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Bigger, But Still Better (9/14/99)
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So that's the skinny in Paris; how about an update on Mac doings in Asia? Don't forget, the World PC Expo 99 just finished up in Japan last week. We know, it's tough to shift gears, but gone are the days when Apple's impact was only visible at Mac-specific shows and conferences. These days, Apple's making waves across the whole industry, so we Apple-watchers can't just ignore everything that's not Macworld Expo or Seybold. Case in point? The iBook actually won an award at last week's World PC Expo.
And not just any award, either; according to an i@MacLand article, the iBook shared the stage with two other systems as all three were declared winners in the "Best PC" category. Admit it; that's pretty darn impressive, especially since the iBook wasn't even shipping yet at the time. Plus, it was the only one of the three winners that wasn't designed in Japan-- an important distinction given the special considerations that generally go into computer design for the Japanese market.
See, the iBook being declared "Best PC" carries extra weight since it happened in Japan-- where "extra weight" is apparently a cardinal sin. There's been a bit of concern about the iBook's potential success in the Japanese market, where smaller is always better. The most wildly successful PowerBook in Japan was the 2400, the teeny black four-pounder that was a relative flop here in the U.S., due in part to its smaller-than-ordinary keyboard. We've seen numerous complaints that, after the demise of the 2400, Apple is not addressing the needs of the Japanese laptop user, since the PowerBook G3 is too large to use while riding the Tokyo subway. There was widespread speculation that the iBook would be a subcompact like the 2400, but instead it's larger than the G3-- which we figured was the kiss of death in Japan. And now there's this award, which may indicate otherwise. Very interesting... We're anxiously awaiting the Japanese sales figures.
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 9/14/99 episode: September 14, 1999: There's no new iMac in Paris, but at least the iBooks are shipping. Meanwhile, the iBook's "Best PC" award at a huge Tokyo computer conference just might bode well for the Japanese acceptance of Apple's chubby consumer portable, and the new G4s apparently stink, in the most literal sense of the word...
Other scenes from that episode: 1779: Vieilles Nouvelles (9/14/99) So much for the scattered predictions of Big News™ in Paris. Not that we at AtAT were expecting anything earth-shattering, but we admit we were rooting for the underdog rumors of a "Kihei" (that's "iMac 2" to those of you not hip to the lingo) introduction during Steve Jobs' keynote address at the Apple Expo... 1781: Smells Like G4 Spirit (9/14/99) AtAT has long been considering the technical hurdles we'd have to clear in order to jump feet-first into the wonderful world of Smellovision™, but there really hasn't been that much reason for us to pursue it in any serious manner...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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