Photos of Apple's new iMac and ultra-thin keyboards - Page 2

this might sound crazy but i would not be suprise if apple starts offering new machines with vista install by next year. that reminds me of the ipod when it came out, as soon as it was offered for both platforms sales when crazy. it would have never had the demand if apple kept it to its own,

THE BAD

Jonathan Ive has clearly missed the mark with the latest iMacs. "Hides the iSight" is rotten excuse to justify that ugly black bezel around the screen -- and to think Apple is renown for its "beauty" in industrial design! What happened here?

The jury is still out on that keyboard too. While smaller is better, I'm not really one for body-slammed keys, regardless of how "great" some people say they feel when pressed. Indeed. most of those same people are or were PowerBook owners and have gotten accustomed to portable keyboards. I doubt those of us with a love for full sized desktop keyboards could come to love this. Even so, I don't consider the keyboard to be as bad as that black bezel! However, white keys are bad. I've got a white-key iMac here in the office and it looks black now. And we wash our hands. Shame on Apple for putting beauty above practicality. But in my opinion, black keys wouldn't look that bad, and they wouldn't show dirty that well either! Get sensible, Ive!

Gotta love those glossy screen REFLECTIONS! Thanks, AppleInsider for shooting photos of that for us. It's the perfect example of why NOT to get a glossy screen. But more than just that, Apple clearly designed the new iMacs as a money-grab. For no sensible graphics person will go for a glossy screen. Reflections are bad enough, but now your colors will be so saturated it's impossible to calibrate or get accurate color! The only option for a non-glossy screen is the Mac Pro and its outrageous profit margins for Apple! Money-grab, plain and simple.

The so-called "New" design is largely unchanged from the old iMac design. I'm talking about body form factor here, not materials. There's still a wide bezel around the screen and there's a fat tummy at the bottom. I thought Apple would get rid of that once and for all, but they still insist on throwing it in our faces. Indeed, this is yet another "money grab" in that this "new" change is much cheaper to implement on the manufacturing side than a major change (like the iPod mockup we've all seen around the web).

Can no longer swap out the video card on the high end model as you could on the previous 24" iMac.

No LED backlighting. This is a MAJOR, major omission. Did I say "major"? Major!

No option for a second internal hard drive inside the spaceous 24" model. Why need another? Because of OS 10.5 and its new backup software. Sure, you can add an external. But the beauty of these "compact" machines will be lost when adding a mess of external peripherals. But a secondary backup drive INSIDE for goodness sakes! Yes, I know you can do that with a Mac Pro. But we are talking about iMacs here. Yes, even poor people who can only afford an iMac (or rich people who simple want the compact size and beauty of it) could still stand to benefit from a secondary internal hard drive.

You're gonna have to pay extra for OS 10.5 when it comes out, because these new iMacs currently don't ship with it! The solution to this one is easy though. Just wait a few months more until it does come out and buy your iMac at that time.


THE GOOD

Pretty much everything else that I didn't harp on above. And clearly, you can see that I don't care about the lack of a keypad on the wireless keyboard like some. Who cares. Everyone knows a wired keyboard and mouse are more reliable than wireless, and you don't have to swap batteries every couple months either. The 2.8GHz processor on the high end model is superb. Great video card too, even if it's not swappable.

I'm less thrilled at the undersized arrow keys, but I certainly won't miss the number pad.

oops.

Only two things jump at me;

Black iMac/white keyboard. I don't mind the two tone (Aluminium & ?), I just wish the colour was consistent.

Secondly, I've never understood why one would create a wireless keyboard for media centre use (or similar) and not include a track pad. I get the lack of keypad if your using it in the living room or bedroom, but I don't find it natural to use a mouse on the sofa, or in bed for that matter. Looks like I'll have to find a non-Apple version.

Because black keyboards are much harder to read, maybe? Both for people with poor eyesight and under less-than-ideal lighting conditions. C'mon. This isn't rocket science. The surprising thing is that any black keyboards have managed to survive in Apple's lineup.

What's that icon on the F4 key?

Let's have a brief moment of silence for the Apple key...

Okay, good riddance. Maybe someone in the world will know what the Command Key actually is. It's only taken Apple 23 years...

