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Apple quietly rolls out $799 iMac
September 28 - 11:40 ET: Apple has started making available to catalog houses and retailers in the U.S. it's low-end US$799 iMac system -- which previously had only been available to the American education market and in many other parts of the world, including the U.K. The system is an Indigo-colored, 500MHz, G3-based system with 512K L2 cache at 200MHz, 64MB of memory, 20GB Ultra ATA Drive, CD-ROM, RAGE 128 Pro w/8MB and a 56K fax modem. It's is expected that catalog Web sites and the Apple Online Store will post the product for ordering before Monday in what is being called a low-key announcement by Apple with little fanfare.

Dealers are being told the availability of the low-end system is Apple's attempt at heading off market share erosion from Windows-based systems in the sub-$800 range as PC makers enter the always competitive holiday quarter. In comparison, many of those systems already come standard with a minimum of 128MB RAM as well as a re-writeable CD for less than $700.

Several dealers contacted by MacMinute admitted they would be stocking very few of the $799 systems until they judge the demand from customers. "Frankly, I don't think we'll sell many of them," said one prominent dealer on the West Coast, who asked not to be named. "We look at it as a 'hook' to get customers in the store and then sell them a more complete system."