Apple today unleashed a number of consumer computing products, all of which look quite interesting. The refreshed products include:
iMac. Now available with 21.5- and 27-inch (!!!) 16:9 widescreen displays, the new iMacs look impressive.
Apple today unveiled an all new iMac line featuring brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure. The new iMac line, starting at $1,199, is the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for up to twice the performance.*
Where "*" means "cough, cough". Twice the performance. Oh, Apple.
Mac mini. There's no separate press release for this one, but Apple also revamped its entry level Mac mini (and in Apple land, "entry level" of course means $600 to $1000, and not $299 as in the PC world).
The Mac mini is now faster, offers more storage and comes standard with double the memory. Starting at $599, the entry level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive. The $799 Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive. Apple now offers a $999 Mac mini that is specially configured with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.
That last option is really interesting, though I'd like to see an optical disc-less Mac mini for the desktop too. And I'll spare you Apple's claims about the "world’s most energy efficient desktop." OK, maybe I won't.
And last, and potentially most interesting...
Magic Mouse. A new multi-touch mouse. There's no mention of Windows compatibility anywhere, but this one looks good.
Multi-Touch allows customers to navigate using intuitive finger gestures. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. Magic Mouse comes standard with the new iMac and will be available as a Mac accessory at just $69 ... Magic Mouse features a seamless touch-sensitive enclosure that allows it to be a single or multi-button mouse with advanced gesture support. Using intuitive gestures, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or swipe to move forward or backward through a collection of web pages or photos. Magic Mouse works for left or right handed users and multi-button or gesture commands can be easily configured from within System Preferences.
Magic Mouse isn't available yet, saving me a trip to the Apple Store. ("Dodging a bullet," as I say.) I am curious to see one in action.