2/28/2K: Robert Leone wasn't too far off in last week's
The MacRumor Millers on osOpinion. He postulated Apple
would release a special cubical version of the iMac aimed at the
trade show audience. Well, he was close.
Close, but no cigar. Apple knows how much companies are willing
to spend on trade shows: renting space, expensive booths,
giveaways, lots of hardware, booth babes, celebrities, etc.
Apple is addressing that market with iCube, which will come
in several versions.
The key component in the iCube isn't the computer inside the
box, but the Apple Cinema Display. The iCube will ship in
five different hand-built versions with one to four of these
monstrous 22" flat panel displays per cube.
Using as small a border as possible around the screen, the iCube
will be about 20" wide and roughly 14" high. The base iCube will
have a single screen, the iCube2 will
have screens on adjoining faces, the iCube3 will have screens on three adjoining faces, and
the iCube4 will have screens on each
side of the cube. (Each model can be upgraded in the
field.)
Inside the iCube is a customized Power Mac G4 motherboard
with four AGP slots, allowing the use of up to four AGP
video cards supporting one Cinema Display apiece. AirPort will be
standard.
The iCube is designed to sit on a square base which
contains a UPS. The base will come in several sizes ranging from an
8" tall tabletop unit to a 5' floor standing base. Larger bases can
support multiple iCubes.
Yes, you read it right: iCubes. Plural. The modular iCube
ships with a square top that has handles for moving the device, but
this can be removed so up to four iCubes can be stacked,
sharing a common base, power supply, and UPS. In instances where
iCubes are stacked, the bottom computer becomes a master,
coordinating the work of all the cubes in the stack. In the case of
multiple stacks, the master can communicate via AirPort with
masters in other iCube stacks, creating some very intriguing
possibilities.
But it even goes beyond that. The final version of the iCube,
the one Apple thinks will be the most popular, is the
iCube3+. On this model, the two panels
on the side can be turned forward so they align with the central
panel, creating a 60" wide triptych display. Stack four and
you've got a 5' square display. Add more stacks beside these and
you've got as wide a video wall as you could want.
Apple will have companies salivating to be the first with an
iCube wall at their next trade show. With the regular Cinema
Display adding $4,000 to the cost of a Power Mac G4 system, you can
imagine how expensive the iCubes will be, bringing a steady
high-profit flow to Apple, since Apple will only sell them directly
to end users. Preliminary estimates are $10,000 for the
basic iCube and $6,000 more for each additional display. There will
be a premium for the iCube3+ box, since
the hinges have to be carefully aligned.
To make sure everyone knows the iCube is an Apple product,
the Apple logo will be clearly displayed on either the base
or cap. As a condition of sale, the purchaser will be required to
keep the 4" high backlit white logo visible to those viewing the
iCube.
The possibilities are quite intriguing. A vendor could display
four views of a new product on the four faces of an
iCube4, creating a walk-around effect,
or they could have a single 360° panoramic image wrap
itself around the iCube.
Thanks to the Cinema display, AirPort, QuickDraw 3D, and many
other Apple innovations, the company is uniquely suited to bring a
specialty product like the iCube to market. It should be a real
cash cow.
- Anne Onymus
