Macs on TV: Apple Gets Back-to-School Boost


NBC's Today show this morning featured three Apple products: the iBook, iMac and the iPod.

Of the PC products demonstrated, Apple got the most screen space and time. The iBook 14.1" was covered briefly, with its screen touted as "good for watching DVDs". The iBook price was mentioned: $1,600.

The iMac 17" got more attention, with the presenter drawing attention to the wide screen LCD, described as "unusual". How much? "A cool $2,000", said the MSNBC guy, "But it's high end, high end."

The iPod wasn't left out of the back-to-school promo. The only MP3 player featured, the NBC item noted its price started at $299.

Also featured was a Dell desktop at $599 with a CDRW and a couple of printers.

Analysis: This was good, positive, high-profile coverage that can't hurt at all. For anyone out there who thought Apple was out of business, they'd might've got a shock seeing three cool products displayed so prominently. But maybe Bill put a call through to MSNBC after that, reminding them what the 'MS' in 'NBC' meant.