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Apple Tells Retailers to Stock Up on Current Macs and iPods

gizmodo.com — f you needed a bigger hint that new iPods and MacBooks (whatever form they take) are around the corner, AppleInsider is reporting that Apple has "strongly suggested" to its retail channel partners to stock up on at least four weeks worth of their best-selling iPod models, and at least three weeks worth of MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

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  • PhilaCheesteak, on 07/30/2008, -16/+1I-spam chomps *****.
  • MacParrot, on 07/30/2008, -6/+12I can see the iPod nano continuing on in some form, but the iPod Classic is most likely going away. With Flash memory still too expensive to match it in storage capability, I'd love to see the iPod Touch get a hard drive but chances are that won't happen.

    The MacBook Pro has been due for a facelift for quite some time and the MacBook could use a new look. I'd like to see MBP get the same ease of replacing the hard drive that the MacBooks have. I recently had mine replaced (going from a 120GB to a 320GB) and I wish I could have done it myself without voiding the warranty.

    The Mac Mini and iMac is also in need of a redesign. The Mini should have a regularly sized drive instead of the 4200-RPM laptop drive and the iMac should have some method of increasing internal storage. All these FireWire/USB 2 externals are a PITA.
    • 1shawn, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5A desktop hard drive in the Mac mini would mean a larger enclosure for the computer. I put a 7200 RPM laptop drive in mine and it's so much faster. Apple could go that route and still keep the same small form factor. Besides, the internals of the mini are basically like a laptop stacked up instead of spread out like they would be in an actual laptop. If Apple wanted to put a desktop drive in the mini, they might as well make it into a mini tower, which isn't going to happen. Mac users have been begging for an upgradable mid-range tower that falls somewhere between the mini and the Pro, but Apple has yet to deliver on that and continues to push the iMac instead.
    • lovecss, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2Wasn't the iMac only redesigned towards the end of last year? Ah wait, I forgot. It's Apple! On a sidenote, I can't believe how fast this year is going by.
    • raynar, on 07/31/2008, -1/+2Why would they stock up if new ones are coming? You'd think they'd get rid of the old and in with the new.
      • fmorel90, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5That's what Apple is doing. They're getting retailers to empty Apple's warehouses so that retailers will have stock until the announcements.
    • bradleyland, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1A full-sized hard disk in the mini would almost double the size :
    • mrg823, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3Couldn't agree more about the MBP needing easily an replaceable hard drive, but I disagree with all of your other points.

      - The iMac got a major redesign recently, not just a little refresh. It seems unlikely that Apple would change the design so soon.
      - The Mac Mini seems about ready to disappear altogether from the Apple product line; it never sold that well, and they don't seem to really pay much attention to keeping it upgraded with little refreshes nearly as much as they do with the rest of their computer offerings. I would love a major update of the Mini, but I don't think it's going to happen.
      - I disagree with you the most about the iPods; IMO, the iPod Classic is going to stick around until flash memory is cheap enough to produce capacities like the current iPod Classics (most notably, the 160GB model). It seems more likely to me that the Nano will go by the wayside, since the Touch is in the same storage range and is a much newer product than the Nano. And it seems like Apple is trying to clear out the rest of the 8GB Touch stock, since it's giving them away as part of the back-to-school promotion. My prediction is that once the 8GB Touch is gone, the 16GB and 32GB will each drop $100 to the prices of the current 8GB and 16GB models, respectively.
    • spokenrope, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4The Classic isn't going away any time soon. There are people out there who need their mp3 player to hold at least 80 gigs - that's the market that the Classic is after. And while yes, it's not the largest group at the moment, it's getting bigger all the time as people build their digital audio collections.
      • Arkanjal, on 07/31/2008, -2/+1but it would be so much easier to search through such a large library of music on the iPod Touch
  • thedragon4453, on 07/31/2008, -1/+36For the love of holy FSM, update the damn mac mini. Or scrap it, and give me the mid range tower that I so desperately crave.
    • mmijatov, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1Amen to that!
    • Urkel, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1I know everyone loves their iPhones and all but c'mon Apple. What is wrong with just focusing on more than one product at a time because every single product in the lineup is due for an update and if you're going to "strategically" space them 6-12 months apart then we won't get a new Mini or Macbook until 2012.
    • joltjake, on 08/01/2008, -0/+1The mac mini is their mid range desktop pc. Their only tower, the mac pro, has dual quad core processors and is worth the price tag.
  • davidwasman, on 07/31/2008, -1/+19Mac Mini is now the oldest product not updated in Apple's portfolio. It needs an update.

