Dreaming of a new G5 iMac but you want something a little more like the fruit flavored iMacs of a few years ago? Fear not, ColorWare has you covered. For about $500 extra you can order an iMac in any of the 20 shades they offer. Not insterested in an iMac? They’ll do the same to your iPod for $50 or your iBook for about $400. Can’t find the color you like? Send them a sample to match and they’ll paint it that color for an extra $99.
The idea behind Color-Ware started with transforming the ubiquitous beige computer into a custom-colored work of art. Our focus: “We will continue to create and transform our products beyond what the original manufacturers intended.”
I worked at Best Buy back when the first iMacs were sold. We stopped selling them because (we heard), Apple required that retailers buy an equal amount of all colors. We couldn't favor one color over another.
Why didn't Apple make the colored case removable so you could just snap on a new color? Seems tragic to me. They had great penetration in Best Buy when the plug got pulled.
"Apple required that retailers buy an equal amount of all colors. We couldn't favor one color over another."
I think that was an early requirement, but was dropped after a LOT of complaints from retailers. While it was still in effect many retailers got saddled with the less popular colors (green? Ugh), while the more popular hues flew out the doors.
That info puts their recent patent for the 'chameleon' case into perspective.
