The company says pre-orders for the new computer, which hits stores Saturday, have surpassed the 150,000 mark.
The Cupertino-based company said today there are more than 150,000 advance orders for the iMac, which is due out on Saturday. Additionally, Apple said it has reached an exclusive deal for Internet service with Earthlink Networks, and touted the availability of new software titles and hardware devices for the Macintosh operating system that have been introduced since the iMac's unveiling in April.
"This is typical of Steve Jobs," said Mark Anderson, president of Strategic News Service, and an independent PC industry analyst, of today's flurry of marketing activity.
"If that figure [150,000 pre-orders] is right, it's a very good launch," Anderson noted.
Early retailer promotions like "Apple Demo Days," and iMac giveaways are being credited with the brisk pre-orders at stores like CompUSA, which began accepting orders a week ago. One promotion at CompUSA offered early iMac customers a coupon book redeemable for up to $800 in rebates on Mac software and hardware, although many of the coupons are for products that typical iMac users wouldn't buy or couldn't use with the iMac.
Clouding any news about brisk sales are comments that interim CEO Steve Jobs made in a New York Times interview after Apple's quarterly earnings, questioning whether Apple would be able to keep up with the demand for the iMac.