Apple Launches Free Mac mini Test Drive Promo.

I’m not sure what’s going on but it must be something worth considering. Apple just launched a Mac mini promo called “Test Drive A Mac mini.” Try it for 30 days, send it back if you don’t love it.

Is Apple supremely confident in the Mac mini? Or just highly desperate?

Click Here for the not-ready-to-believe-it details.

So far, it appears to be legitimate. You can get a Mac mini from the Apple Store online and try it out for 30 days. Love it? Keep it? Don’t love it and want your money back? Send back the Mac mini for a full refund.

Fine Print, Contract Gotchas?

“If you make your purchase between August 30, 2005, and October 31, 2005, Apple will allow you to evaluate any combination of a Mac Mini, a keyboard and a mouse under its “Test Drive” program, subject to Apple’s standard Sales and Refunds Policy and the Return & Refund Policy below:

RETURN & REFUND POLICY If you are not satisfied with your online purchase of a preconfigured (non-customized) Mac mini (model nos. M9686LL/B, M9687LL/B, and M9971LL/B only) and any Apple keyboard (model nos. M9034LL/A and M9270LL/A) or mouse (model nos. MA086LL/A and M9269Z/A) you purchase at the same time, please call 1-800-676-2775 for a Return Material Authorization (RMA) request within 30 calendar days after you receive your products. Please have your web order number and your products’ serial numbers available for the Apple operator, as you will need them to request an RMA. If you return your products in their original, unmarked packaging, including any accessories, manuals, documentation, and registration cards that shipped with them, we will exchange your products or offer you a refund based on your original method of payment. The Mac mini may not be returned if the UPC has been removed from the box. You must return your products to the Apple warehouse within 14 calendar days of the issuance of the RMA or the RMA will expire. Apple will refuse any returns unaccompanied by a valid RMA. Apple will not charge a restocking fee.

NOTE: Apple recommends that you (1) use a carrier that offers shipment tracking for all returns and (2) either insure your package for safe return to Apple or declare the full value of the shipment so that you are completely protected if the shipment is lost or damaged in transit. If you choose not to (1) use a carrier that offers tracking and (2) insure or declare the full value of the product, you will be responsible for any loss or damage to the product during shipping. Please note that the United States Postal Service (USPS) offers limited tracking capabilities and that there is a 30-calendar-day waiting period before the USPS will initiate a trace.

This Return & Refund Policy will only apply to one Mac mini, one Apple keyboard, and one Apple mouse, even if purchased with other items on the same web order. Apple’s standard Return & Refund Policy will apply to those other items.”

Whoa! Is Apple so secure in the Mac mini’s ability to get folks to switch, buy, keep, that they’re willing to let you try it out first? Full refund? No questions asked?

Or, is Apple totally desperate to move a gazillion Mac mini’s that are stuck in warehouses somewhere?

Between you and me, I think the Mac mini is a Trojan Horse. Deep inside each Mac mini are two armies ready to take over your computing experience.

1 - Mac OS X Tiger. It’s installed and ready to go out of the box. Fun. Easy. Sophisticated. Secure. Dependable.

2 - iLife and iWork (included in demo mode). Installed and ready to embarrass Microsoft Windows.

update We received a notice from Apple today regarding the Mac mini Test Drive Promo:

“As a follow-up to an email we sent you this morning, please note that the Mac mini Test Drive promotion is no longer offered at the Apple Store. We have dynamically updated the banners and landing pages for this promotion, so if you are featuring this promotion on your site, they will automatically update to another promotion. Please be sure to update your Mac mini Test Drive text links. The rest of the promotions featured in today’s email are still live.”

We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Is the promotion alive or dead? We don’t know. We cannot find mention of the Mac mini Test Drive Promo on the Apple web site. The link above, which once displayed a page with all the details and legal mumbo jumbo, now displays the Apple Store.

Wassup?