I'd have to play with the keyboard to know for sure how I'd like it. The wireless keyboard looks nice to me.

I can't say I'm impressed by the look of the iMac, at least from the photos. I definitely expected a much smaller chin, and the black around the monitor looks strange. I know I'm definitely not a fan of the glossy screens. Can you say Build to Order Option, Apple?

Whilst I really dislike the concept of AIO desktop computers (why make design compromises if your computer isn't actually going to be portable?), I rather like the design aesthetic of the new iMac. I think it looks smarter, sharper than the previous incarnation.



This is odd. I don't quite understand it. The iMac itself is all aluminium and black, and they go and make the keyboard aluminium and... white huh? I don't get it.



The average consumer seems to love glossy displays, the iMac is aimed at the average consumer, so it gets glossy displays.



Damn those internal components that change an iMac from an empty shell into a computer!



Plastic -> aluminium, doubtless all internal and external dimensions changed; trust me, this is a major change on the manufacturing side.


Apple can't give you what doesn't exist. Apple are restricted by the available LCD panels at the correct price points.

The Raidizz colors

Simple solution: make it backlit.

Been there, done that. Made it worse.

I'd love to go with the wireless keyboard. But it seems to take 3-5 weeks just to ship it.
I guess I'll have to buy one later on. I'm not waiting that long for the iMac.

These "NEW" Apple keyboards harken me back to the "Chiclet" keyboards on the
old Timex Sinclairs from the 80's, okay now I feel old Sigh, anyway if typing on
them feels anything like those i foresee many 3rd party keyboards being sold.

Is it just me or is the guy (black shirt, arms crossed) in the 5th Photo down the guy from the iLife '08 Video???

Ditto. The only bluetooth keyboard with integreted trackpad that I'm aware of is the Logitech diNovo Edge which is bloody expensive.

The ultra slim keyboard is starting to get really close to decent anthropometrics at standard desk heights. No small issue for reducing carpal tunnel syndrome. I think the new aesthetic is nice...not earth shaking but nice. Ordered a 20" myself. Upon further review (compared to anybody else in this business) maybe it is earth shaking.

I'll miss the dedicated function keys for when I have to use Parallels! It's one thing that pisses the hell out of me on my MBP-- <alt><f4> seems to be a pretty common key combination in Windows, but it takes lifting a hand into a very awkward position to make it work.

But it is a pretty svelt item. I understand the compromises, but many of them don't make it an attractive product for my needs.

I was wondering what happened to the usb ports on the sides f the keyboards? I use those everyday. That's how I update my iPhone, and load my pictures into iPhoto.

I don't like the black Apple logo on the front of the new iMac. It should have been brushed metal like the ones on the cinema displays.

Basically, that only helps if your backlight is really strong. In anything twilight-to-normal lighting levels, a normal backlight causes the keys to look grey instead of white. So instead of white on black, you get flat grey on black.

Yes, trust the guy who bemoans the demise of the floppy to be in touch with what current computer users want in their keyboards...

Right then; a revision to my previous statement:

Simple solution: use a competently engineered backlight.

I believe they did this because the new keyboard will be able to work with the iPhone and AppleTV (next gen).

Another thing... The new black monitor offset from the body of the iMac presages the next gen AppleTV. Betcha it ends up looking exactly like the new iMac, minus the "chin".

It's kind of like the iphone really when you think about it. The iphone has a similar glass black screen where the black reaches out to the edge where it meets a silver border. They just screwed up the translation to the iMac shape. The front should have been either all black or all silver, preferably the latter.


Two-tone rings a bell:

No doubt Jonathon Ive and Mr. Jobs will agree with you on that! But sales over the next few months will tell if "the average iMac consumer" agrees with you and the Ive team or me and the anti-black-bezel team.


Until the debut of the "prosumer" 24" iMac, I would have agreed with you. But the last 24" iMac was made for a professional breed of consumer who wants to do PRO work without the massive footprint and massive cost of a Mac Pro. Indeed, the swappable video card of the previous generation 24" iMac proved that.

So I do not buy it for one minute that Apple can get away with now calling a Prosumer Mac a "Joe Sixpack Mac" now. This is especially true in light of the fact the new iMacs have Firewire 800. Or are you going to now call that a "Joe Six Pack" connectivity interface? Indeed, Firewire is a "pro" connection, not a consumer one. Hence, the irony of the glossy screen on the highest end model.

