Submitted by Ian Lamont08.10.2009
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Betting closes on Dec 15 2009
Nearly one year ago, Apple CEO Steve Jobs offered his take on HD formats for the Mac. He pronounced Sony's Blu-ray a "bag of hurt," citing licensing and other difficulties. The idea of a Blu-ray iMac seemed unlikely at the time.
Now the Apple rumor mill says that Blu-ray is back on the table for the next-generation iMacs. The rumor originated with AppleInsider, citing "people often familiar with the Mac maker's future product initiatives."
Would Blu-ray boost the fortunes of the iMac? On the Standard, we've noted problems with the the iMac's pricing, and have even gone so far to make a prediction based on the iMac's demise. On the other hand, Jobs' "bag of hurt" comment was accompanied by a statement that "we're waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace." The question for Apple-watchers to consider now is whether Blu-ray has taken off, and if it can help justify the iMac's hefty price tag relative to other desktop computers in the marketplace.
Prediction: Next-generation iMacs released in 2009 will include Blu-ray playback capability. "Next-generation" means a new iMac with a new hardware configuration, as opposed to a processor upgrade and minor cosmetic changes. The product must be available for immediate purchase before the end of the year, but an Apple announcement or verified news report stating in advance that new, Blu-ray iMacs will be coming to market by Dec. 31, 2009, would be considered enough for a positive judgment.
Image: A 2008 iMac (William Hook/Flickr, creative commons license)
Current Community Consensus 11%Prediction Statistics
| Betting Closes: | Dec 15 2009 | Current Consensus: | 10.91% | Total Bets: | 25 |
| Today's Change: | 0% | ||||
| Life Time High: | 67.92% | ||||
| Life Time Low: | 10.91% |
Price History
Comments
This technology, as good as it may be, has serious market place acceptability.
That is the reality the sales of Gaming Platforms by Sony bears this out, until
gamers get on board how can Sony move the product? Via Apple?
It looks very much like the VHS vs Beta video tape marketing fallout, I would be
surprised if Jobs sees a clear way forward with this yet. But it may rescue Sony
and that affiliation has to be healthy.
I think Jobs would prefer you rent or buy a movie through itunes, then play a Blu-Ray in your Imac.
Readers: Prediction market player Tay Bass has pointed us to an AllThingsD blog post which cites "multiple music industry sources" as saying there will be some sort of Apple event the week of September 7.
However, if music industry people are being told about this, what might it have to do with iMacs or Blu-ray?
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
I'm on the fence on this one. Help me to decide. One one hand, as far as I can tell, there is no Blu-ray support in either Snow Leopard or iTunes v9, both of which were very recently released. It would seem that if Apple were to go with Blu-ray this year (they've been on the Blu-ray Disc Assoc. since 2005), there would be indications of it in the new software. On the other hand, rumors are pointing to new iMacs, or at least a refresh of the line, in the next several weeks so perhaps this is where Blu-ray will make its first appearance in an Apple product. Comments invited.
Tay: That's interesting about Apple and the Blu-ray Disc Association -- I didn't know that.
But that was in 2005. I don't know if you've been following some of the discussion below Beating up on Blu-ray, episode XVIII, but I was able to locate some recent research that talks about Blu-ray. Reader Pete S. and I were divided over how to interpret some of the data points, but my guess is if Jobs is waiting for more solid evidence that Blu-ray has critical mass, we won't be seeing Blu-ray iMacs this year.
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
@Ian
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/mar/10blu-ray.html
and for something much more timely, see today's AppleInsider rumor "Apple ready and waiting with redesigned iMac line"
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/24/apple_ready_and_waiting_wi...
So it is looking strongly like new iMacs are on their way. Not sure whether the hint of a thinner new enclosure by itself meets the prediction criterion for a new hardware configuration. By the way, what constitutes a new hard configuration anyway? Alas, the rumor does not offer any new guidance on Blu-ray. But things are perking up on this prediction.
Thanks Tay, I saw.
The description I used for hardware config is secondary -- the main thing is Blu-ray, which by definition requires a hardware upgrade. If there is some other sort of next-gen hardware upgrade -- for instance, a processor with more cores -- but no Blu-ray, then it gets judged negative.
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
Blu-ray iMacs 'In A Few Weeks', Apple Ace Gruber Predicts-
http://www.businessinsider.com/blu-ray-imacs-in-a-few-weeks-apple-god-gr...
Uhm, nevermind!
http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/10/04/ixnay-bluray
Fake Steve Jobs had fun with this. (Language NSFW):
http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/10/gruber-grubers-self-gets-downgraded.htm...
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
New iMacs released today. No Blu-ray.
http://www.apple.com/imac/
More details here:
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2009/10/20/apple-overhauls-imac-line-21-...
Seems expensive to me, considering what else is going on in the marketplace.
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
Phil Schiller: No More Apple Products This Year
http://gizmodo.com/5390583/phil-schiller-no-more-apple-products-this-yea...
Yes, but did you see the weird clarification at the bottom?
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard
twitter.com/ilamont
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