The Mac Mini – The first MacIntel?

Reports from a couple of online Apple rumor mills say that Apple will introduce Intel CPU’s in the Mac Mini vice an iBook or PowerBook, though either may follow quickly behind. That would be a good move, since it would allow current Mac users interested in moving to the new CPU a chance to try it out without risking a lot of cash. The same logic holds true for current Windows users looking to switch to the Mac platform; a lot of Apple hardware could be sold if prospective switchers know they can run their current Windows set-up and still play with Mac OS X.

Introducing a mini first would also allow for some idea of how Apple notebooks using the new CPU and ported operating system can be expected to perform since the mini uses notebook hard drives and video to do its work. It may not be a true harbinger since Apple would probably use a more powerful CPU in its PowerBooks than its mini’s (One would certainly hope so.), but it would be a reasonable extrapolation from there to guess how one machine versus the other would do.

Whether I’ll spring for a mini versus waiting for a PowerBook will depend on what performance reviews of the minis show, what the difference in time will be between their introductions, and how much confidence I have I’ll be able to comfortably run my applications on the machines. The more doubt I have, the more likely it is I’ll buy a mini and test it out.

Whatever I do, you can bet I’ll post the results here.