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The iBook: Go Go Go-- Gone (11/7/00)
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Cupertino, we have a problem: Apple's sales forecasting seems to be returning to those exciting but financially unpleasant days when concepts like "supply" and "demand" were evidently declared outdated concepts unsuitable for Apple's execs. Warehouses were chock-full of dusty, rapidly depreciating Performas, while the appearance of a rare PowerBook at a retail outlet would inspire Cabbage Patch Kid-style riots by frenzied road warriors jonesing for a fix. And what do we have today? Warehouses full of dusty, rapidly depreciating G4 Cubes-- and not an iBook in sight. Faithful viewer Scott Pennington clued us in to a MacCentral article on the disappearing act of Apple's delectable consumer portable.
As you might imagine, this is a serious problem. The Cube captured rave reviews from the press for its innovative and beautiful design. You can't put a price on innovation and beauty-- but if you could, evidently it'd be less than $1799, because Cubes just aren't selling. On the other hand, Apple's got a grand slam on its hands with the latest revision to the iBook. Adding FireWire, an AV port, and a DVD-ROM option (as well as a spiffier-looking enclosure) prompted Bob Levitus to give the new iBook "two thumbs up-- way, way up," and other reviewers concur. Unlike the Cube, however, the iBook just feels like a great deal pricewise, and we bet consumers are lining up to spend their money. Unfortunately, there's nothing to spend it on, because due to an ongoing shortage, right now iBooks are nowhere to be found.
This is particularly painful because we're well into November, which means you can bet that at least some of those potential iBook customers are looking for holiday gifts. That means there's a deadline; if Apple can't provide a bountiful supply of iBooks soon, the less discriminating Christmas buyers will just buy another laptop from Dell or Gateway. Apple claims that the iBook situation is "expected to improve in early November," so hopefully the company won't lose too much holiday business due to the drought. But if you're in the market for an iBook to put under the tree, we suggest getting an order in sooner rather than later just in case.
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SceneLink (2662)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/7/00 episode: November 7, 2000: Want to know what to get Steve Jobs for Christmas? Well, apparently he's awful fond of $1000 T-shirts. Meanwhile, Cubes may be glutting the market, but iBooks can't be had even for ready money, and speculation on what Steve will announce on stage at the Expo in two months has officially commenced...
Other scenes from that episode: 2661: That's A Damn Fine T-Shirt (11/7/00) There are only forty-eight or so shopping days left until Christmas, and depending on your holiday buying habits, your reaction to that fact falls somewhere on the spectrum between "I finished buying and wrapping my gifts in August" and "wake me in forty-seven days."... 2663: It's That Time Of Year Again (11/7/00) Christmas isn't the only event hurtling toward us at deadly speed; two weeks later we'll we smack in the middle of yet another Macworld Expo again. That's only two months away, and you all know what that means-- it's time to commence the fall Keynote Speculation season...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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