Apple iMac: New Look & New Specs, Starts At $1,199



Current 24-inch iMac is now officially “second-latest.” It’s no pity though, as the new iMac is awfully seductive!

The Pretty



The most obvious cosmetic changes are the inclusion of black and the change from plastic to aluminum and glass. Following the style of the iPhone, the new iMac sports a black bezel and a black Apple logo on its silver aluminum exterior.

The new keyboard is equally sweet! With a super-low profile compared to the previous model, it provides a more laptop-like typing experience. It comes in wired and wireless versions, with the wired offering two USB ports and the wireless having a sleek power button at the side.

The tech specs are just as amazing. 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics, support for up to 1TB of storage, 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.0, 8x SuperDrives, and 1GB of RAM.





The Ugly



My first disappointment is that there isn’t a new 30-inch model. I thought it would be fitting. It would’ve made me really think of upgrading!

And no Blu-ray or HD-DVD? It’s not even available as an upgrade. This could turn away some people who are ready to jump onto the HD bandwagon. But then again, this can be easily solved with an external drive.

Price











20-inch: US$1,199



20-inch with processor, HDD and graphics upgrade: US$1,499

24-inch: US$1,799

24-inch with processor and HDD upgrade: US$2,299

That’s a $300 price drop for the entry 20-inch model! As for the 24-inch model, Apple was quoted saying it’s a $200 price drop. But, if you look at the price comparison pictured here, you’ll know that feature-by-feature the new iMacs is much more desirable. If you upgrade the previous range to similar specs, you’ll come up with a price drop of more than $600!

There is no better time than now to get yourself an iMac.