Apple’s revamped iMac

Thursday, March 12, 2009, 9:06
Laptops
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appleimac The new $1,499 Apple iMac is among the most affordable 24-inch all-in-one desktop system available in the market. The new desktop is aimed at keeping the Apple iMac lineup competitive with its Windows-based competition. Like the previous models, the new iMac provides great combination of traditional desktop and monitor combination at the same price.

The biggest change that you will notice in the new iMac is its 24-inch display. The 24-inch display boasts of its native resolution of 1920×1080, which is known in home entertainment world as 1080p. However, you will have to find new ways to enjoy HD content as Apple has not added Blu-ray drive to the iMac. With the new iMac you have get options of watching and editing HD video content at its proper resolution.

If you look at the overall design, you will not find much change. The only change to the exterior of the system is the addition of the row of ports on the rear of the iMac casing. The new iMac comes with an additional USB 2.0 port along with a Mini DisplayPort jack. Currently Apple is the only manufacturer that provides Mini DisplayPort, with its new iMacs, Mac Minis and Mac Pro desktops along with its new LED Cinema Display.

The Apple iMac faces competition from Sony’s Vaio LV180J which is priced much higher at $1,999. The Apple is powered by 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and 4GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM whereas Sony boasts of 3.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU and 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM. The Apple features 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics card while Sony comes with 256MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 9300 GS integrated graphics chip. The Apple offers twice storage space on its 640GB, 7,200rpm as compared to Sony’s 320GB, 7,200rpm hard drive. As mentioned earlier, the Apple iMac lackcs Blu-ray drive which is available with Sony Vaio LV180J. Both the systems come with Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n wireless but the Apple also offers you file transfer via Bluetooth.

Apple also provides plenty of options for upgrading the system. You can upgrade the memory 8GB for an extra $1,000, a 1TB hard drive for $100 extra, and wireless mouse ($20), and the keyboard ($30). You will also have to pay $20 for once standard Apple Remote.

All other core features of Apple iMac’s are kept same. The new iMac features a Webcam along with a slot-loading DVD burner, a FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet, and audio output and input jacks.