    With every bitching and moaning about how ''WAHHH Macs are too expensive" it could really be a cash cow and enter them into the budget PC market. As of now, with the price-point at $799 for the one with all the amenities, it's still beyond the average PC users budget.

    Drop the price, update the hardware and they will make a ton of money off of it.
    • Pittance, on 07/31/2008, -8/+4What is the average PC users, a penniless crack addict? I just outfitted a whole new, state of the art (not tip top, but best of class top) gaming PC for about $700. So while PCs are a LOT cheaper than any macs, that price range isn't out of PC users budgets.
      • davidwasman, on 07/31/2008, -0/+6I said the AVERAGE PC user. Not the "I am so l337 I can build my own gaming system' user.
    • nasalspray, on 07/31/2008, -1/+0I think that if the Mac MIni were going to be a "cash cow and enter them into the budget PC market", it would have happened by now. It has certainly been around long enough to do just that and it hasn't.
      • davidwasman, on 07/31/2008, -0/+3$799 is still too much. Especially when I can get a MacBook for $100 more. Sure, you can get a Mini for $599, but it doesn't have a DVD burner, only has a 80gb HD, and less ram.
  • SteveThePlank, on 07/31/2008, -1/+11I'd like a new Macbook Pro design, personally.
    • neems25, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2ive been waiting 4 years for a new Pro design....i want to upgrade to the new form factor
    • Adenosine, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1Yeah, I'd love to see the MBAir's keyboard on the Pros
  • tdkme, on 07/31/2008, -4/+3A hard drive version of the iPod touch might make it worth the money. that wonderful screen with all that storage... and now you can enable disk use as well...
    • mrgermy, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4Why the hell did you get dugg down?
  • Forever-Zero, on 07/31/2008, -2/+6Meh, I still use my old photo iPod. Works fine, and I don't need to spend a few hundred dollars every few years.
  • joseguia, on 07/31/2008, -18/+4Apple is to Computers what Saddam was for Iraq
    jus sayin'
  • WombleSlayer, on 07/31/2008, -5/+29So it's basically...

    Apple to Retailers: "Buy more of our *****."
    • kults, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1At least current models don't crack like easter eggs.
  • thetanbark, on 07/31/2008, -4/+4"This indicates they're ramping down production of current models, and gearing up for fresh goods in early to mid-September, though the stretch for new notebooks might be a bit longer."
    It's also back-to-college time, and having a Mac AND an iPod would really help you score with that hot chick in Calculus I.
  • ant008, on 07/31/2008, -1/+2ahh new line up, i can smell the expensiveness right now
  • Pittance, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1Lol, "stock up". They are merely asking retailers to buy more of their hardware. But if they were making new models, why would a retailer stock up on old crap when the new stuff will come in? No one will want the old crap when the new hardware comes in, and a short supply of all hardware will lead customers to think apple is so popular it immediately sells out.
  • synthsri, on 07/31/2008, -2/+2IMO Nano and Touch gets updated with MB and MBP getting a new chipset (non-intel) from what the rumor mill is churning out...
    either way, the stock is still in the crapper for the year.
  • ibeetle, on 07/31/2008, -0/+8This is coming from rumor site which is reporting that another rumor site (why not link to the original rumor site?) has inside information that they belive.......

