Mac Mini Update: The Readers Speak

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What Do You Make Of That New Mini?

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Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He writes for the Press Association and The Morning News. He has a website you can ignore and a Twitter account you needn't follow.

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Posted in News, Opinions |

Phil
I say quitcha bitchin! if you dont like it buy something else! I have been waiting too long for this thing!!!
Duality
Interesting. I don’t think it’s worth it which is disappointing, because I was honestly expecting it to be nicer looking, or cheaper, or more powerful at the same price, or a media extender… Etc, etc, etc…
I don’t think this is appealing to anybody as a ‘first Mac’ option anymore. It’s more like a niche product, for those who already have a keyboard/mouse/monitor that they’re happy to use with a Mac and thus don’t see the benefit of an iMac.
Apart from those people, the iMac is a much better buy. I guess the iMac is a perfect first Apple computer though, so it’s not all bad. It just raises the entry price point by a fair amount.
Apple, when are you going to look at reality and realize that there is a market for affordable products? Not cheap, shoddy ones like most organizations produce, but affordable quality Apple products… *Sigh*
Cameron
Go MBP.
http://inletmedia.com Chris Peterson
Yeah I have been hoping to buy a mac mini to replace another computer I use as a home server but this really isn’t a great deal. If I was going to use it as a desktop and had to buy all the accessories its even less of a bargain. You might as well just go for the Imac.
Chris H
I’m definitely considering a Mac Mini purchase, but I have to say I am a little bit disappointed. First of all, after such a long wait to get all 3 Mac desktop lines refreshed, I was holding out hope that Apple had some new big innovations in desktops. At a minimum I have been hoping for a mid-range Mac that isn’t a darned iMac with a built in display. I already have a 24″ monitor! So Apple is only giving me 3 options. 1) Buy an underpowered Mac mini 2) Buy an overpowered Pro desktop 3) Build a hackintosh from a mid range Dell. I’ll probably end up with option number 1, but Apple I would have spent more money on you if you would have just made a mid-range desktop.
http://www.freewebs.com/freeipodt/ William
At least it has firewire! Hahahaha…. I am so funny!
http://www.technovia.co.uk Ian Betteridge
Apple doesn’t make niche products. So why is it making the Mac mini, which is now only suitable for a very small niche?
As a machine for switchers, it’s woeful: for the same price as a low-end mini in the UK, I can buy a quad-core Dell with three times the RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a graphics card which doesn’t use shared memory. Switchers used to be able to justify buying a mini because it was a low-cost way of trying out a Mac. Now, unless someone is absolutely desperate to get away from Windows, they aren’t even going to look at the mini.
For current Mac users, it’s pretty poor. For most people, a second hand iMac would be a better option if you’re on a tight budget – and if you’re not, saving up for an iMac or MacBook is far, far better.
For anyone building a media centre – something that the old mini excelled at – it’s now just too expensive.
So who is it actually for? I can only conclude that Apple wants to use the mini as an up-sell tool – someone comes into a store looking to buy a cheap Mac, sees that the iMac/MacBook offers way better value than the mini, and spends more than they’d originally planned to.
chris k
While a nice upgrade (faster system bus, higher RAM ceiling, better video card, dual-display option, more USB and faster firewire 800), I still think it is overpriced for what you get… even compared to an entry-level iMac: 33% slower CPU speed, smaller/slower HHD, missing $100+ worth of accessories (keyboard, mouse, remote?), no 20″ glossy display for $400 less (I compared the high-end mini to match the other specs better). At the prices Apple is asking, they should at least toss in the keyboard and mouse.
OTOH, I’m looking to replace an aging Cube – that can still run Leopard because of a good video card and a modest CPU upgrade… the mini has socket-replaceable CPU and now has a decent video subsystem, which will make it useful for longer… with all the ports (old mini-DVI, new mini-DisplayPort, old/new FW800, 5 USB2, etc.) it might end up being a flexible transition Mac like the old Wallsteet PowerBook with both SCSI and USB… and now that Apple is updating their desktops much less frequently, this is when the mini will represent it’s best value (short of a price drop).
chris k
oh, and in the value comparison, I forgot that the iMac also has built-in stereo speakers, built-in mic, and a built-in webcam that you don’t get with the mini.
No Name
I think Mac Mini should have been priced $100 less. I like Mac Mini, but it is still too pricey.
For the record, I think MacBook and MacBook Pro are somewhat reasonably priced (MacBook Air is excluded…)
dk jones
i don’t understand how some seem to think the new Mini is less of a deal on price alone, than the previous Mini?… since the switch to Intel Core Duo, the lowest-priced Mini has been $599.00, the $499.00 one was the 1.25GHz G4-the 1st Mac Mini(2004-2005). this new one comes w/ faster RAM, CPU & FSB, as well as 2 Video outs-supports extended desktop, better GPU, more USB ports, 802.11n, bigger HDD. all for the same price as the previous lo-end Intel CD Mini. i think for a media center/server it could be perfect w/ an add-on or 2. this would actually handle HD video on my 42″ Sony HDTV, where my more expensive, albeit older MacBook can’t–part of the reason i got a 17″ iMac CD-used(+ 1.25 TB FW HDDs for my media files).
i’d get one if i didn’t already have the iMac handling media center/server functions, but i’m considering one as a “client” for my bedroom HDTV. w/ about $35.00-50.00 for a wireless KB & Mouse, from whomever, i think it’s a pretty good deal.