Apple unveils new line of 20- and 24-inch iMacs

[AppleInsider]

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its new line of iMac all-in-one desktops, featuring 20- and 24-inch widescreen displays encased in elegant and professional aluminum and glass enclosures.

The entire new iMac line features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors and a new, ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard, built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing and iLife '08, making it the ultimate digital lifestyle desktop computer for both consumers and professionals.

The 20-inch iMac now starts at just $1,199, $300 less than the previous 20-inch model, and the 24-inch iMac starts at just $1,799, $200 less than the previous 24-inch model.

"This new iMac is the most incredible desktop computer we've ever made," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Our new design features the innovative use of materials, including professional-grade aluminum and glass, that are highly recyclable."

Redefining Apple's signature all-in-one design, the new iMac integrates the entire computer system into a sleek, professional aluminum enclosure for a clutter-free desktop. A glass cover joins precisely to the aluminum enclosure creating a virtually seamless front surface, similar to the company's iPhone handset.

The new iMac's 20- and 24-inch glossy widescreen displays provide incredibly crisp images, Apple said, ideal for photos and movies. Meanwhile, the new ultra-thin aluminum Apple Keyboard is just 0.33 inches thin at its front edge. A new optional Apple Wireless Keyboard is a compact design that, with Apple's wireless Mighty Mouse, offers customers a cable-free desktop.



Packing professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one design, the new iMac includes the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors running up to 2.8 GHz with 4MB of shared L2 cache and up to 4GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory. The iMac line features ATI's next generation of graphics with the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory and the ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory. Each iMac also offers up to 1TB of internal storage to accommodate a user's growing library of digital photos, movies and music.

Apple also said each iMac features highly recyclable and durable materials including scratch-resistant glass and professional grade aluminum. The power-efficient iMac also meets the stringent new Energy Star 4.0 requirements, the company said.



Each iMac ships with iLife '08, the most significant update ever to Apple's award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto and a completely reinvented iMovie, both seamlessly integrated with the new .Mac Web Gallery for online photo and video sharing. The new iMac also comes with the world's most advanced operating system, Mac OS X version 10.4.10 Tiger.

Pricing & Availability

The new iMac line is available immediately through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The new Apple Wireless Keyboard will ship by the end of August and will be available as a build-to-order option with the new iMac through the Apple Store for a suggested retail price of $30 (US), or $50 (US) when purchased along with the wireless Mighty Mouse, and as a standalone purchase for a suggested retail price of $79 (US) through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The new 20-inch 2.0 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,199 (US), includes:20-inch widescreen LCD display2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GBa slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB GDDR3 memorybuilt-in iSight video camerabuilt-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpmmini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately)built-in stereo speakers and microphone andthe new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 20-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:20-inch widescreen LCD display2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GBa slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memorybuilt-in iSight video camerabuilt-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpmmini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately)built-in stereo speakers and microphone andthe new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
The new 24-inch 2.4 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:24-inch widescreen LCD display2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 4GBa slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW)ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB GDDR3 memorybuilt-in iSight video camerabuilt-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpmmini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately)built-in stereo speakers and microphone andthe new Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse and infrared Apple Remote.
Build-to-order options and accessories include: a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM and up to a 1TB Serial ATA hard drive on the 24-inch iMac; up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM and up to 750GB Serial ATA hard drive on the 2.4 GHz 20-inch iMac; and up to 4GB of DDR2 SDRAM and up to 500GB Serial ATA hard drive on the 2.0 GHz 20-inch iMac. Additional options include: new Apple Wireless Keyboard and wireless Mighty Mouse; AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme Base Station (now with Gigabit Ethernet); the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork(TM) '08, Logic Express 7, Final Cut Express HD 3.5 and Aperture 1.5.

For photos of the new iMacs and keyboards, check out AppleInsider's photo gallery from today's Apple reception.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[philbot]

Just waiting to place an order...

come on!

