Apple Announces New iMacs, Mac Minis, AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule

[jackfrost123]

I totally agree!

All Apple have done is drop the 2.4Ghz iMac, leaving the model above!

No Core i7 iMacs. Not even Core 2 Quads is pathetic, even with the additional RAM expansion.

If there was 2.8Ghz Core 2 Quad or Core i7 iMac with a user upgradable hard drive capable of 8Gb RAM expansion with a 24" screen and a decent GPU, it would be enough for most people who don't need the expansion of the tower but need a more powerful system than a 2 core iMac with 4Gb RAM limit.

I originally planned on buying a used Mac Mini at some stage, upgrading it a little, then saving for a Mac Pro, safe in the knowledge that I'd be able to spec a 4 core Mac Pro for just over £1,450 at a later date but £1,899 + £20 for a display port to VGA adapter for that now makes that idea impossible.

The £649 mac mini is a waste of money for what you get too, add a keyboard/mouse and you've got a system about £60 cheaper than the 20" 2.4Ghz iMac that's no longer available.

Apple are just not paying attention to what's out there in the PC world so far as consumer machines are concerned and those old 20" iMacs will probably be fetching near new prices as used systems because of all this. If anyone would sell one to start with.

The entry level Mac Mini is a excellent spec for the price though. For a mac mini that is.

Has anyone thought that Nvidia is pulling the strings here and them not having come up with a motherboard (I presume the mobo is nvidia right?) with integrated graphics that can house a mobile quad core? What's the mobo in the top imac, made by who I mean.

Plus, let's also consider that it's a shame they didn't go quad for the 24 inch, I mean, granted they can't go i7 yet due to the tdps and are eyeing arrandale but wtf apple, can't the top end have a quadcore, a f.ing wintel crap laptop has got one...shs.....

 

[dealing3000]

To all you depressed Brits out there

Why don't you just have someone buy you a mac mini here in the US and ship it to you and declare that is is a box of pudding to save on VAT? Hell I will gladly do it for you if you agree to stop complaining. $599 plus 3.5% local tax is $620 plus shipping which equals 440 pounds I think.

 

[wizard]

This iMac rev makes no sense at all.

Now I'm an American so I'm not hit with the exchange rate issues but this has to be the biggest boner Apple has ever pulled with an iMac Update!

Before I get into that I do have to say that the Mini was pretty close to what i expected. Maybe slightly over priced but it is probably the best mass produced small computer on the market right now. The over pricing is really extreme at the high end too. Overall it is what I expected, so thanks Apple for not screwing this one up to bad.

The iMac at the low end really isn't that bad either if you think of it as an entry level model. The problem is the machines quickly explode into unreasonableness, gouging and outright exploitation as the price increases. There is just no justification for the price on a Core 2 Duo at the high end. I just can't help to think that the management team at Apple has come to the conclusion that its customers are nothing more than idiots to be exploited to the greatest degree possible. Fortunately many of us have a brain and realize that these machines are effectively already outdated, there is no future in dual core machines. As such one can not look at the current upper end of the iMac range as a good investment. Effectively they are last years machines with an altered pricing structure. A pricing structure that isn't really friendly to the consumer that has to carefully invest his money.

It will be interesting to see how quickly this horrible turn of events sinks in with the investment community. Apple isn't up much more than 3/4% at this point. I could see the stock tanking once they get a feel for the community response. Which might be a good thing really as it could mean stripping out the old management and getting somebody with a clue to steer at the helm. Frankly this sort of exploitation leads to much of the up and downs in Apple sales. People really don't like to be taken advantage of.

 

[compuguy1088]

It probably does...I don't know.

Though you may cause a big healthy discussion/argument over the Eee being a "standard PC". Whether the Eee netbook or nettop, spec wise its hardly a Mac mini and many (not wanting to start an argument here!) would not class it as standard.

What's interesting here is that Apple have realised that the Mac mini wasn't really selling with its current marketing lingo, small and compact just won't work anymore, especially with netbooks etc. What does work these days is low power while maintaining the performance of 'standard' PCs (ie: not sacrificing on many standard features, such as optical drives, none-extra portable processors (atom etc).)

Whether it works or not I'm happy to see Apple place the Mac mini as a green computer, whether it's the "world's lowest power desktop" I'm gonna guess it isn't, but its still a welcome power usage rating.


I agree. I can only pressume it's a quick maths calculation based on current economic climates, not a proper look at the UK market and pricing accordingly, its just plain US pricing and UK conversion with no UK consideration.

Ouch.

I recall that PC mag certified the previous revision of the Mac Mini as green; it has a low power draw.

 

[phalewhale]

Oi! Some of us "Brits" like being called Brits!

Grow up, or grow thicker skin.

dont try to pull that crap, Im a Brit and idiotic attempts like that only serve to alienate us more from our Yankee-doodle-dandy cousins

seriously, that was rubbish - be ashamed , very ashamed

I work with someone who just finished his D.Phil. at Oxford and he prefers the term Brit. He's the only Brit here and I'm the only American, so maybe it's mutual respect.

