Apple Releases High-End Machines

Jan. 9, 2001 -- Apple released a slew of new products for high-end multimedia enthusiasts today at a conference traditionally targeted toward deep-pocketed professionals.

The star of CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote speech at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco was, as always, the last product he announced: a new laptop computer sporting a 15.2-inch screen and featuring power usually found on desktop computers. Housed in a titanium case, the fast PowerBook G4 is only an inch thick and weighs slightly more than 5 pounds.

“The PowerBook’s an absolute killer product," said analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies. "That emerged as the hottest laptop on the market today."

Jobs also made several announcements connected to Apple’s new focus, to turn PCs into “digital hubs” for managing audio, video and electronic devices such as camcorders and CD players. The most impressive of these efforts was a new software program, iDVD, a free, easy-to-use program to make the ever-popular digital video disc available for home movies and slide shows.

“We decided to start 2001 with a bang,” Jobs said, admitting the past few months had been “challenging” for the Mac maker.

He also announced a March 24 release date for OS X, the eagerly awaited new Apple operating system based on open source UNIX-type technology.

"It appears that they will meet or exceed the expectations of the Mac faithful," said David Bailey, an analyst at investment bank Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. But "there doesn't appear to be anything that was announced today that would lure Wintel users over to the Mac platform," he said.

iDVD requires a new, $3,499 Power Mac to record DVDs, and the new Powerbook G4 Titanium costs $2,599. Such prices are quite competitive with other products in their class, but way out of the reach of average consumers. Consumers will have to wait another six months for upgrades to the inexpensive iMac line, analysts said.

"I suspect that [Apple's] big thrust into the consumer space will come out in New York in July when [Jobs will] bring out new products that are aimed at consumers for the third and fourth quarter," Bajarin said.

Digital Hubs

As PC makers such as Gateway and Compaq try to reinvent their businesses in the face of a slowdown in PC sales, Jobs offered Apple’s version: for Macs to become “digital hubs” for turning camcorders’ home movies into DVDs, for burning Internet-based music onto CDs and pouring it into portable players, and for performing tasks that take high-end processing power.

“We don’t think the PC is dying at all. We think it’s evolving,” he said.

Jobs announced four new G4 desktop computers, all with CD/RW drives for writing CDs. They’ll cost from $1,699 to $3,499. Paired with a free new program called iTunes, they make powerful digital music centers. ITunes copies songs from CDs, arranges music from CDs, MP3s downloaded off the Net, and Internet radio stations, and writes the music back to CDs or portable music players in an easy-to-use way.

"I thought his articulation of the vision of the PC moving into the hub of the digital lifestyle was superb ... his emphasis on music was a home run," Bajarin said.

The top-end G4 features a “superdrive” which also writes onto DVD video discs. With iDVD, the new G4 can make video discs that can be played in any home DVD player, Jobs said. But few people will get to use it.

"iDVD is only available on the highest end G4 Powermac, which will exclude it from the general user base," Bailey said.

The CD-RWs didn't filter down to the consumer iMacs — in fact, there was no mention of the iMac during his almost-two hour speech. And as Apple's swapping out DVD-ROM players for CD-R/Ws, off-the-shelf new G4s won't be able to play DVD movies like their predecessors. (Online buyers can reverse the switch with a custom order, but then they won't be able to write CDs.)

Power and Sex

Apple’s new laptop, meanwhile, has both “power and sex,” according to Jobs. It’s certainly a looker — thinner than the stylish Sony VAIO, with a practically tantric five-hour battery life, built-in DVD drive, a huge 15.2-inch screen and a 400- or 500-megahertz G4 processor. And it’s only 5.3 pounds.

"It seems very well suited for Apple's mobile professional users," Bailey said.

The new laptop is a much-needed upgrade to Apple’s PowerBook line, and brings Apple into a class of its own at the top of the laptop market. But there was nary a word about the iBooks, Apple’s consumer laptop line.

Apple also bumped its professional G4 desktop machines up in speed, with the new models running from 466 to 733 megahertz. Although Apple’s Motorola PowerPC chips are typically faster than Intel chips of the same megahertz, analysts have worried about the numbers gap as Intel speeds climb to 1.5 gigahertz — that’s 1,500 megahertz.

Jobs showed off the new G4/733 running in a side-by-side Photoshop test against a new 1.5 ghz Pentium 4. The Mac was 33 percent faster. It’s not known how independent tests will clock the new G4s’, but they’re certainly up there with Intel’s top chips.

Making a Date With X

Jobs also demonstrated Apple’s new operating system, OS X, the first major rewrite of the Macintosh operating system in 15 years. The final version of the new operating system is due out on March 24 for $129, and it will ship with all new Macs starting July, he said.

"That may cause a certain segment of their customers to delay purchases. The company may want to consider offering free upgrades for those users that buy systems after" March, Bailey said.

The July release date seems to be to stave off criticism about the number of applications available for the new operating system. Although some programs will be available this spring, the "avalanche" is coming this summer, Jobs said.

For now, the company silently released a minor upgrade to its current operating system. OS 9.1, available for free download from Apple's Web site, incorporates seamless, drag-and-drop CD recording into the operating system.

Apple is trying to boost sales of its PCs; the company said it may lose $250 million this quarter. Apple’s stock has dropped more than 70 percent in the past six months as part of an industry-wide slowdown. The company has about a 5 percent share of the PC market.