New iMacs Released

[koobcamuk]

Perhaps I just like a keyboard that offers some tactile feedback and has a little play. This keyboard has neither - in fact it feels slightly different from the MacBook keyboard, from what I remember, and not for the better. Key spacing is also odd, and the flat keytops do nothing to help guide the finger to the target key. I also found typing on the keyboard very fatiguing - your fingers quickly hit rock bottom on the keystroke with a big thud.

The MacBook keyboard is a lovely keyboard. Obviously some don't like it, but the spacing is the same as the old keyboard and there is 'some' tactile feedback. The iPhone doesn't have any. Keyboards do.

I can't understand paying laptop prices for a desktop computer and getting a cruddy laptop keyboard in the bargain. This strikes me as an amazingly bad deal.

You show me a laptop with a 20" screen and everything else that the iMac comes with, for that price. Your point makes no sense. Buy the old keyboard if it annoys you so much!

Um, no, actually, they aren't. Fingerprints are clearly more visible on glossy surfaces. I have to look carefully to spot fingerprints and smudges on my 19" Samsung matte monitor. Fingerprints on glossy screens are readily visible from a good distance.

Most of this post is correct, but I can't see why people touch the screen. It is not a touchscreen! However, with children or idiots around, touching screens, a glossy screen allows you to see them better... and is therefore easier to give a good clean! Not only that, but these new iMacs will be easier to clean full stop.

Maybe if you live in your parents' unlit basement it would be OK, but a large monitor like the one on a 24" iMac can generate enough illumination of its own to make reflections and glare an issue even in a dark room.

This is tripe.

Um, people who don't want their desktop and workspace cluttered up with speakers, cables, volume controls, power supplies and other junk. If I wanted that rat's nest of mismatched cables, I'd save $500 - $700 and just buy a desktop PC from Dell or HP.

I have a 500 Watt sound system plugged into my MacBook when I am at home for music and the like.

When we [girlfriend and I] watch a movie, we go into the lounge and use her 24" iMac. The speakers are incredible. Not 5:1 - far from it, but loud, with bass and good acoustics. I am very impressed by them and it means she doesn't need to waste money on speakers.

the "new" iMac feels like a downgrade from the existing model, not an upgrade.

I really don't think so.

 

[daneoni]

I do hope though that the new design doesn't make into the notebook line cos they'll be inseparable from this which is not a good thing. However for the iMac i like it

 

[Crispy Duck]

These new iMacs look like something Darth Vader would have on his office desk... very cool.

 

[Tsurisuto]

No one design is going to please EVERYBODY! But I for one love the new designs.

I've been asking (and begging) for a BTO Glossy option on the iMacs, and Apple has answered my prayers!

The only thing I would have liked was an eSata connection, but with FireWire 1600 around the corner, I'm not too bothered.

 

[Erasmus]

Whoa. It's awesome.

Did NOT expect a 2.8GHz CPU. Also did NOT expect AMD GPUs, but all in all, it's pretty much what we were expecting.

Although it would have been nice to have a GPU BTO upgrade, something like a HD2900XT, but maybe that's reserved for the Mini Mac Pro ; )

 

[tomd89]

Steve did not seem to be very happy. I have a feeling he is disappointed with the new iMac and they did it because they had to. He was probably thinking: "They still put that damn glossy screen....... fire all". Really it looked like the apple team did not meet the deadline and they put out whatever was ready.

Probably because someone in Apple had posted picture of the new keyboard on the web!

 

[tomd89]

Anyone know where I can find the specs for the old iMacs, to compare with the new one?

 

[b33k34]

is it really as easy as it looks to upgrade memory on this new iMac? Crucial seem to sell 1gb of compatible memory for £30 (Apple charge £94 for the upgrade) which is a further £60 of differential between the mini and iMac eroded by the time you get to a 2gb machine.

 

[blueskyrocket]

Try Here

Anyone know where I can find the specs for the old iMacs, to compare with the new one?

http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_shipping/index-currently-shipping-macs.html

Although the site does not show todays announcements yet, no doubt it will soon.

Pete

 

[lelereb]

I wonder if this iMac is openable and how. I don't see any screw.

 

[BillyBobBongo]

I wonder if this iMac is openable and how. I don't see any screw.

Evertyhing is openable!!!!

I get the feeling that you're only supposed to be able to upgrade the RAM yourself I'm afraid!

 

[un1ty]

Of course!

http://gallery.mac.com/emsdad#100004

Thanks! Those are great! This convinced me to get .mac!

I think that Apple should add social networking to the .mac. Browsing Web Gallery is way more intuitive and enjoyable than Flickr or any other photo/art site I've visited.

Although useful, the RSS feeds don't seem like enough of a social networking feature. I want to have an interface for such a feature.

Am I the only one who can't wait for to get the new keyboard?

