At next week's Macworld, Apple is going to step on the gas. In an attempt to improve its sputtering financial picture, Apple Computer is expected to unveil new Power Mac desktops with faster chips and restyled PowerBook laptops, say sources familiar with the company's plans. At Macworld in San Francisco, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will introduce four new Power Mac models, including a new top-of-the-line computer with a 733-MHz G4 processor, the fastest Macintosh computer to date. Three other Power Macs will contain chips running at 466 MHz to 666 MHz. All of these computers will also come with a system bus that runs at 133 MHz rather than 100 MHz.The bus serves as the data conduit between the processor and memory; the faster the bus, the better the performance. The new computers will help the company close the speed gap with PC competitors such as Compaq Computer and Dell Computer, which are already offering computers with Pentium 4 chips running at 1.5 GHz.
For more than a year, Apple has been stuck under a speed ceiling, with its fastest computers topping out at 500 MHz. And Apple CEO Steve Jobs has vowed to reduce the so-called megahertz gap. Despite simple math, PCs containing 1.5-GHz Pentium 4 chips are not three times faster than Power Macs with 500-MHz chips. However, the performance gap has grown, because chips in PCs have been steadily gaining speed over the past year, according to analysts.
And just as important, the megahertz numbers carry weight in consumer marketing. Having the smaller number likely hurts Apple in sales. Apple also may unveil the long-anticipated G4 PowerBook, code-named "Mercury," as the company begins to move the portable beyond G3 processors, sources said.David Bailey, an analyst at Gerard Klauer Mattison, did not have information on new computers from Apple, but said he would not be surprised to see new Macs. "We expect hardware announcements," he said. "Steve Jobs was pretty adamant that there would be many new products soon...Most likely would be new PowerBooks. They're due for an update."
However, in light of Apple's current glut of inventory, sources cautioned that Apple could still choose to postpone announcements or actual shipment of products until later in the year. Some of the new computers may not ship until the release of Mac OS X, which is slated for February, or later Macworld conventions.
Following its policy, Apple refused to comment on upcoming products. Overcoming the perceived speed difference between PCs and Macs is something Apple has wanted to do for some time, said Gartner analyst Chris LeTocq. "It's important for Apple to say they've solved the megahertz issue," he said. In arrangement with India.CNET.com
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
