Apple refreshes iMac and Mac mini product lines
Moving onto the desktop front, Apple announced a complete update to their all-in-one iMac product line while also announcing long-awaited updates to their entry-level desktop PC, the Mac mini.
We’ll start things off with the new iMac which features enhancements such as edge-to-edge glass, LED-backlit 21.5 inch and 27 inch widescreen displays, an all-aluminum enclosure, the new wireless Apple Magic Mouse, and updated CPUs such as faster Core 2 Duo processors as well as Core i5 or Core i7 quad-core processors.
The 21.5 inch iMac has a display resolution of 1920 x 1080 while the 27 inch iMac has a display resolution of 2560 x 1440 (60 % more than the 24 inch model from the previous generation). Both new models comes with IPS technology which delivers consistent colors across the 178 degree viewing angle.
The new iMacs also come with a wireless keyboard and the new Apple Magic Mouse as standard components. The Magic Mouse dumps mechanical buttons, and scroll wheels, in favor of a Multi-Touch surface which resides on the entire top of the mouse. Users use intuitive gestures to perform actions such as scrolling long documents, panning large images, or navigating pictures and webpages. The Magic Mouse can be configured as a single button mouse or a two button mouse.
Other system level features of the new iMacs include:
- Choice of NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics in the 21.5 inch model
- Choice of ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model.
- 4GB of RAM with support for up to 16GB RAM
- Built-in iSight video camera
- Built-in microphone and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design
- Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11m Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Up to 4 USB 2.0 ports
- One FireWire 800 port
- Built-in SD slot
The complete specs to the two new iMacs are as follows:
The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:
- 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
- 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
- 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:
- 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display;
- 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 27-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:
- 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
- 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics; with 256MB GDDR3;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 27-inch 2.66 GHz Core i5 iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
- 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display;
- 2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 8MB shared L3 cache;
- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB;
- ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics; with 512MB GDDR3;
- 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
- Mini DisplayPort for video input and output (adapters sold separately);
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- four USB 2.0 ports;
- one FireWire 800 port;
- SD card slot;
- built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
- Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.
The new 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac is now shipping while the Core i5 and Core i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping in November.
On the low-end of the desktop spectrum, Apple finally updates the classic Mac mini desktop PC with faster processors, more standard memory, larger hard drives, and a new server-oriented model which drops the slot-drive in favor of a secondary 500 GB hard drive for a total of 1TB of disk space.
The $599 entry level Mac mini now comes with a 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM, 160GB HDD, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 port, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics, and a SuperDrive.
The $799 Mac mini has a faster 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of RAM, and a larger 320GB HDD.
Finally, in an interesting move by Apple, the company announced a new high-priced Mac mini model ideally suited for server duties. The $999 Mac mini dumps the built-in slot-load SuperDrive in favor of a second hard drive which means you’ll have 1TB of disk space on this Mac mini (2×500GB HDD) as well as Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. Add in the low-power consumption and small form factor of the Mac mini and you have the makings of a pretty sweet server box – for both the home and office.
