Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 21, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to Apple, the company introduced a completely new iMac family with brilliant 21.5-inch and 27-inch widescreen LED-backlit displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and a seamless aluminium enclosure. Starting at €1,099 including VAT, it was the fastest iMac line ever and offered twice the performance with Intel Core 2 Duo processors from 3.06 GHz and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors.
According to Apple, every new iMac ships with a Wireless Keyboard and the new wireless Magic Mouse. The Magic Mouse is the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch technology, already used to pioneering effect in the iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebook trackpads.
The new iMac comes with an LED-backlit display in a 16:9 aspect ratio, ideal for watching films and television programmes in HD quality from iTunes or editing and viewing personal videos and photos with iLife. The new 21.5-inch iMac display has a high resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The 27-inch iMac has a beautiful 2560 x 1440-pixel display offering 60 percent more pixels than the previous 24-inch display. Both the 21.5-inch and 27-inch displays use IPS technology to provide consistent colour across a near-maximum 178-degree viewing angle.
A Wireless Keyboard and the new Magic Mouse with Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch technology are included as standard with the iMac. Instead of mechanical buttons, scroll wheels or scroll balls, the entire top surface of the Magic Mouse is a seamless Multi-Touch surface. With intuitive finger movements, users can easily scroll through long documents, pan across large images or “swipe” backwards and forwards through a collection of photos or web pages. The Magic Mouse can be configured as a one- or two-button mouse according to the user’s preference. The Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse work seamlessly with the Bluetooth interface built into Macs, enabling wireless work and a tidy desk.
The entire iMac product line comes with improved graphics: integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics or ATI Radeon HD 4670 in the 21.5-inch model, and ATI Radeon HD 4670 or ATI Radeon HD 4850 in the 27-inch model. The new iMac line now offers 4 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory and space for 16 GB across four SO-DIMM slots. Every iMac has a built-in iSight video camera, microphone and speakers integrated into the thin aluminium-and-glass design. Every iMac includes an AirPort Extreme card for 802.11n wireless technology, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port and a new SD card slot.
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Apple also announced that the Mac mini, the world’s most energy-efficient desktop computer,** was now even faster, had more storage and offered twice the memory as standard. Starting at €549 including VAT, the entry-level Mac mini has a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 160 GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, an integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor and a SuperDrive. The €749 Mac mini has a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB of memory and a larger 320 GB hard drive. For €949 including VAT, the Mac mini is available in a special configuration for use with Snow Leopard Server. Its tiny enclosure, measuring just 16.51 cm x 5.08 cm, contains two 500 GB hard drives for a total of 1 TB of server storage in the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server.
In keeping with Apple’s continued commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini further extend their market leadership in environmentally friendly design. The iMac and Mac mini meet the stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status.*** The new iMacs are made with an LED-backlit, mercury-free display using arsenic-free glass. The iMac and Mac mini contain no brominated flame retardants; only PVC-free internal cables and components are used, the materials are recyclable, and both product families are delivered in material-efficient system and packaging designs.
Every Mac ships with Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of digital-lifestyle applications for organising photos, creating films, learning instruments and composing music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success, with hundreds of improvements, major new technologies and standard support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife includes iPhoto for organising and managing photos; iMovie, with powerful, easy-to-use features such as the precision editor, a video stabiliser and advanced drag-and-drop; and GarageBand, which enables users to learn guitar or piano in entirely new ways.
Price & Availability
The new 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac and Mac mini models are available immediately through the Apple Store, Apple Retail Stores and Apple specialist retailers. The Intel Core i5 and i7 quad-core iMacs can already be pre-ordered and will ship from November. The Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is available through the Apple Store and Apple Retail Stores.