Thin Is In
Apple Computer Inc. is ready to make bulky cathode-ray tube displays a thing of the past.
“We will be the first with all-LCD displays in the industry,” Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Monday in opening Apple’s weeklong conference for thousands of software developers.
Apple already is selling a pair of flat-panel liquid-crystal displays, a 15-inch and a 22-inch, both of which were reduced in price Monday to $599 and $2,499, respectively. Apple also will introduce a 17-inch display for $999 early next month. LCD monitors offer higher resolution and take up far less space than traditional PC displays.
The decision doesn’t involve Apple’s line of popular iMac computers, the colorful desktops that combine a computer and monitor in one. Those models, which feature a 15-inch screen, will remain the only vestige of CRTs, Apple officials said.
Citing heavy feedback from consumers, Jobs also said the company is shipping all Mac computers with its latest OS X operating system, two months ahead of what the company had planned.
The Numbers Game
Nintendo Co. will sell its new Gamecube video game console in the U.S. for about $200, as much as 33% less than rival products from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
Nintendo, maker of games such as “Pokemon,” plans to put the device for sale Nov. 5 for $199.95, the company said. It will appear in stores three days before Microsoft will start selling its Xbox for $299. Sony sells PlayStation 2 for $299.
Nintendo’s lower price could benefit the company by resulting in higher software sales, and most Gamecube games will be published by Nintendo itself, an analyst said. The price could appeal to price-conscious parents.
