penmachine.comments (all fields optional!)
I agree that the lack of user upgrade capacity runs contrary to the marketing, but I think its strategically exactly what Apple want - they're probably hoping to make money from doing upgrades for folks, or make money when people decide they're ready for a real Mac.
Whether any of that will work, I've no idea. But I imagine they couldn't have achieved the tiny form factor whilst making it user upgradeable and cheap, and the tiny form factor is what, for me, gives it that classic iMac impact.
I agree that the small size is important, but from the cover-off shots on the website, a RAM upgrade could at least have been made fairly simple by making the cover come off with a latch or some basic screws.
Now, I may be wrong and the cover may be easy to pop off, but the stock 256 MB RAM is too little for a Mac to run well these days, and Apple is charging too much for a 512 MB module preinstalled. So if people buy from someone else right now it seems that they'll have to fork over even more money to get it put in, or void their warranty, which is both rude and makes the mini more expensive than it should be.
It just seems counterproductive to tell people to bring their own monitor, keyboard, and mouse (i.e. feel free to be cheap there), but not to do so with RAM. Or Apple could have made 512 MB stock—it's silly that all Macs don't come with at least that now.
In addition, as Bob Cringely noted, Apple could even subsidize RAM if they wanted to, as leverage into the PC market. The cost per unit for them to do that would probably be $15-20.
But hey, we'll see. People thought the iPod mini was too expensive, and that was obviously wrong. I'm sure the Mac mini will fly off shelves.
Commenting by HaloScan
