iMac

Apple® unveiled an all new iMac® line featuring LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in an edge-to-edge glass design and all aluminum enclosure. The new iMac line, which is priced at $1,199, is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance. The new iMac is bundled with a wireless keyboard and wireless Magic Mouse, which is touted by the company as the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch™ technology pioneered by Apple on the iPhone®, iPod touch® and Mac® notebook trackpad. The new iMac features LED-backlit displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio, which makes the unit ideal for watching high definition movies and TV shows from iTunes®, or editing and watching one’s own videos or photos using iLife®. The 21.5-inch iMac features a high resolution 1920-by-1080 pixel display. The 27-inch iMac features a 2560-by-1440 pixel display that offers 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch model. Both 21.5 and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to deliver consistent color across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle. The iMac comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse featuring Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology. Instead of needing mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Using intuitive gestures, a user can scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. The Magic Mouse can also be configured as either a single button or two button mouse. Both the wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse work with the iMac’s built-in Bluetooth capabilities. Other features on the new iMac includes improved graphics with NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics in the 27-inch model; up to 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and capacity up to 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots; a built-in iSight® video camera, mic and stereo speakers integrated into the thin aluminum and glass design; built-in 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. The iMac is a Energy Star 5.0 compliant device as well as certified EPEAT Gold status. It features LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass, and uses PVC-free internal components and cables with no brominated flame retardants or highly recyclable materials. The iMac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and iLife, Apple’s suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. iLife features iPhoto®, that helps users organize and manage photos; iMovie® with features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces users to a whole new way to help learn to play piano and guitar. The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs are available for order and will begin shipping in November.

Specifications
Size and weight
The iMac comes in two sizes: the 21.5-inch iMac measures 17.75 inches (45.1 cm) by 20.8 inches (52.8 cm) by 7.42 inches (18.85 cm) and weighs 20.5 pounds (9.3 kg), while the 27-inch iMac measures 20.4 inches (51.7 cm) by 25.6 inches (65.0 cm) by 8.15 inches (20.7 cm) and weighs 30.5 pounds (13.8 kg).

Processor and memory
The 21.5-inch (and some 27-inch models) is powered by 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache/ 3.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache. The users also have to option to power the 27-inch models with a 2.66GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache; Turbo Boost dynamic performance up to 3.2GHz or 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache; Turbo Boost dynamic performance up to 3.46GHz; Hyper-Threading for up to eight virtual cores. The iMacs are supports by a 4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; four SO-DIMM slots support up to 16GB.

Storage
Storage options for the 21.5-inch model include a 500GB or 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive with o\ptional 2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive. The 27-inch models support a 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive with optional 2TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive.

Connections and expansion
Each iMac supports one One FireWire 800 port (7 watts), four USB 2.0 ports and a SD card slot.

Communications
They features 802.11n built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking, which are IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible; and supports built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) and 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector) connectivity.

Audio
The new iMac’s audio is supported through built-in stereo speakers, two internal 17-watt high-efficiency amplifiers, headphone/optical digital audio output (minijack), audio line in/optical digital audio input (minijack), built-in microphone that supports Apple Stereo Headset with microphone.

Display
The iMac features built-in 21.5-inch (viewable) or 27-inch (viewable) LED-backlit glossy widescreen TFT active-matrix liquid crystal display with IPS technology, with resolutions of 1920 by 1080 pixels (for 21.5-inch model) and 2560 by 1440 pixels (for 27-inch model). It features 16:9 aspect ratio, millions of colors at all resolutions, a viewing angle of 178° horizontal; 178° vertical; with 320 cd/m2 (21.5-inch model) and 375 cd/m2 (27-inch model) brightness. The 27-inch model can be attached to a wall mount, articulating arm, or other VESA-compliant mounting solution using the optional VESA Mount Adapter Kit. The 21.5-inch models is powered by NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory/ ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory; while the 27-inch model with dual-core processor is powered by ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory/ ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. The 27-inch model with quad-core processor is powered by ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory.

Other features
Each iMac comes with built-in iSight camera, mini DisplayPort output port with support for DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI (adapters sold separately). The 27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately). It also comes with support for extended desktop and video mirroring modes, and has support for full native resolution on the built-in display and up to a 30-inch display (2560 by 1600 pixels) on an external display. The iMac also features Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

Reviews

“The message, heard loud and clear in this time of financial strife, is that $1500 will get you a system that would have cost well over $2000 not long ago, and that spending less than that will mean compromises that might not hold you over for long enough. I know some of you think $1500 is too much money for a computer, and I can respect that. But for people with the right kind of budget, the new entry-level 24″ iMac is a smart buy.” – (Gizmodo, 2009)