With that said, I wouldn't complain at all if all the Macs had a glossy screen as a standard feature and then the high end model could be "upgraded" with a non-glossy model. But because that is not an option, I have lodged my legitimate complaint here.



I think you should apply as a replacement for Guy Kawasaki, who used to be a major apologist for Apple in the mid-1990's. Seriously, your hype misses my point completely. Namely, that the "basic look" of the machine stands largely unchanged from the previous generation. I couldn't care less how much aluminum costs or weighs or looks. The basic "form factor" is the same. And I believe many of us expected a NEW FORM FACTOR. That was my point.




Give me a break. LED backlights exist in other Apple machines (or have you not read the news over the past few months). LED backlights likely exist for even big 24" LCDs too. And in light of my above explanation that the highest end 24" model was actually intended to be a PROSUMER machine, such customers should have a BTO option of spending mega-bucks on an LED, non-glossy screen. I think people would pay extra for it, especially if they are like me, in the design industry and love the compact size of the iMac (and the lower cost) but need good color accuracy. This is especially true if Apple, renown for its cutting edge graphics hardware, could implement a wider gamut color palette with an LED backlit display. That would really boost sales.

"Don't you think Apple would have done that if it were economically possible?" Not necessarily. I suspect this may be one of the last (or perhaps the last of two) revisions of this form factor of iMac. Perhaps they will release the TRUE renewed design sometime next year. And in that new design they may make up for the "BAD."

15' LED backlit LCD screens are already difficult to get.. so imagine 20' and 24'

Flat gray-on-black is already best case for a backlit "white-on-black" keyboard. Worst case is it goes completely invisible.

it isn't black

i think i like the black border around the screen. the keyboard is kick ass

Man, that's funny. Do you not know me at all?

Hi, I'm Mr. H, one of the key "xMac" supporters, Finder haters, Apple TV haters, and Apple's H.264 implementation haters etc. etc. etc. I'm hardly an Apple Apologist.


Missing your point completely? Another good joke. Seems like you've forgotten what you said. Here you go:


I dispute this entirely. Just because it looks similar doesn't mean it's an easy or cheap change to make.

I did not in any way deny that the form factor (from a functional and visual perspective) has changed very little. Only an imbecile would try to claim that.



No, I haven't missed them. The 15" MacBook uses an LED backlit panel. Because Apple were able to source an LED backlit panel at the right price.


And how much do these LED backlit 24" panels cost?



I can agree with that. I'm always all for giving people the option.

Not if you use a different colour backlight.

AppleInsider:

For the love of God, please don't pluralize "photos" as "photo's." (Correct on forum, but not on the article's title) Using apostrophe "s" where it's not needed is some sort of U.S. English language virus.

--JV

A kindred spirit! Well, I'm certainly happy to hear that.

Overall, I think Apple will sell their new iMacs in similar numbers to the old. But I really feel let down. I guess my feelings are in part due to reading sites like AppleInsider and not taking those articles and mockups with a hefty bucket of salt. I really wanted a radically new form factor, but that wasn't meant to be. And for the life of me, as long as I stare at the black bezel, I grow more and more NOT to like it. It sends shivers up my spine. I reminds me of days gone by when our compact Macs used to have those CRT radiation screens slapped on them (or glare filters). They were not pretty to look at, and this black bezel sends all those old memories rushing back. (Yes, I've been a Mac user since 1984, so I remember all those things.)

Ah well. Fingers cross the 2008 models will appeal to me. I've not swapped out my G4 Cube since 2000, so I suppose I can wait another year for a design that suits my picky tastes!

One question. Has anyone actually tried the new keyboard out? How does it feel when typing? It looks pretty nice, how does it function?

I'm going to take a wild guess: like the MacBook's keyboard?

Are you saying that because you used it or just because it looks like the MB keyboard? I don't need wild guesses or even informed ones. I just would like the opinion of someone who has actually laid hands on it. That's all.

I agree that it would be nice to have it confirmed, but I'll be very surprised if it doesn't feel like the MacBook keyboard.

Yes. Apple bases its pro computer strategy on the color of its consumer computer.