[Metropolis Man]

I'm in the market for another iMac — I currently have a 20" G5 iMac which I absolutely love. It's a rocket compared to the 15" sunflower G4 iMac I also have. That one has been given role of the computer for my 3 daughters, but when I'm not on the G5, guess which one they choose? Throw my wife into the picture and sometimes there just isn't the amount needed for the demand.

I won't have the $ for another iMac for probably 3 months, so I can't see settling for the current model — not that it wouldn't suit my family's needs. But, in 3-4 months I can't imagine it being much more of a wait for a refresh. I might as well wait to see what's next at that point.

I was curious when most of you think a refresh might happen, and what some of the guts might consist of. Thanks.

[JKitterman]

I would think just small changes like a video card refresh/upgrade and the ability for more memory. Most likely, 4Gb would be upper limit spread over 2 slots. With Leopard right around the corner, I would like to see 4 memory slots supporting up to 8 Gb but I really don't think that would happen.

[steve77uk]

I often wonder if they would change the design of the iMac Range, to be honest yeah, it may get slimmer, bit sleaker but how could they wow us with a new design??? Could it get much better? I mean the main wow was the base unit dissapearing, but there is no where else for that to disappear to now...

I think they will just keep tweaking the current model for a bit longer after all they have just done the 24" model and their insides are different to the 20" and belows...

Who knows what they will get up to in the near future, but I seriously doubt they will change the design in the next 6 months...?

[zippy]

If the 24" is a big enough seller for them, I can see them trying a 30" at some point. But probably not in the next 6 months. At that time, I would expect the 17" to disappear. Unless of course sales of those are still really high.

[turbulentfurball]

Originally Posted by zippy If the 24" is a big enough seller for them, I can see them trying a 30" at some point. But probably not in the next 6 months. At that time, I would expect the 17" to disappear. Unless of course sales of those are still really high.

I think a 30 inch iMac is very unlikely. Killing off the 17 inch is even more unlikely.

[dmegatool]

Originally Posted by turbulentfurball I think a 30 inch iMac is very unlikely. Killing off the 17 inch is even more unlikely.

I'm not so sure. LCD prices are still falling. If you can get a big screen for nothing, what's the point of having your computer integrated in a 17" screen. Design can't justify everything. I mean everybody will go for a headless mac (or pc) with a huge screen.

Maybe not right now but in a near (1-2 years) futur, I predict the death a the 17"

[Brad]

Originally Posted by dmegatool I mean everybody will go for a headless mac...

Too bad a decent alternative doesn't exist. HAR!

[zippy]

I could see the 17" living for a while in the education world, but for business and home, 19-20" seems to be the new standard. I would venture a guess that the margins on the 17" are shrinking already, and eventually it will no longer be cost effective to make them - unless you artificially raise the price on 19-20" panels, which will put you at a competitive disadvantage. And the more these things migrate into the living room and double as movie/tv viewers, bigger is better.

[dmegatool]

Originally Posted by Brad Too bad a decent alternative doesn't exist. HAR!

My Mac Pro is a decent machine

I know what you mean... let's start another "mid-range, headless mac" thread !