    Oh, please.
  • fishrjv, on 07/31/2008, -0/+5Honestly I would just be content with the 32gb iPod Touch at a cheaper price point.
  • roryk27, on 07/31/2008, -3/+2four weeks of ipods and three weeks of laptops.
    so end of october 2010 we should expect the price to be within reason for the average computer buying public
  • mogebier, on 07/31/2008, -2/+4Of course Apple is coming up with something new right around the corner. That's their business model. It's amazing how gullible people are towards Apple products. They have one that works just fine, but feel the need to buy the new one anyway.
    You are deluded if you don't realize that companies work YEARS in advance of release. I bet they are working on the iphone release #6 right now. Already having the other 3 releases lining up to go. They know who their market is, and play to it.
    • MacParrot, on 07/31/2008, -0/+2I'm not disagreeing with you but drop Sony or Microsoft or (name electronic manf here) where you wrote Apple and it wouldn't make a difference.
      • mogebier, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1That's my point. The Apple Kool-Aid drinkers seem to hold Apple up as some sort of "better" company, when they are just as big and greedy as the rest of them. They seem to think Steve Jobs is making ipods in his garage and they are screwing the man by buying it's stuff instead of other companies.
        Having an Apple product, to most people, is like being a part of something, not in owning the item because you NEED it.
      • MacParrot, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1I think you overestimate the number of real Apple fanboys. Back when Apple was in real danger of going under (yes I've used Macs that long and longer), there was nothing but a constant stream of bad news and people proclaiming with unmitigated glee that the company was dead.

        Hard core users like myself fought against what seemed like a never ending flow of people telling us that Apple was doomed and that none of its products were worth crap even after the release of the iPod and OS X assured that it wasn't going to go out of business.

        Compare that now to even long-time Windows users saying that Vista is garbage. The problem is that it can become a self-fufilled reality unless people truly believe in the product. I did believe and still do, but Apple no longer needs cheerleaders who turn a blind eye to faults, but people who will hold them to a higher standard and tell them when what they're doing isn't up to par.

        It may not seem like it to some people on digg, but many people (including myself) are holding Apple to that kind of standard and demand better than the MobileMe snafus and iPhone problems. Most of us also don't go to public forums like digg to rag on Microsoft or Linux because we realize that competition is how you make companies put out better products, not blind obedience.

        Yes, there are still fanboys but they're in every related field here on digg. Ignore them or make fun of them (as I do), but leave room for serious discussion on tech issues because that's where the real fun is.
  • jabberwolf, on 07/31/2008, -5/+1WAIT STOCK UP? ON OLD PRODUCTS?

    Because they wont be able to get rid of them when their new products and laptops with the montevina intel chipset come out.
    I mean WTF. Do they think their retailers are stupid??
    • Chirp08, on 07/31/2008, -0/+4They have a choice between stocking up on "old" product that will sell between now and the launch of the new stuff, or not stocking up and NOT selling ANYTHING in that time. Apparently making money is stupid to you?
  • Gavin, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1Here they come! I can't wait to see what Apple dishes out.
  • mdman, on 07/31/2008, -0/+1Ya, stock up on old crap, before we send you new models! what a rip off for the retailers
  • Urkel, on 07/31/2008, -1/+1I've been in the market for a new Macbook and Mini for almost a year and am amazed at how Apple hasn't dropped the prices or updated the specs in all that time. 1GB (2x512) in a brand new 08 system? No DVD burner across the line? C'mon Apple. Every time I try to give you a hug you kick me in the nuts.

    Mac Mini:
    $600 1.8ghz - 1GB - 80GB HDD - No DVD Burner

    Macbook:
    $1100 2.1ghz - 1GB - 120GB - No DVD Burner

    iMac:
    $1200 2.4ghz - 1GB - 250GB - SuperDrive

    Mac Pro:
    $2800 2.8ghz Quad - 2GB - 320GB - SuperDrive

    Seriously Apple, its already Aug08 and with the Intel switch then the consumers are more informed as to what specs they should be getting and those configs are straight out of early 2007.
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