[ThinkExpensive]

Nice...but what about the mac mini?! There was a brief mention of it in the Q&A that it received "a refresh" but what is it? The store was up, but the link to mac mini was broken, now it went back down again.

[BenRoethig]

I'm very unimpressed by the graphics options. But this is apple's delusion and I don't have much option other to buy the 20" model.

[Think]

What's with the Radeon graphics solution?

Logistically speaking, wouldn't it be more efficient to use the same nVidia solutions as are employed in the MacBook Pro?

[Lorre]

Originally Posted by ThinkExpensive

Nice...but what about the mac mini?! There was a brief mention of it in the Q&A that it received "a refresh" but what is it? The store was up, but the link to mac mini was broken, now it went back down again.

* 1,83-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1 GB memory
* 80-GB
Eur 599,00



* 2,0-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1 GB memory
* 120-GB
Eur 779,00

Specs I managed to see before store went down again, think prices will be exactly the same in Dollars

[bobmarksdale]

This is very exciting. The one thing I am somewhat disappointed about is the screen resolution, but oh well, can't have everything.

[ZachMatthews]

Hey folks -

Love the new iMac extremely but right now I need to get my wife a new computer and she likes the white models. Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

Thanks,
Zach

[Delfoniq]

Apple Store is up and running. Mac Mini has been quietly refreshed. 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1GB RAM and 120 GB HDD. I'm placing my order now...
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPL...cts/AppleStore

Store works fine for me, check out the ad for the new iMacs.
http://www.apple.com/imac/ads/

Update: Apple Store is behaving badly, I guess they're still updating it.

[buddha]

Originally Posted by ZachMatthews

Hey folks -

Love the new iMac extremely but right now I need to get my wife a new computer and she likes the white models. Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

Thanks,
Zach

the new imacs are white too...

[ZachPruckowski]

Originally Posted by ZachMatthews

Hey folks -

Love the new iMac extremely but right now I need to get my wife a new computer and she likes the white models. Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

Thanks,
Zach

There is the refurb store where Apple sells refurbished models, and you can probably get a decent discount on one. A refurbished model is a model that hasn't been used before, and encountered a problem either at the store or in quality control that was fixed, so it's just as good as a new one. I can't find a link because the Apple Store is still down for some reason, but you can probably grab them at a few hundred dollars off.

[JakeTheRock]

Originally Posted by ZachMatthews

Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

they have a link for refurbished models on the bottom left of the page on the apple store

[K.C.]

Hey where's your article on the UPDATED - NOT DEAD - MINI ?

[aiolos]

They look great! And up to 2.8ghz on the 24", that's awesome :-)

And the aluminum and glass looks amazing!

[onlooker]

Try online stores other than Apple Like MacMall and such. You'll want to call, not taking the listed price off the internet unless they have already updated it.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by buddha

the new imacs are white too...

I understand what you mean, but I don't think so.

[Abster2core]

Originally Posted by buddha

the new imacs are white too...

Best you look a little closer.

[JakeTheRock]

Anyway, i am kind of disappointed: i was hoping for a more revolutionary design. Not that these aren't cool, but they do look alot like the old imacs...

[MsNly]

No goddamned minitower... guess I'll have to wait till next year... DAMNIT!!!

[Cubit]

Originally Posted by ZachMatthews

Hey folks -

Love the new iMac extremely but right now I need to get my wife a new computer and she likes the white models. Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

Thanks,
Zach

Zach, I just went through the same thing--my wife's iMac G4 15" died a week ago Monday; I pleaded for her to wait until today to see what the options were, but she wanted the 17" model--went to the store and she opted for the 20". Told her we might be able to get something today is she could survive the weekend, but she wanted-- rather practically and probably reasonably-- not to waste a weekend when she has a book deadline for 1 September and didn't want to take over my jazzed up macs, so... she bought the "white model" Thursday and I had it up and running for her that night. She's been really happy so I'm trying not to say ANYTHING about WMHB.

