Is Apple expecting to sell a lot of consumer portables? Well, unless their legendary poor forecasting makes a stunning surprise reappearance, we would definitely think so. We don't know just how many iMacs have been sold since they first hit the shelves last August, but we're guessing the number is somewhere close to a million and a half-- maybe two million. That's a whole lotta iMacs, which shows that the market for simple, cool, colorful, and relatively inexpensive desktop systems was just waiting to be tapped. Now, given that premise, we've just got to imagine that the market for simple, cool, colorful, and relatively inexpensive laptops is just as ripe. After all, the iMac is holding its own against other low-cost desktop computers, but the consumer portable will have considerably less competition at its performance level and price point. Put simply, we think Apple are going to sell these things faster than they can crank them out.

That said, even with the Mac's legendary ease of use, a couple million more customers is going to generate a spike in customer support calls. Portables, especially, are prone to take a beating, since they're being dragged all over creation, and even if the "iBook" is as shock-proof as the eMate (which, reportedly, was designed to withstand a six-foot drop onto concrete and live to tell the harrowing story of its survival to all of its eMate buddies down at the bar), there are going to be problems. The nice thing is, Apple actually seems to realize this, according to Mac OS Rumors, and is taking early action to gear up for the challenge.

It seems that Apple has transplanted one of the more butt-kicking übermanagers from its Austin, TX call center to the Cupertino area in order to help put together a new call center, which will be dedicated to fielding service calls from iBook customers. In fact, if the reports can be believed, Apple even broke precedent and paid for the manager's move to sunny California-- all in the name of making sure iBook owners get the level of customer service they deserve. We have no idea how long it takes to put together a call center, but we wouldn't be terribly surprised if this move is widely taken as yet another hint that the iBook may be available for purchase sooner than we all might think.