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Powerbook Price Creep? (4/18/98)
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We're noticing an irksome trend for newly-released Apple computers to emerge with pricing significantly higher than expected. The most recent and obvious example of this phenomenon is the Powermac G3 All-in-One (née Artemis), which had been widely reported both in the Mac-centric world, as well as in the more general computer press, as being Apple's sub-$1000 consumer Mac. Instead, when it finally emerged, not only was it exclusively available in the educational channel, but it also cost 50% more than originally expected.
The current price watch is on the new Main Street Powerbooks, expected on May 6th; everyone and his/her uncle seems to have written an article on how Apple plans to price the lowest-end configuration of these sleek new machines at or below the $1999 price point, thus hopefully selling a gazillion units. Unfortunately, as the release date draws ever closer, we're starting to hear whispers that the cheapest configuration will actually be a few hundred dollars higher. Most recently, MacNN was claiming that the floppyless base unit will debut at $2299. If that's true, we're bracing ourselves for the possible torrent of "Apple's stuff costs too much" sentiment that may permeate the computer industry shortly thereafter.
The thing is, these prices are still exceptionally good ones; who'd have thought even a few months ago that someone could buy a system that reportedly outpaces a $1699 Powermac G3/233 and includes a 15" monitor, all for $1499? And given the original Powerbook G3's $5700 price tag, being able to get a similarly-speedy laptop soon for only $2299 seems like a dream come true. It's just our expectations that get raised to what are perhaps unreasonable levels. That being said, O'Grady's PowerPage is still expecting a stripped-down Main Street to go for $1999, and maybe as little as $1899, but this time we're not holding our collective breath.
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 4/18/98 episode: April 18, 1998: Apple prepares its next hard-hitting commercial, touting the incredible speed of the upcoming Wall Street Powerbooks. Meanwhile, those selfsame Powerbooks may debut at a slightly higher price than most of us have been expecting, and rumors persist that Apple will unveil the Mac OS' little brother at next month's WWDC...
Other scenes from that episode: 638: Think Butt-Kicking. (4/18/98) The progression of harder-hitting Apple ads may continue. First, we had the Snail ad, which likened the speed of Intel's Pentium II to that of everyone's favorite shell-lugging gastropod, while claiming that the G3 chip is "up to twice as fast" according to Bytemarks... 640: Mac OS' Little Brother (4/18/98) While no one else we've discussed this with thinks it's very likely to happen, Mac the Knife continues to forecast that Apple will introduce the Newton-replacing Mac OS Lite (also known as Allegro Lite) at the Worldwide Developer Conference in a few weeks...
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