[lfmorrison]

Originally Posted by ZachPruckowski

There is the refurb store where Apple sells refurbished models, and you can probably get a decent discount on one. A refurbished model is a model that hasn't been used before, and encountered a problem either at the store or in quality control that was fixed, so it's just as good as a new one. I can't find a link because the Apple Store is still down for some reason, but you can probably grab them at a few hundred dollars off.

I'm fairly certain that "refurbished" can also include used items returned to Apple for various reasons (eg. "not-what-I-really-wanted", "I-broke-it-fix-it-please", etc).

No matter what the reason, refurbished products are thoroughly inspected, repaired if necessary, and they're backed by the same warranty as you would get with new product.

[Cubit]

Originally Posted by MsNly

No goddamned minitower... guess I'll have to wait till next year... DAMNIT!!!

hope springs eternal Just you and me MsNly, I guess...

[ActionJaxon]

I do like the new design, though I did expect them to be a lil bit more different! Every incarnation of the iMac previously has been drastically different in appearance to the earlier model... so the white it now aluminium, the screen is glossy and has a black border round it (why?!) and the back panel looks a lil different too... expected the 24in model to be sporting 2GB of RAM too, but it's one-gigs as standard across the board, crazyness...

And why have they upgraded the Mac Mini?

As for iLife and iWork, yeah they've been upgraded, good work, nothing jaw-dropping, combining the two into one product, now that would have been impressive! But sadly no... they can't give everything away!

But still, all-in-all, good work Apple, they look good, they're fast, they'll sell... game on!

[nascarnate326]

Originally Posted by JakeTheRock

Anyway, i am kind of disappointed: i was hoping for a more revolutionary design. Not that these aren't cool, but they do look alot like the old imacs...

My thoughts exactly. Why did it take so long to change the color, add a black ring and make it a little faster? Also, is the mouse white, while the rest is alum/black? Looks like I will pick up a White iMac and match.

[Delfoniq]

Originally Posted by ThinkExpensive

Nice...but what about the mac mini?! There was a brief mention of it in the Q&A that it received "a refresh" but what is it? The store was up, but the link to mac mini was broken, now it went back down again.

Here's the new spec for the updated Mac Mini. Apple store is still down, managed to get a brief glimpse about 10 minutes ago. There is an image in engadget http://www.engadget.com/.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by lfmorrison

I'm fairly certain that "refurbished" can also include used items returned to Apple for various reasons (eg. "not-what-I-really-wanted", "I-broke-it-fix-it-please", etc).

No matter what the reason, refurbished products are thoroughly inspected, repaired if necessary, and they're backed by the same warranty as you would get with new product.

I've never had a significant problem with their refurbished stuff. The worst was some odd blemish on the back of the iMac stand, down the "knee" radius far enough that it's usually not noticeable, otherwise, I think it was brand-new, including the original box.

[faithfulFrank]

A few things....
The new imac does not look white to me...

Also, any comments on the glossy screen? I prefer a non glossy screen, that's why I have a G4 imac and a G4 powerbook still.

I still need to check out if dot-mac is worth keeping.....no change in price.

Frank D.

[solsun]

[QUOTE=ActionJaxon;1123009 the screen is glossy and has a black border round it (why?!) [/QUOTE]

The black border helps minimize glare from the highly glare prone glossy display.

[jfdesign]

Does this mean a Macbook pro update is nearing now? Why buy a 2.4GhZ MacBook "Pro" with 200GB HD, when the iMac has this beat by 400Mhz, and 100+ GB storage, 1 extra GB of RAM capability... the list goes on and on. They should call this thing "iMac Pro".

The 24in iMac is a GREAT deal. I was just about to buy the 17in. Macbook Pro, now I am not so certain.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by ActionJaxon

I do like the new design, though I did expect them to be a lil bit more different! Every incarnation of the iMac previously has been drastically different in appearance to the earlier model... so the white it now aluminium, the screen is glossy and has a black border round it (why?!) and the back panel looks a lil different too... expected the 24in model to be sporting 2GB of RAM too, but it's one-gigs as standard across the board, crazyness...

