new addition

more!

Never enough!

I'll vouch for that

wtf?!

The same old story

Missing Upgrade Path

cool upgrade

perfect for my studio

Well

Choice is GOOD

Headless

don't worry about flipag

$400 ???

Not $400

You have plenty of choice

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

to our RSS

Follow us

on Twitter

10 Most Read

10 Most Discussed

MacNN Marketplace