|
7 + 11 = Number 1, Baby (5/21/99)
|
 
|
| | |
Aren't ordinal numbers wacky? Here we were all concerned about the fact that for the first time since its debut last August, the iMac actually fell out of the list of the top five best-selling computers at retail-- the newer fruit-flavored models combined to take the number eleven slot, while the classic Bondi blue units did slightly better by taking seventh place. Not that seventh and eleventh aren't respectable places for a lumpy little translucent computer to be resting, but it looked like a decline and that's always a little worrisome. As it turns out, though, separating iMacs by Bondi blue vs. fruit-flavored paints a much bleaker picture than the one that develops when you look at the iMac's sales numbers as a whole. When presented as a united front, the iMacs continue to kick some serious sales booty.
Specifically, check out MacNN's further analysis of PC Data's sales figures; add together the number of Bondi blue iMacs sold and the number of fruit-flavored units purchased and suddenly those seventh and eleventh place finishes magically transform into the number one slot. That's right; when you look at the big picture, the iMac was the single best-selling computer in April "by a slight margin." (Yeah, sure, if you lump all the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion models together, this whole argument goes right out the window, but give us a break-- we're trying to feel good, here.) So don't count the iMacs out just yet-- they're still a force to be reckoned with, and we're particularly interested to see what happens once Sears starts selling them in a week or so.
True, iMac sales volume did in fact drop during April, but that's very likely due to Apple's attempt to switch over to the 333 MHz G3 in the currently shipping units-- and that can't detract from the joy of being number one. It just goes to show you: separate but equal just doesn't work. iMacs of all colors, flavors, and speeds must unite to fight the oppression and onslaught of the Wintel hegemony. Where's Jesse Jackson? Maybe this will get him to look upon Apple more favorably. Ya think?
| |
| |
 |
SceneLink (1550)
|  |
 |
|
And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
| | | |
|
| |
|
 | | The above scene was taken from the 5/21/99 episode: May 21, 1999: Hold the phone-- when taken together as a single machine type, all iMacs combined were the number one seller in April. Meanwhile, an enterprising woman with a knack for the needle redefines the iMac's cuteness factor, and Apple denies that there's anything to the "Mac OS 8.6.1" CDs shipping with new blue-and-white G3s beyond a simple misprint...
Other scenes from that episode: 1551: And Leave The Tags On (5/21/99) "The iMac is just a toy." Man, we can't even begin to tell you how many times we've heard that in the past year, generally by information-technology manager types who talk big and get paid big but wouldn't recognize a real computer if it bit them in the collective butt... 1552: The Phantom Mac OS (5/21/99) So let's say you just took the plunge and bought yourself a brand-spankin'-new Power Macintosh G3. You giddily rip the box open and begin the loving process of setting up the new addition to your Mac family...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
|
|
