Winners and Losers at Macworld Expo 2004
Winner-iLife ’04
Of all the product announcements made at the keynote address for this year’s Macworld Expo, the biggest winner was iLife ’04. While the changes in iPhoto 4 were minor, the ability to import iSight video and edit clips on the timeline in iMovie 4, iDVD 4’s new two hour video limit with better encoding, and the inclusion of Garage Band, a new consumer level audio tool (along the lines of Soundtrack), and all of it for only $49, make iLife ’04 the most valuable product introduction for the home user and small business consumer. Apple already has $79 of my money for a “family pack” version of this software. Both my wife, who’s a musician at heart, and myself are awaiting iLife ‘04’s arrival with baited breath.
That said, it’s not clear when it will ship. While the Apple Store showed a “deliver by January 16 date” for the “regular” version of the product, the “family pack” showed a shipping date of “7-10 business days”. With some reservation, I paid an extra $9 for 2 day delivery hoping to get the software at the same time it’s released.
Minor Winners-Final Cut Express 2 and Microsoft Office 2004
Both of these products provided incremental improvements over current versions but nothing I found compelling.
That said, I have plunked down $99 to upgrade my Final Cut Express to version 2, mainly to match it up with Final Cut Pro 4 loaded on my other PowerMac and to provide for better G5 compatibility when that day comes.
Office 2004 is another story. I’m not seeing anything that makes me want to plunk down the cash. However, we might wind up with a copy in this house if my wife, who is a university professor, decides to buy it after taking a look. I believe she might like the Notebook view and decide that at academic prices she'll buy the new version.
Loser-mini iPod
Whatever infected Britney Spears this weekend apparently also hit Steve Jobs. Apple may have wanted to go after the flash player market, but their pricing of the new mini-iPod guaranteed that it will stay a mini product. At its current $249 price point, buying this new too-limited iPod makes absolutely no sense, and there is a lot of forum traffic on the Net already that shows a majority of folks agree with me. If Apple really wants to make in-roads with this product, the highest price point that’s making any sense to anyone of us who have to fork over the cash is $199. Even at that, I consider the mini-iPod competitive and not “a steal”. At its current $249 price point, though, it’s simply a ball buster. I would fork over the extra $50 for the $299 15GB iPod instead.
Once I go over $200 on any computer related purchase, I consider it a different financial ball game. I’m betting that your average consumer and especially your average college student will, too.
Of all the product announcements made at the keynote address for this year’s Macworld Expo, the biggest winner was iLife ’04. While the changes in iPhoto 4 were minor, the ability to import iSight video and edit clips on the timeline in iMovie 4, iDVD 4’s new two hour video limit with better encoding, and the inclusion of Garage Band, a new consumer level audio tool (along the lines of Soundtrack), and all of it for only $49, make iLife ’04 the most valuable product introduction for the home user and small business consumer. Apple already has $79 of my money for a “family pack” version of this software. Both my wife, who’s a musician at heart, and myself are awaiting iLife ‘04’s arrival with baited breath.
That said, it’s not clear when it will ship. While the Apple Store showed a “deliver by January 16 date” for the “regular” version of the product, the “family pack” showed a shipping date of “7-10 business days”. With some reservation, I paid an extra $9 for 2 day delivery hoping to get the software at the same time it’s released.
Minor Winners-Final Cut Express 2 and Microsoft Office 2004
Both of these products provided incremental improvements over current versions but nothing I found compelling.
That said, I have plunked down $99 to upgrade my Final Cut Express to version 2, mainly to match it up with Final Cut Pro 4 loaded on my other PowerMac and to provide for better G5 compatibility when that day comes.
Office 2004 is another story. I’m not seeing anything that makes me want to plunk down the cash. However, we might wind up with a copy in this house if my wife, who is a university professor, decides to buy it after taking a look. I believe she might like the Notebook view and decide that at academic prices she'll buy the new version.
Loser-mini iPod
Whatever infected Britney Spears this weekend apparently also hit Steve Jobs. Apple may have wanted to go after the flash player market, but their pricing of the new mini-iPod guaranteed that it will stay a mini product. At its current $249 price point, buying this new too-limited iPod makes absolutely no sense, and there is a lot of forum traffic on the Net already that shows a majority of folks agree with me. If Apple really wants to make in-roads with this product, the highest price point that’s making any sense to anyone of us who have to fork over the cash is $199. Even at that, I consider the mini-iPod competitive and not “a steal”. At its current $249 price point, though, it’s simply a ball buster. I would fork over the extra $50 for the $299 15GB iPod instead.
Once I go over $200 on any computer related purchase, I consider it a different financial ball game. I’m betting that your average consumer and especially your average college student will, too.
posted by Andy Foster at
2:11 PM
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