I actually the term Brit is quite cool.

Actually, 'Brit' is the correct diminuitive of somebody who is British. 'Pakistani' would be the correct diminutive of somebody who is from Pakistan. Don't be such a hyper-sensitive politically correct wuss. (I am a Brit).

I'm far from PC, and I am aware of the correct diminuitive of someone who is from Pakistan. Most others are not though hence the use of the word in various forums/comment boards I've frequented over the years.
I wasn't making a PC statement, I was simply pointing something out. Completely irrelevant of course. Think I'm reeling after the shocking price hike Apple have pulled.

Anyway, for the record, I'm not European. I'm not even British.
I'm English!

 

[MasterNile]

I was thinking the same for the same reason, but on Apple's support forum, they were claiming it was OS X and the OS X on the Pros had some update that allowed for more RAM. Sounds far fetched, but Apple probably didn't want to admit they have an artificial limitation put in place to limit the amount people can upgrade their iMacs.

Either way isn't that an artificial limitation? if all they have to do is put out a software update to increase the max RAM from 4GB to 8GB on the previous iMacs why wouldn't they? they already have the software obviously since it's installed on the Mac Pros (if what they say is true)

 

[b.rangelov]

NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 512MB

ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB

Now, what is the difference between these two for gaming? I am thinking the 4850 would be quite a bit better? And it is only $110 more, not too much.

The GT 130 is a 8800 GS with a new name from nVidia. And the ATI 4850 is much faster, one of the fastest mobile graphic cards (for notebooks), and the desktop card costs only 100$.

Actually Apple should have put that card in the 3 GHz iMac.

 

[jackfrost123]

I
- The Mac mini is not sold as an HTPC, stop talking about a Mac mini/TV merging.
- The Mac mini is not sold as an HTPC, stop talking about Blu-Ray drives. You want Blu-Ray, buy an external drive.
- The Mac mini has more USB ports than the iMac. Not really. The iMac has a built-in iSight and most switchers won't have a USB hub in their keyboards, so they need two ports to connect their keyboard and mouse. Why five: keyboard, mouse, printer, webcam, iPod.
- The Mac mini still is the old same design as the G4 version. So what? It's clean-looking and I'd rather have the same old design with a Core 2 Duo than a smaller/flatter version with an Atom CPU inside. Not to mention all of the Mac mini-sized accessories out there, such as the miniStack or mounts, can still be used with the new Mac mini. The only thing that kinds of surprise me is to see the Mac mini still has a white cover, I was expecting to see a black one. Maybe Apple's inventory of white covers was too big.

haha, lol at your final comment, good one. Good thinking with the atom, glad we missse this sh i tty cpu. But can you elaborate on why you think that the mini is not an htpc, very strange the way you put it if you ask me....??A?A??A?A?

 

[neoelectronaut]

Have you looked at the page? It is most definitely not old hat as the new version is still the same old Core 2 Duo that's in yours and nvidia hasn't made major advancements in their dedicated graphics cards since series 8.

All I know is that the GT 130, which I've never even heard of until today, has to be better than what's in mine.

And then the option for the Radeon 4850, which is better than both I assume.

Edit: AND OH GOD YOU CAN PUT IN 8GB NOW.

*SAD FACE*

Ah well, I can't be too upset. The G4 I was upgrading from was 6 years old after all.

 

[MasterNile]

haha, lol at your final comment, good one. Good thinking with the atom, glad we missse this sh i tty cpu. But can you elaborate on why you think that the mini is not an htpc, very strange the way you put it if you ask me....??A?A??A?A?

What he's saying is that while the Mac Mini can be used as a HTPC it is not marketed as one by Apple.

 

[trip1ex]

I think I'm going to fly out to the UK with a suitcase full of Minis.

 

[Zephirus]

got a high end imac for 2100$CDN last year, now almost same specs costs 2600$CDN, i understand the exchange rate, but yesterday the same imac i bought was 2100$

 

[macadam212]

Quickly found the old UK prices on Google's cache, the prices are a lot higher!!!

Before

After

And the line up looks like this:

Before

After

 

[iPegboy]

The 24" iMac refurbs still look like the best deal...but nothing I can't wait another year for in this economy.

I've been needing a new computer for a LONG time. That is my choice. it has been ordered.. That is a fantastic deal.

24 inch: $1,199.

My only question to others is -- it looks like it will come with iLife 08. Is there a way to upgrade to 09 for like $10? i thought I remember something like that with models that don't come with 09 installed.

 

[Kar98]

How easy is it to replace the Mini's hard drive?

Depends how skilled you are and on your fine motor control. Much more complicated than on a desktop PC or non-Apple laptop. You'll need a set of jewelers' screwdrivers, a shot glass (to store the screw in), a painters' scraping tool, and about half an hour to 45 minutes if you get it right the first time. And as I've learned the hard way: before you re-assemble every thing, do run a test on sound, infrared, function of the optical drive, check "about this Mac/more info".

If you're at all comfortable poking around electronics, it's not a problem.

