Apple Reintroduces Lust Factor with New iMacs

by Chris Maxcer

Over the years, the iMac has gone from bubbly and colorful to slim and shiny. It’s always looked good and has been reasonably compelling, but Apple’s latest 27-inch widescreen iMac with edge-to-edge glass takes the new iMac from cool to downright desirous.

The new iMac comes in two LED-backlit screen sizes — 21.5 and 27 inch versions with movie-friendly 16:9 aspect ratios. The new 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display while the 27-inch iMac boasts an astounding 2560-by-1440 pixel display, which happens to offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Apple says both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent color across a wide 178 degree viewing angle.

The back is a seamless aluminum frame.

On the inside, the new iMacs feature Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance of previously shipping 24-inch iMacs. The quad-core i5 and i7 units, by the way, run at 2.66GHz and 2.8GHz, respectively.

There’s a few different options for graphics processors, starting with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model. In the 27-inch unit, customers can go with ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics with 512MB.

As for memory, the new iMac line starts with 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and ramps up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots.

Also Included

New iMacs ship with a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and the all-new wireless Apple Magic Mouse, which replaces the Mighty Mouse. The Magic Mouse boasts a Multi-Touch surface capable of understanding a variety of finger swipes for easy page navigation. Every iMac also features a built-in iSight video camera, mic and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design. As expected, the iMacs also use AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, a total of four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and a new built-in SD card slot, which are now also standard on MacBook Pros.

Apple is also bragging up the iMac’s green design, which meets the new more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements as well as achieves EPEAT Gold status. The LED-backlit displays are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Also gone are internal components and cables with PVCs, there are no brominated flame retardants, and the packaging features a “material-efficient system” and design.

The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac is now shipping, but the Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping later this month.

The Specs

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, coming in at $1,199, 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
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse

The new 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, coming in at $1,499, 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
• 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
• 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
• Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse
• build-to-order options for the 27-inch Core i5 quad-core iMac include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core processor

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As Featured on Amazon.com:

• Apple iMac MB950LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop
• Apple iMac MC413LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop
• Apple iMac MB952LL/A 27-Inch Desktop
• Apple iMac MB953LL/A 27-Inch Desktop

Filed Under: Apple Action • Desirous • Featured • Mac