The Qwertyrash Blogs

As a Mac user here at QwertyRash, I look for clues about what Apple is up to. Now I’ve just seen that Apple Australia are offering MS Office at half price with new Macs:

Buy any new Mac and save up to 50% on Microsoft Office. There’s never been a better time to write a paper, manage a home, or set up a business. Because from now until 28 February 2006, you can get the perfect Mac and the perfect Office at the perfect price.

Intel Macs
What’s this mean for the Intel Macs? Would Apple have a promo like this that overlapped with new models? Maybe, except the the Office they giving your at half price, would have to be run under Rosetta on an Intel Mac - with noticeable performance hits. So I can’t see Intel Macs being available during the course of this promo. Of course, this might only be Australia that’s not getting Intel based Macs until 1 March.

This doesn’t mean Apple won’t announce the Intel Macs earlier, such as at MacWorld San Francisco, but you can bet, at least in Australia, they won’t be available until 1 March at the earliest.

iWork updates
And would Apple be promoting Microsoft Office for the Mac over this period if they were releasing an update to iWork that included new apps such as a spreadsheet or database? Again, maybe it will only apply to Australia.

Maybe though Apple is doing this to keep sales of Macs moving after they announce the Intel Mac at MWSF.

[Update] I’ve just found that Apple US are offering the same deal - but in the US it expires on Jan 31, 2006. That’s almost proof for me. And that the US will get the Intel Macs a month earlier than Australia.

Of course all this is hypothesis and conjecture. What say you?

View Australia Apple promo: Apple - Promo - Office Bonus
View US Apple promo: Apple - Promo - Office Bonus

macimacintel maciworksoftware

Technorati Tags: Apple, intel mac, macintel, mactel, iwork