Bong! . . . :-) . . . Welcome to Macintosh!
From low end to high end of Apple's desktop line, you have the
Mac mini, the iMac, and the Mac Pro. Let's break down the prices
for each entry-level model (as per the Apple Store):
Mac mini
- 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo
- 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2 GB
- 60 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 24x Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
- Integrated GMA 950 video card with 64 MB of shared memory
- Price: $599
iMac
- 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - 2 MB L2 Cache
- 512 MB DDR SDRAM, expandable to 2 GB
- 160 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 24x Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
- 17" LCD Widescreen Monitor
- Integrated GMA 950 video card with 64 MB of shared memory
- Price: $999
Mac Pro
- two 2.0 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors - 4 MB shared L2
cache (each processor)
- 1 GB DDR2 ECC RAM, expandable to 16 GB
- 250 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 16x SuperDrive (double-layer support)
- Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT video card with 256 MB of GDDR2 SDRAM
video memory
- 3 open PCI Express slots
- Price: $2,200
What's wrong with this picture? There's a gaping hole in the
desktop line!
Let's get to the meat in the sandwich....
The Mac mini is the entry
level Mac (rumored to be discontinued soon). It's the affordable
entry into the Mac experience. BYODKM - bring your own display,
keyboard, and mouse. Very few expansion possibilities, at least
internally.
Next, the iMac. The darling
of the Mac desktop line. A powerful Mac with a built-in LCD monitor
and with a little more expandability than the Mac mini. Like the
mini, most upgrades have to be done externally.
Finally, the Mac Pro. All
the power you could ever want with all the expandability you can
imagine - at a price guaranteed to give you an extreme case of the
shakes and a stroke to boot!
If Apple kills off the mini, it would be a huge mistake.
Especially as the "halo effect" from the iPod (and now the iPhone)
has ignited a potential firestorm of converts from the other side.
While the mini may be lacking in certain areas, one thing is clear:
It's the most affordable Mac in the lineup, and killing it without
a replacement, price-wise, would be completely stupid!
What's missing from Apple's desktop line? A midlevel "headless
iMac". The mini didn't quite fit the bill for this. Physically it
did, but expandability was severely compromised.
For years, the Mac faithful have been clamoring for the perfect
compromise between a headless iMac with some room for internal
expandability without having to fork over a Mac Pro. It's a segment
Apple has ignored and continues to ignore.
It's time to listen up, Apple. What's wrong with offering a
small to mid-sized tower or even a Cube redux with some expandability for
$1,199?
You could resurrect the Cube in a slightly bigger form and throw
in current iMac specs (just a rough example):
Cube
- 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo 2
- 512 MB DDR SDRAM, expandable to 2 GB
- 160 GB Serial ATA Hard Drive
- 24x Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) with an option for a
SuperDrive
- Dedicated graphics card, such as the GeForce 7300
- 1 or 2 PCI Express slots and at least 1 open drive bay
- Price: $1,199
This could easily be attained.
Part of the reason the Cube failed was because it had very
little expandability and commanded the same price as the low-end G4
tower. Why would someone pay $1,599 for something with little
expandability when they could have a Power Mac G4 with
expandability for the same price?
This would provide the right balance between price and
expandability. Apple could sell many of these, as there are a lot
of Mac users who don't want an all-in-one, think the mini is too
limited, and refuse to cough up the mucho dinero for the Mac
Pro.
As wonderful as Apple is when it comes to design, they could
easily make the new Mac as sleek and svelte as the rest of the Mac
lineup. I've been on many forums such as AppleInsider and
ThinkSecret (just to name a few), and I can tell you, there are
plenty of Mac users clamoring for this.
Apple, if you build it, they will come. 
Further Reading