 

[zombitronic]

It's too bad about the $799 Mini. For $200 extra, all you get is 200GB of hard drive space and 1GB extra memory. Other than the obvious, here's what's wrong with that:

1GB (one 1GB SO-DIMM) or 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB

If you ever want to upgrade to 4GB of memory you'll have to buy 4GB...not just the extra 2GB. With only two slots, you'll need two 2GB sticks of RAM. Even with the 2GB configuration, Apple gives you two 1GB sticks. Neither of these are usable if you want the max 4GB.

Also, you can get a 1TB hard drive for $90.

I'm disappointed. I'd probably go for the $799 Mini if only it had a faster CPU than the previous model.

Edit: I see you can configure your Mini. It's really the hard drive price that makes the $799 Mini unattractive. A 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB (and the 120GB Serial ATA Drive) is $899.00. I might be gathering my gift cards tonight after all.

 

[alFR]

Totally off topic but I thought I would make the point. If I were from Pakistan, would you have referred to me as a Paki? Some might find your use of the word "Brit" offensive...

Lordy. If being referred to by an abbreviation of "British" that most reasoned people wouldn't find in the least offensive bothers you, I suggest you get out more.

 

[MasterNile]

I've been needing a new computer for a LONG time. That is my choice. it has been ordered.. That is a fantastic deal.

24 inch: $1,199.

My only question to others is -- it looks like it will come with iLife 08. Is there a way to upgrade to 09 for like $10? i thought I remember something like that with models that don't come with 09 installed.

I got that same one for $350 more a month ago and it came with an iLife 09 disk

EDIT-it was refurbished as well so it more than likely will come with an 09 disk

 

[cmfilms]

One Firewire Port??

Anyone have any idea how I can take the one Firewire 800 port and hook-up a Drobo(FW 800) and my MiniDV deck(FW400)?

This is a deal-breaker for me.

 

[HLdan]

Agreed. I gave up a long time ago on Apple computer hardware.

Then what are you doing here then?

 

[poxonyou]

I just can't help to think that the management team at Apple has come to the conclusion that its customers are nothing more than idiots to be exploited to the greatest degree possible. Fortunately many of us have a brain and realize that these machines are effectively already outdated, there is no future in dual core machines.

Idiots and rich people who care more about owning the most expensive brand than what the product offers in comparison to others.

I could see the stock tanking once they get a feel for the community response. Which might be a good thing really as it could mean stripping out the old management and getting somebody with a clue to steer at the helm. Frankly this sort of exploitation leads to much of the up and downs in Apple sales. People really don't like to be taken advantage of.

We'll see. So far, Apple has been right in there are enough rich people, diehards, idiots, and college students (not caring about the price of their investment as a scholarship, loan, or their parents pay for it) to keep them in the black, at the cost of staying at <10% when everyone has been tired of Windows XP and Vista for years, and at the cost of losing ground in graphics and education. This update is perhaps the worst. We'll see if that reaches the new Apple target audience (listed above).

 

[rawlus]

Anyone have any idea how I can take the one Firewire 800 port and hook-up a Drobo(FW 800) and my MiniDV deck(FW400)?

This is a deal-breaker for me.

daisy-chain?

 

[Roofy.]

What is apple thinking??
599€ and 799€ for the mini is ridiculous. Even if they would have priced it at the old prices it wouldn't be that great deal.
I waited a long time to buy my first mac but with this prices i'm out.

What is everyone talking about? the older mini was at the same prices, nothing went up. I paid $600 for my mini in november.

 

[stix666]

For that minority of (possibly American) mac zealots telling us Brits to stop whining because the pound is worth sweet FA:

- we can't stop, we're Brits
- we have a lot to whine about

More on-topic

- the price is more than it was for a iMac bought in the UK yesterday. No need to compare to the dollar price
- even comparing to the US price, we didn't get the benefit of 2:1 exchange rate
- the competition has raced ahead in terms of specs and price
- the criticisms of anti-Mac zealots (that macs are pretty overpriced crap) is now justified - a really sad day for us UK fanbois
- the long delay between updates and insertion of components that aren't brand new (and have therefore crashed in price) coupled with the rise in prices means Apple are charging more for computers that are cheaper to build. Will be interesting to see a breakdown of total cost of components for these iMac lemons

Apple are damaging their long-term brand for the sake of short-term margin. Big fail.

I was ready to buy today. Certainly not now. I'll be in the market for a hackintosh/ efix system when SL comes out. I think anyone who pays £1800 for an iMac today will feel slightly ridiculous in 6 months time when quad core systems become available for a fraction of the price.

 

[agentmouthwash]

LCD or LED on new 20"????

So I've been waiting for this update since the end of the summer...
I was hoping to buy a $1499 20" iMac with a better graphics card and screen, but it looks like it's a $1499 24" iMac with an integrated card.

I really just want a 20", but what is the deal with the monitor. Some of you are saying it's the same old crappy LCD screen and not LED. I can't find that anywhere on the apple.com site. Is this true?