Desktop Reviews

• 2.0 GHz Intel Core two Duo running Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard
• 1 GB DDR SDRAM, 250 GB SATA hard drive, SuperDrive DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD RW
• 20 inch viewable glossy widescreen TFT active matrix LCD, 1680 by 1050 pixels, millions of colors
• FireWire 400, FireWire port, three USB 2.0 ports on computer, two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard, fitted iSight, mini DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, and S video
• Built in 10/100/1000BASE T Gigabit, fitted AirPort Extreme 802.11n, fitted Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Enhanced Data Rate module

Redefining Apple’s signature all in one desktop PC, the newly redesigned iMac now sports a sleek, professional aluminum enclosure that is joined exactly to a 20 inch glass cover to create a virtually seamless front surface. It includes new ultra thin aluminum Apple Keyboard with an expanded layout and dedicated keys for Mac features like light, volume, eject, play/pause, and Exposé as well as the wired Mighty Mouse. The iMac is preloaded with Apple’s new suite of digital media applications iLife ‘08 and also comes with the Apple Remote and Front Row media display software, which enables you to easily play your music, enjoy photo slideshows, and watch DVDs, iMovies, music videos and TV shows from across the room.

It is powered by a 2.0 GHz Intel Core two Duo processor from the newest “Santa Rosa” chips, which offer a top of the line MHz front side bus speed and a big four MB L2 cache. This 20 inch iMac includes a 250 GB hard drive, one GB of RAM with a four GB maximum capacity, 8x SuperDrive for burning movies to DVD and music combinations to CD, integrated 802.11n wireless LAN, Gigabit Ethernet wired networking, Bluetooth connectivity, ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT video card with 128 MB dedicated memory, and the Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard operating system.

The iMac, Transformed

Redesigned with a recyclable anodized aluminum frame and glass cover, the iMac is friendlier to the environment.

The new keyboard’s ultrathin anodized aluminum enclosure features low profile keys that supply a crisp, responsive feel.

With its anodized aluminum frame and glass cover, the new iMac instantly transforms your workspace from cluttered desktop to smart display podium. Because it is made from a single sheet of aluminum, you will not see any seams or screws except for a single compartment on the bottom that gives easy access to the memory slots. The glossy widescreen 20 inch display makes photos and movies come alive with rich color. And the fitted iSight camera and microphone are integrated so neatly you barely notice they are there. On the side from the design details, the iMac is friendlier to the environment with greatly recyclable and lasting materials as well as scratch resistant glass and professional grade aluminum. The power efficient iMac also meets the stringent new Energy Star 4.0 prerequisites.

With its elegant anodized aluminum enclosure, the new Apple Keyboard looks equally at home in your living room or on your desk. Just connect it to the USB port on your iMac and start enjoying the crisp, responsive feel of its low profile keys. The expanded layout has a full complement of keys, as well as document navigation controls, a numeric keypad, and special function keys for Mac features like light, volume, eject, play/pause, Exposé, and more. Two USB 2.0 ports supply high speed connectivity for your iPod, Mighty Mouse, digital camera, and other USB based electronic devices.

Preinstalled with iLife ‘08
Every iMac will include iLife ‘08, the new variant of Apple’s award winning suite of digital media applications, with big upgrades to iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand and a totally reinvented iMovie. IPhoto ‘08 now automatically organizes photo libraries into Events that allow you to more easily manage your growing photo collections, and iMovie ‘08 can import video from the new AVCHD, HDV and DV camcorders, also as from digital cameras, and displays your complete video library if it is stored on interior or external drives. Both iPhoto and iMovie integrate seamlessly with the new .Mac Web Gallery, Apple’s new service for .Mac members to instantly create and host websites for their photos and videos.

The pre installed iLife ‘08 software suite will include a totally redesigned iMovie, which makes it easier to share your videos on the Internet.

ILife ‘08 includes iWeb ‘08, with live web widgets like Google Maps that allow you to create more dynamic websites, and GarageBand ‘08, with its new Magic GarageBand feature that makes it fun and easy for both musicians and non musicians to create great sounding songs.

Intel Core two Duo Processor
It is powered by the 2.0 GHz Intel Core two Duo T7300 processor from the newest “Santa Rosa” chips, which offer a top of the line MHz front side bus speed and four MB L2 cache. An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data, and a bigger L2 cache may help speed up your system’s performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front side bus will deliver better in general performance. With such a considerable L2 cache, data information may be kept close to the two processor cores, largely rising performance and allowing the complete system to work more proficiently.