As for iLife and iWork, yeah they've been upgraded, good work, nothing jaw-dropping, combining the two into one product, now that would have been impressive! But sadly no... they can't give everything away!

I do wish that it didn't have the black bezel, but otherwise, it's pretty nice. I don't think it's realistic for a relatively mature product like iMac to be revolutionary on every redesign.

And the keyboard looks pretty nifty too. I remember a few people saying "mark my words, it's fake". I guess it's mostly real.

It looks like Numbers finally became a real program.

And why have they upgraded the Mac Mini?

Why not? I don't get why it's a problem.

[makhaira]

I have been waiting and waiting for this announcement to replace my aging G5 iMac. But a glossy screen? Come on! I mostly use my computer for photo editing and having a glossy screen is a no no. Oh well, I guess I will be waiting a little longer until I can save up enough for a Mac Pro and a real monitor. I suppose that is what Jobs had i mind the whole time!

[ThinkExpensive]

[TenoBell]

Every incarnation of the iMac previously has been drastically different in appearance to the earlier model...

I'm not sure what design you guys were expecting. A different design does not necessarily make it a better computer and could certainly make it a worse computer.

This is very exciting. The one thing I am somewhat disappointed about is the screen resolution, but oh well, can't have everything.

The 24" is 1920x1200.

[BlackPepper]

I am kinda disappointed in the new design. What is that black frame over the screen? I can't have a computer like this, it bothers my eyes. The old ones were better. Unfortunately, they again did something they think great, but it's not.

I am more excited about the applications. I will probably buy the new iLife '08.

Sometimes, I hate how Apple works. For instance, why wouldn't they put a "new tab button" on Safari? What the heck are they trying "not" to do? What prevents them from doing it? or, how about the mouse? I think they are just being stubborn and think that they be different from others this way...

Anyway... Love & Hate... My sibling feelings for Apple...

[halcyon]

jfdesign: macbook pro vs new imac

iMac is still a desktop, even if on a portable mobo+chipset. It has more room. It can run more power hungry components with higher thermal output, etc.

If you want a draggable, instead of a laptop, it is possible to make a much faster macbook pro, but that kind of defeats the purpose, no?

[lfmorrison]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

I've never had a significant problem with their refurbished stuff. The worst was some odd blemish on the back of the iMac stand, down the "knee" radius far enough that it's usually not noticeable, otherwise, I think it was brand-new, including the original box.

Of course. That's the way it should be, given how thoroughly they say they inspect their stuff.

I honestly don't understand where society has manufactured the idea that anything "used" must immediately be equated with "junk".

[melgross]

Originally Posted by JakeTheRock

Anyway, i am kind of disappointed: i was hoping for a more revolutionary design. Not that these aren't cool, but they do look alot like the old imacs...

Exactly what did you expect from an all in one design that has design restraints because of the equipment inside?

How much different can it be?

[wilco]

Originally Posted by jfdesign

Does this mean a Macbook pro update is nearing now? Why buy a 2.4GhZ MacBook "Pro" with 200GB HD, when the iMac has this beat by 400Mhz, and 100+ GB storage, 1 extra GB of RAM capability... the list goes on and on. They should call this thing "iMac Pro".

A "pro" will have little use for a glossy screen and a shit GPU.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by halcyon

jfdesign: macbook pro vs new imac

iMac is still a desktop, even if on a portable mobo+chipset. It has more room. It can run more power hungry components with higher thermal output, etc.
?

It's not a desktop, it's an all in one. Yes they both sit on the desk, but there are differences in usage and clientèle.

[ActionJaxon]

Originally Posted by ZachMatthews

Love the new iMac extremely but right now I need to get my wife a new computer and she likes the white models. Does anyone know whether Apple has a closeout center anywhere online?

See your nearest Apple Authorised Reseller - not an Apple Store, each time a new machine is brought out the old models get their prices slashed at distribution level, so if you talk to an AAR they should be able to order in a new old-model iMac for you at a good price

Hope this helps...