Re: mac mini as HTPC

Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sun, 4 Oct 2009 12:47:39 +1200, dempson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (David
Empson) wrote:

Jaimie Vandenbergh <jaimie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Sat, 3 Oct 2009 15:49:50 -0700 (PDT), Ric Harris
<infobubble@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Jeebus. Had't realised it was that much hard work to be honest.
Bugger.

If you can build kit with an appropriately powerful gfx chip, you can
skimp on the CPU. The new Minis with the nv9400 do 1080p without
breathing heavily, but they start at 2GHz c2d and a high price...

It is worth considering the rumours of a new Mini being about to make
its appearance in the next week or three (along with an iMac and MacBook
update).

Another Mini update, already? My word.

Growing evidence too. AppleInsider is pointing to some Dutch Google ads
apparently slipped out too early from Apple touting all three models,
including a reduction in entry level Mini price from €599 to €499 as
well as being faster.

Apple resets international prices based on the current exchange rate
when they refresh a model, so if the UK£ is worth more against the US$
than it was in March, the new models will be cheaper even if the US$
price is the same. If Apple manages to cut the US$ price, it will be
even better.

I haven't been watching UK prices, but in New Zealand, the entry level
Mini (US$599) went up from NZ$948 to NZ$1398 when the current model was
introduced, due to the NZ$ being low against the US$ in March 2009
compared to August 2007.

Same here; price jumped £429 to £499 for the low-end, I think.

Since then, our exchange rate has improved
markedly, and I expect a new model introduced shortly may be close to
NZ$1000 again.

UKP hasn't improved, and is in fact spiralling further down the
toilet, even compared to the US dollar.

It looks like exchange rates have tracked as follows since March:

Euro: US$1 = €0.74 to €0.68
Pound: US$1 = £0.69 to £0.62
NZ$: US$1 = NZ$1.74 to NZ$1.39

Given that the pound and euro have tracked roughly in line against the
US$, if the leaked price is accurate then the UK price should go down
accordingly, and it looks like the US price on the entry level Mini will
be lower (perhaps down to US$499 again).

The NZ prices will be even better in that case, as our dollar has shot
up (along with Australia) compared to the US dollar.

--
David Empson
dempson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
.

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