The Intel Core two Duo’s 128 bit SSE3 vector engine handles 128 bit computations in a single clock cycle, accelerating data manipulation by at the same time applying a single instruction to many data. And its two execution cores are intended to share resources and conserve power, helping it to accomplish higher levels of performance since it uses fewer watts.

Graphics and Video
The 20 inch widescreen TFT active matrix LCD offers a resolution of 1680 by 1050 pixels 36 % more than the last 17 inch iMac. It has a light ranking of 290 nits, a contrast percentage of 800:1, and a looking at angle of 160 degrees both horizontal and vertical. An ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT graphics processor powers the iMac with 128 MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory. It features many of the most advanced graphics technology available and delivers new levels of visual realism and a big texture fill rate for smooth surfaces and complex character details. GDDR3 Graphics Double Data Rate, variant 3 is a graphics card specific memory technology that is better able to deliver liquid frame rates for the most advanced games and applications.

This iMac also enables you to connect a second display in either expanded desktop mode or video mirroring mode. The mini DVI port connects to DVI displays, VGA monitors and projectors, and S video and composite devices using the proper adapter sold separately.

Wired and Wireless Connectivity

You get a full complement of ports on the back of the iMac, as well as three USB 2.0 and two flavors of FireWire 400 and .

The iMac gives you lots of room to grow, accommodating as many as five peripherals at a time thanks to its three USB 2.0 ports and the two USB 2.0 ports on the Apple Keyboard. It also will include two powered FireWire ports one FireWire 400 and one FireWire one of the fastest peripheral standards available enabling you to swiftly move content from digital video cameras, hard drives, and other high speed devices.

Share files around your house with fitted 10/100/1000BASE T Ethernet also as the next generation high speed wireless 802.11n technology, which is integrated into the new Apple Airport Extreme Base Station. The iMac is Wi Fi Certified to work with base stations and routers that use industry standard 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g wireless technologies.

The integrated Bluetooth wireless connectivity version 2.0 + improved Data Rate EDR allows you to use a wireless keyboard or mouse, and synchronize peripherals like cell phones and PDAs. Enjoy high quality sound on nearly any speaker system with double duty analog/digital audio. Record digital and analog resources through audio line in, perfect for your new podcast in GarageBand.

SuperDrive
Integrated neatly into the iMac is a slot loading SuperDrive that allows you to play and burn your CDs and DVDs including double layer DVDs. And there is no disc tray just slide the disc right in. It offers the following speeds:

• Writes DVD+R DL and DVD R DL discs at up to 4x speed
• Writes DVD R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed
• Writes DVD RW at up to 6x speed and DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed
• Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
• Writes CD R discs at up to 24x speed
• Writes CD RW discs at up to 16x speed
• Reads CDs at up to 24x speed

Other Features

• Two SO DIMM slots support up to four GB of RAM
• Built in stereo speakers with interior 24 watt digital amplifier
• Support for external display in expanded desktop mode: 1920 by 1200 pixels for digital and 2048 by 1536 pixels for analog
• Meets ENERGY STAR prerequisites with maximum uninterrupted power ranking of 200 watts
• Dimensions: 19.1 x 18.5 x 7.4 inches WxHxD

Included Software
Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard operating system includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools, iLife ‘08 includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork 30 day trial, and Front Row

What’s in the Box
IMac, Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, Apple Remote, cleaning cloth, power cord, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation

More than ever before, iMac lets you to live a digital life. Loaded with iLife, the new iMac makes it simple to turn your photos, movies, and music into blogs, podcasts, books, and calendars. The other essentials are fitted also, as well as an iSight camera, Wi Fi, and Bluetooth. Just plug it in, turn it on, and you are prepared to create something great. Display 20 inch viewable glossy widescreen TFT active matrix LCD, 1680 by 1050 pixels, millions of colors Video fitted iSight, mini DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S video, and composite video connections via adapter Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB of GDDR3 memory FireWire One FireWire 400 and one FireWire port, seven watts each , USB Three USB 2.0 ports on computer, two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard fitted stereo speakers with 24 watt digital amplifier, fitted microphone, optical audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio, input/audio line in Ethernet fitted 10/100/1000BASE T Gigabit Wireless fitted AirPort Extreme 802.11n , fitted Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Enhanced Data Rate module Hardware accessories Apple Remote, Apple Keyboard, and Mighty Mouse, fitted IR receiver Your iMac comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one year restricted warranty. Buy the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three full years. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan gives you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple certified technicians using real Apple parts

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 8:35 am and is filed under Desktops. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.