I'm probably going to get the wired one so I can just plug my iPhone into it.

 

[sushiman]

Like the majority of computer users , I am not a geek / expert / pro / whatever . I have been vowing for over a year now to send my Fujitsu PC to the sidelines , and invest in a MAC . Like many others , after reading all the hype on this site and elsewhere , I really expected much , much more than what Apple has delivered . Seems to me their priorities are geared towards the IPhone /etc and away from the computer to an alarming degree . There are no dummies at Apple Corps . They know the % of the population that is fed up with Windows and will buy a new Mac no matter what they offer . The hardcore Mac users will never go back to PC . Apparently this is a satisfactoy situation for Apple , because I don't see any major swing away from PC after seeing what Jobs has put on the table . In fact , I must be honest and say , after salivating at the prospect of dumping Windows I am now having serious second thoughts about doing so . Even Steve didn't seem too excited - why should I be ?

 

[stephenli]

Steve did not seem to be very happy. I have a feeling he is disappointed with the new iMac and they did it because they had to. He was probably thinking: "They still put that damn glossy screen....... fire all". Really it looked like the apple team did not meet the deadline and they put out whatever was ready.

Yes, Steve did not seem to be very happy. So we did have "One more thing"...
maybe the original "One more thing" is.....Apple keyboard. ha ha ha.
I am going to place my order, even though I dont like glossy screen.
Unlike macbook, we have no choice.

 

[Voltayre]

Just contacted the apple store to see if they will have them on display today....Their response.....I know nothing about any new imacs coming......Um....ooookkkk

They aren't allowed to say anything about new Apple products until the moment Apple are selling them. Sucks, but it's in their contract.

I have to wonder, all those people who are talking about how disappointed they are - what were you expecting? What would the new iMac have had to be in order to not disappoint? I don't recall hearing anything about the new iMac being substantially different from the existing model, in fact I seem to recall discussion of it looking quite similar to the existing iMacs.

 

[ccaroline]

I've been reading macrumors.com almost every day for the past 3 weeks, because of the new iMac release. Until then I've been using a friends Mac Mini next to my Vista PC. Now the iMacs are finally here, I am a bit (a lot actually) worried: will I be able to use one of my Samsung 226BW TFT screens as an extra display for my (hopefully) future iMac? I'm a near-complete Apple noob, so please someone help me out? : )

 

[iShak]

the keyboard is super beautiful! not an anodized aluminium fan but love the macbook keyboard so I can live with that ..

the form factor on iMac is very nice too, its really an engineering marvel but the 'part introduction' of glossy black hasn't gone well with me .. its neither the classic white nor the revolutionary black .. its just no where.

for me iMac has lost its minimalistic look due to that black border and that black apple logo is just plain ugly!!!

love the new iMac hate the new colour scheme.

 

[Chilz0r]

I was a Rev A. iMac G5 buyer and all I have to say is...give it a couple of months. I was kickin myself a couple of months later when they released the G5 with iSight and 128mb VRAM. Personally I think the new iMac looks fantastic and if it's anything like my brothers Core Duo iMac it will be whisper quite. A tad disappointed with the GPU but that 's what you get for running @ 45 watts.

 

[Gentile]

My little story of ordering the new imac!

Well I went down to the local Apple Store last night to pick up a new imac. When I arrived I was told that to get an upgraded hard drive I would have to order it online (a worker on the phone said before they could do it at the store). I was a little bumbed, but decided I would just wait to order one online at home. Only one new imac was on display, but there was one customer on it for a long time. I watched a little depressed as a couple of new imacs were being wheeled out of the store.

I decided I would go shopping to take my mind of it. That did not work...then I got a brilliant idea. I can order it at the Apple store using one of the older imacs on display. So I returned to the Apple Store and ordered the imac online. I spent a few minutes chatting to one of the employees. I then noticed that the new imac was free, but I had to leave so my wife could feed our child.

So a half hour later, I returned for a third time. Another customer was on it, so I decided to stand behind him and wait. As soon as he left I jumped on it and checked it out. There were a couple customers behind me waiting to get a look. My first impressions were that it looked very nice, it was very silent, and my wife tried out the new keyboard and liked it. I did wonder if the ergonomics of the keyboard were good?

Anyway, I purchased the 20" imac with 2.4 GHz and a 500 GB hard drive. I used my education discount and got $200 off a new black 30 GB video ipod as a present for my wife who had to put up with listening to me talk of imacs forever.

I have been researching and waiting to buy an imac for almost 2 years. I know, I should of just bought it before and enjoyed it. However, I first needed to research it and then wanted to get an Intel version. I keep these computers for a long time and wanted an updated model. I am excited to get it, but can wait a little longer. I am now a proud switcher to mac after many years with a pc (my first Mac was a Mac SE).

 

[carlostsr]

iMac a design disgrace.

