Apple to continue 17-inch iMac for education
updated 10:20 am EDT, Mon March 23, 2009
17-inch edu iMac continues
Sales of an older 17-inch iMac will continue, an Apple newsletter indicates. Although Apple has publicly scrapped 17-inch options in favor of 20- and 24-inch sizes, the plastic 17-inch iMac launched in 2006 can still be bought through educational channels for $899. The price is said to match that of the defunct eMac, which also targeted educational buyers and disappeared as Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors.
The persistence of the 17-inch model is being attributed to the global recession, which is hurting public school systems in particular as their tax bases diminish. Apple may however have the benefit of a good reputation in education, based on the relative simplicity of its operating systems and a history extending back to the Apple II computer. The company has consistently offered lower prices for public and private schools.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2008
Recession?
Apple has done this for at least a decade now! This is not a recession decision, but a long standing EDU market decision. Back in the the day we purchased a $799 indigo iMac G3 (Slot Lot) under the EDU program. It was a stripped down version only for the EDU market at the time (no Airport or FireWire, CD-ROM only etc.)