First impressions of Apple's new 27-inch iMac
Man, that's a nice screen. We're tempted to end here, because on the shelf next to any other all in one, the $1,699 iMac and its 27-inch, wide-screen, LED-backlit display might be all shoppers need to see. The updated specs sound great, but in terms of pure screen real estate, no other all in one on the market right now can compete with the new higher-end iMacs.
Apple's new $1,699 iMac and its imposing 27-inch wide-screen LCD.
(Credit: CNET/Sarah Tew)The screen overwhelms the new iMac's other features. The long-desired SD Card slot is of course welcome, but hardly innovative. Adding video input support to the mini DisplayPort jack is also intriguing, but falls a bit flat with the required dongle not included in the box. The new wireless mouse and keyboard have strong design, and the touch-sensitive mouse is intuitive enough as a basic click-and-scroll device. Lateral scrolling and other touch features were less satisfying in our thus far limited hands-on time.
We appreciate Apple's brute force approach to boosting the iMac's performance, but bringing quad-core to this price range might have satisfied the diehards. We imagine the new iMac and its 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo chip will fly past HP's new TouchSmart 600, and possibly also Gateway's new One ZX6810-01. The Core i5 and Core i7 options, though, make the $1,999 iMac very compelling, and they would have been doubly impressive at $1,699. Perhaps the next refresh.
What we don't miss in the new iMac are some of the more trendy all-in-one features. Blu-ray, touch screens, and wall-mounting can all be useful, but they tend to get marketers too focused on our "digital lifestyle." We're glad to see Apple keep the iMac grounded in its computing roots.
We hope to review all four of Apple's new iMac configurations, and we expect the 21.5-inch $1,199 and $1,499 versions will face tougher competition from their Windows counterparts, some of which have larger screens and aggressive pricing and features. On the higher end, the 27-inch iMacs are more difficult to overcome if your competing product is locked in at 24 inches.
Testing is underway on the $1,699 iMac. You can check back with us tomorrow for the full review.
Rich Brown reviews desktops and various other components and peripherals for CNET. E-mail Rich. 
I placed an order for two of the i7's this afternoon to replace my aging G5's, needless to say I am pretty excited to see how these will preform.
I'll start an antique museum :-P
Thanks.
Michael@Tomorrowskidz.org
[CNET editors' note: Personal attack deleted]
[CNET editors' note: Personal attack deleted]
Poor people in Africa = No food, no clothing, lucky to get water.
Priorities.
Helping poor people in Africa will not help our current economic situation. If anything it will just make it worse if we send millions of dollars out of country where it is no use to us.
(for me it is, since I usually deal with 15-17 inch screens)
I guess that's pretty impressive...
Not all Macs are 'all in ones'.
something must be right when Apple is more than 20% of the computer market now...and only after 3 years.
The upgrade is the LED backlight over phosphor backlight - I'm not sure what you're talking about. The screens look much better.
Apple has a unique product, and they have proven time and time again that users will pay more for their computers. Sure there are die-hard fanboys that will buy anything Apple, but most Apple users buy Apple simply because it works better for them. Trying to slam a group of people based on their choice of computer is "Pathetico"
I'll give you that the new iMac is fairly priced. If you configure similar models from HP or Dell they are roughly equivalent or maybe a bit more. But that is if you spec them out to the iMac. If you know that you don't need specific technologies, what is the case for buying it (ie, quad core proc for basic web browsing).
As far as your analysis of Windows 7:
"same old hang ups asking you if you really want to empty your trash" - this happens because your information will really be gone if you confirm (well almost). In my opinion it is better than SL just deleting it :)
"same old hang ups asking you if you really want to open your web browser" - i don't know which web browser you are using, but i would suggest using another one? I have never seen this dialogue box before - on any machine, mac or PC
"Spent 20 min on it with a brand new updated virus definitions and BANG 3 viruses confirmed just from basic web browsing" - I don't know what kind of (porn) sites you are visiting, but i find it hard to believe that you acquire 3 viruses so quickly WITH anti-virus protection. Myself, I have been using Windows 7 for about 8 months now WITHOUT any anti-virus and my system is as good as day 1. Theoretically i could have a virus (since i have no AV to detect it), but since there are no rogue processes or any superfluous use of bandwidth, I think it is safe to assume it is virus-free.
First of all it's 13% not 20% and MAC/Apple computer have been around for a while longer than 3 year. Pleae get your numbers straight or don't bother posting. Also did nyou knowthat Apple laptops and desktops are nothing more thab PCs ith Apples verson of Linux kernel and Apple's cstom UI?
Before you post things you should know enough to not just say surface facts. There are numerous differences between a "PC" and a Mac. First is the consistency and quality of the components inside. Dell plugs in whatever is cheapest on the day they purchase parts. Therefore the same model can have different components inside. Apple has the top reputation for customer satisfaction for a reason. They don't break and the Mac OS is a solid performer. User satisfaction is higher than any other company. How many competitors use LED screens for their systems? How many competitors only have one cable extending from the computer? The list can go on. The answer is NONE. It is the user interface and Mac OSX that clearly defines how different the Mac is from a Windows or Unix system. It clearly provides what users are looking for in ease of use, compatibility with peripherals, true plug and play, security, great base software, etc.
As for market share you can look at all sorts of data on this. In Laptop market share Apple is tops with nearly 30% marketshare currently. If you look at what students are buying to go to college - again the leader is Apple laptops. If you look at worldwide marketshare Apple does trail primarily due to marketing differences abroad and plain economics.
Also, since you can't maximize a window in Mac, there's no point in going for a higher resolution monitor.
thanks
With Logic Studio.
What is the secret of Apple's success? Been giving this a thought at our blog: http://bit.ly/1tbDBT
What do you think? You're invited to leave a comment.
Who cares about a touch screen on a desktop model? The people that are going to use this machine won't miss it and won't want it.
just wondering now, how big the difference between the core 2 duo, i6 and i7 really is.
i will use my imac for creating websites, surfing the web, managing all my photos, music and videos . i don't think i will do much video editing. gaming not so much either since i have a Wii and PS3.
what do u guys think about the different processor types? what are u going to choose?
- by LelandHendrix October 21, 2009 4:28 AM PDT
- It doesn't seem like bad a deal to me. All computer displays based on LCD are backlit, so I don't know why that would be a bug deal to anyone.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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Showing 1 of 3 pages (84 Comments)Now the backlight in this machine has just started using LED backlighting rather than the more common phosphor, which means it uses less electricity and looks better.
But this seems to be a nice machine and certainly a better value than the one it replaces.
And you can always use another monitor with it, just in case.