Closing the book on Apple's Mac mini

[Kevin Callahan]

On May 25, 2007, at 4:09 PM, LuKreme wrote:

> On 25-May-2007, at 10:16, Adam Bridge wrote:
>> Wow - ONE report that the mini MAY be going away and there's panic in
>> the streets. Geesh. To me the tea leaves don't look so cut and dried
>> and I have to wonder if someone isn't trying to play the market in
>> some way by manipulating news.
>
> It's been a long time since there was any movement on the mini, and  
> an even longer time since there was any significant movement on the  
> mini (1.5/1.6Ghz over a year ago refreshed to 1.66/1.83GHz woo).
>
> Everyone has been waiting for the core 2 to roll into the mini for  
> a while now, and for a slightly better option than the GMA950  
> graphics.
>
> Heck, if they just went to 1GB standard, core2/802.11n and maybe  
> 80/120GB drives at the current price points that would make me happy.
>
> As it is now, the mini is simply too expensive for what you get.
>
>> I remember the screams for a small low-cost machine - the space the
>> mini filled. It wasn't quite what people wanted because it wasn't  
>> easy
>> to upgrade but it was an entry level Mac with a relatively low price
>> point.
>
> I think the mini was a great machine when it came out... well, the  
> intel version at least.  It just seems a shame that Apple has left  
> it idle for so long (16 months)
>
>> Would a revised form-factor give them more flexibility? At what level
>> of performance will a new mini rob sales from the Mac Pro?
>
> No one is trying to decide between a mini and a mac Pro, let's be  
> serious.
>
>> I've always looked at the Mini as laptop without a display with  
>> all the tradeoffs
>> that that implies.
>
> Trouble is it is lagging a long way behind the laptops.  If it was  
> a MacBook without a display, I'd be quite happy:
>
> 2.0 GHz C2D, 1GB RAM,  80GB Drive, Combodrive, $599.  Sold.  
> (MacBook, $1099)
> 2.2 GHz C2D, 1GB RAM, 120GB Drive, Superdrive, $799.  Sold.  
> (Macbook, $1299)
>
>> Geesh - rambling - I'll go out and hack weeds a while - but seriously
>> does Apple have an eco-system need that needs a mini that makes
>> economic sense? Would an "improved" form-factor help them (return of
>> The Cube...bwaa haaa haaa)? Or maybe the original idea behind the  
>> mini
>> didn't match their sales projections.
>
> Improved form factor?  I think the mini's form factor is just about  
> perfect.  It couldn't be smaller without eliminating the optical  
> drive, and I don't think that's a good idea.

ditto
K