Dear Sir Ive,

Would you be so kind to clarify just one annoing design problem. Why a white power cord is pluged in a dark black plastic ? Does the black Apple logo have any connection with the white keyboard and mouse? Is there a hidden secret that I am not able to understand it ?
"De gustibus non est discutandum" we will say but from a designer point of view the new iMac does not meet the standard for a nice coalgulate solution.
As concept the iMac is the best solution, unfortunately the mix of colours is just a bad taste and decision.

 

[dazzer21]

Can the processor on this be swapped out like it could on the Mac Pro and the Mini, for when more powerful versions are available? Could you put the Extreme Quad core into this now?

 

[i0Nic]

Dear Sir Ive,

Would you be so kind to clarify just one annoing design problem. Why a white power cord is pluged in a dark black plastic ? Does the black Apple logo have any connection with the white keyboard and mouse? Is there a hidden secret that I am not able to understand it ?
"De gustibus non est discutandum" we will say but from a designer point of view the new iMac does not meet the standard for a nice coalgulate solution.
As concept the iMac is the best solution, unfortunately the mix of colours is just a bad taste and decision.

The colours are complementary to each other, the two toned look enhances the appeal. For something to match it doesn't have to be all one colour, do you only ever wear all black clothes, or all brown, all red etc?

I really like the look of the new iMac, only thing I would've prefered is a silver apple logo on the back instead of glossy black.

 

[thomasfxlt]

I disagree with you. Judging by this thread, it seems that a majority of people ARE let down.

I guess we interpret things differently. That's ok.

It's ok for a company to do incremental development. They've got plenty of time to reinvent the computer. I think (and so do plenty of others) that this is a nice new delivery.

Watch 3rd and 4th qtr. sales. I think Apple is well positioned.

 

[iMacMike]

My take - for what its worth....

A bit of history: I have one of the old iMacs that looks like a lamp (though, I must say the ability to move my screen up and down AND left and right, to this day, is still pretty awesome). It is an 850 Mhz, with 512 MB of RAM and, if I recall a video card with like 64MB of RAM. It is going on 4 years old....

I have been on the fence for a long time about getting a new iMac. I was a switcher back then and will never go back to PCs. Since they hadn't been updated yet (and since, for the most part, my existing machine is doing OK), I was willing to wait - and wait - and wait. So, when the announcement about Aug 7 came out, I was pretty geeked up.

After the dust settled, and I look at what Apple has provided, here are my thoughts:

- keyboard - looks very nice - but will need a chance to use it (I live 10 mintues from a store, so no problem there)
- design - not sold on it yet - frankly, I liked the white color better, but I do no think it is terrible
- screen - to be prefectly honest, I am not sure what all the hub-bub is over glossy vs matte. I suppose I will need to see this for myself - I do know that 24 inches is probably too much (I currently have 17) - so 20 seems to be the logical choice for me
- specs - obviously, coming from someone with a four-year old machine - ANY specs are going to look impressive. What is GOOD from what I see is that these machine use a single brick of 1 GB RAM, which makes adding another brick very easy. The previous iMacs all used 2 bricks of 512, which meant to get to 2 GB, you had to BUY 2 GB. What is also GOOD is the improvements in processor speeds - very speedy now. What I am troubled by is the video card I guess. Again - for me - vs what I have, I am sure this is a BIG upgrade. But, why does Apple feel the need to be cheap on this end? Seriously - how much more $ would it cost to put a nicer card in there (or at least allow the option to do so?)
- software - very, very cool updates to iLife and with a spreadsheet now included, it is time for me to pick up iWork as well. Apple hit a homerun here.

Conclusion - while I was not blown away by this new iMac - I just priced the 20 incher with 2 GB of RAM, iWork included and the service plan - it comes up to about $1800. I am not a hard core gamer (who has time with 3 kids?!?) - though I do enjoy playing WOW when I can (heck - if I can tolerate it on my current machine, think of how much better it will be ont he new one!). I love working with my iLife stuff - tons of photos and movies. I also have a ton of other software that lets me do what I want to do - and not get in my way (a hallmark of Apple). It seems to me that I am 'joe consumer' that Apple is targeting with these machines. Throw in the fact that now I will have an Intel machine that will allow me to use the TWO Windows apps that I still have an old, used laptop around for and I think it is time to take the plunge.

While this may not be the perfect machine and also while I know I could find a cheaper PC to buy, I think Apple has catered to the sweet spot again for the average consumer level computer that is still backed by the best OS in the business.

Sorry to be wordy - that is just my take on the new machine. I will be heading over to the Apple store this weekend to check it out and most likely walk out the door with one.

Regards,
iMacMike

 

[Lesser Evets]

I agree the design is a little 'iPhone wannabe' and the keyboard doesn't match the iMac as well. Maybe it was a rush out- looks almost like the old design, just using different color materials.

But, you guys whine too much.