Apple buffs expect new desktops soon

Keen on an iMac? Tech forums suggest it may be a good idea to wait for a month or two

Keen on an iMac? Tech forums suggest it may be a good idea to wait for a month or two

Is this a good time to buy an iMac? Stores in Bangalore don't have ready stocks of the top end 24-inch iMac, so many believe upgraded models are due very soon.

In with the new: The 24 inch iMac

How soon? In December there was talk it would happen in January, and when that didn't happen, Apple buffs started looking at March.

That leaves you with a couple of weeks before you see a more powerful Mac desktop on the shelves. But since everything about the new iMac is unconfirmed, the tech forums are abuzz with speculation.

"The iMac is in short supply... you can order it, but it will take at least a week for us to deliver it," said Praveen Kharge, manager of a stor selling Macs. Vendors in Bangalore have no clue whether a new model is due.

Tiring wait

Some Mac users are frustrated with the waiting. "My 4-year old iMac is on its last legs. The DVD drive no longer works and, although everything else is fine and functional, it's just plain slow. I have the money, so what's the problem?" John Holbo wrote on a forum on the site Crooked Timber (https://www.crookedtimber.org/).

He writes in mock seriousness that Apple always waits till he buys a Mac before it releases a new model.

And voicing the frustration of others like him, he asks if he could nudge Apple into coming out with its eagerly awaited upgrade just by buying what is now available.

The wait may be worthwhile, some on the forum told him, but others urged him to take home the available iMac and stop wasting time worrying about the new, marginally better model.

Rumour sites

Some sites, such as Mac Rumors (https://www.macrumors.com/) track what is happening at Apple, and knowledgeable rumours and educated guesses make the rounds every time a new product is around the corner.

Some observers believe the new iMac will offer a quad-core processor, more memory, and better graphics for the same price. It now works on a dual-core processor. The retail price of the 24-inch model is about Rs 86,000.

Mac buffs thought Steve Jobs would announce a new iMac at the Macworld conference late last year, but he didn't. Instead, he said he was backing out of that annual conference ritual.

Buy now, sell now!

"It's been a long time since a new iMac appeared and it seems certain we'll have something exciting by June at the latest. But I don't really want to wait. I'm morally certain I could CAUSE something new and exciting to be announced and rapidly rolled out, by the simple act of buying one of the old ones," Holbo continued.

He got some fun reactions. One poster suggested Holbo buy an iMac now, push Apple to release the new iMac, and then sell the older system in its original packaging on eBay. By throwing in an application or two, Holbo could get back almost the full price, the post said. (Additional reporting by Lavanya Srinivasan)