Headlines - Updated Apple iMacs now available

[HEXUS]

Head on over to the Apple store today and you'll find that new and improved iMacs await...

Read more.

[Funkstar]

Isn't it amazing what the Apple marketing machine is capable of?

No other PC vendor (and lets face it, Apple is a PC vendor whether they like it or not, it might run OSX and be in a fancy case, but they are just PCs) gets anywhere near this kind of coverage when they bump a processor or graphics card option.

And what kind of bizarre online store has to be taken offline just so they can add a product, a couple of options or change a spec? Is no one on the web dev team capable of adding a hidden product and just enabling it with a simple command?

But then I guess that would undermine the intrigue and mystery in posting a "back soon" notice...

[RoganJosh]

Isn't it amazing what the Apple marketing machine is capable of?

No other PC vendor (and lets face it, Apple is a PC vendor whether they like it or not, it might run OSX and be in a fancy case, but they are just PCs) gets anywhere near this kind of coverage when they bump a processor or graphics card option.

And what kind of bizarre online store has to be taken offline just so they can add a product, a couple of options or change a spec? Is no one on the web dev team capable of adding a hidden product and just enabling it with a simple command?

But then I guess that would undermine the intrigue and mystery in posting a "back soon" notice...

I guess you're not a Mac user?

[CrimsonAvenger]

I guess he isn't...........

[Funkstar]

Why would it matter?

Or does being a Mac user mean I would crave any little over hyped spec increse to my beloved range of systems? Declaring Jobs as being the saviour of all that is good and pure?

[staffsMike]

I prefer my laptops to be protable...



Don't hurt me *cowers away*

[Hicks12]

i never really understood how apple get away with over charging for every single piece of hardware or even software for example the ipod, its an ok mp3/mp4 player but isnt what everyone makes it out to be, there are much better players out there like the ir river range, rated the best in reviews and they are much cheaper but as its not "apple" many people havent heard of it and dont even consider it, asked a couple of colleges and they didnt even no what i river was . Now with mac's i have no issue with them and would use it if i had to (still cant get over the 1 button mouse ) but the fact you pay for a goodish system ~£1.5k but for a similar spec pc you pay ~ £500. I dont see why this even got mentioned as its not extremely high stuff and doesnt warrant the notice.

But i guess its a way to make apple more money so kudos to them . I feel sorry for you mac users as you have to pay extra for something that could be better, mater of opinion but still.

Sorry if this sounds harsh but i was bored .

[Whiternoise]

People may more for a number of reasons, oft discussed:

- Permission of running OS X, evidently seen by Apple to be a privilege
- Style, whilst not very upgradeable, the iMacs do look rather snazzy
- You're getting a pretty decent monitor included, and for the 24", that could bump an extra 200 top
- Specwise they're not that bad, especially in the laptop range, if you're willing to upgrade your RAM 3rd party, the pricing is reasonably competitive. They're overpriced also because Apple afaik prevent people from making deals on them.

Lets do a quick comparison, take Dell for instance as a major manufacturer - it's useless to compare the specs to someone like Scan, because it's obviously going to be cheaper to do a self build.

Dell XPS 630 (US as the UK wouldn't let me spec a system this good)

My Components
Black Bezel Chassis
Intel® Core™2 E8400 (6MB,3.0 GHz, 1333FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional with re-installation CD
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 DIMMs
500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
24 inch UltraSharp™ 2408WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel
nVidia GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell Optical USB Mouse

$1,949 is about £1150 with VAT

Apple (top range iMac with upgraded processor)

# 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
# 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
# 500GB Serial ATA Drive
# NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS w/512MB GDDR3
# Apple Mighty Mouse
# Keyboard (British) & User’s Guide (English)
# SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
# 24-inch glossy widescreen LCD
# AirPort Extreme
# Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

£1,389.00

I'd argue that you'd be paying around 300 quid over the top. Bear in mind that the iMac looks a lot better (depends on your point of view), the display is likely to be just as good or better, you get a decent mouse (also depends on your point of view), speakers, plus wireless/bluetooth. The graphics isn't such a bad leap as it's GS => GT and that could be overclocked a bit (reviews call about 25% difference), and also you've got slightly faster RAM. Also note that the Dell has the higher 1333 FSB. Apple also has some very reasonable refurb deals generally when the new products are out, for instance the last 24"er can be nabbed for $1599 (cheap as!).

All things considered, it's not a bad price and it's a bit easy to slam Apple for overpricing - even if they do on other products. Certainly it's a rip off, but nowhere near as bad as you might think. Personally i would get a mac laptop and a windows desktop, purely on upgrading terms, and i think the iPod is godawful and iTunes should burn with it - however, i think it's important to see both sides of the argument before needlessly bashing Jobsworths

[Funkstar]

Whiternoise, you might be right in general about most of the Mac monitors, but there is a class action lawsuit against Apple for miss representing the LCD panel inside the low end iMacs. The basis of the claim is that Apple were advertising high end panels in high end system, and not stating clearly enough that you got low end panels in low end systems (basically the cheapest panels Apple could get their hand on).

Apple sued over missing millions of colours it claims for new iMac | Technology | The Guardian

And not for the first time either:
Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro screens subject of class-action lawsuit - Engadget
Apple quietly settles MacBook 6-bit LCD screen lawsuit - Engadget

[Whiternoise]

Ah yeah i read about that (something about them making colours appear to be accurate, but botching it quite badly), although one could still argue that you're getting a reasonable 24" monitor - certainly the ones i've played about with in the Regent St store looked pretty nice.

"A 24in version of the iMac, priced at £1,149, fulfils Apple's promise by displaying 16.7m different colours, according to the lawsuit, filed in San Jose, California."

From one of your links, so the pricing i put was viable apparently.. however it would seem that the 20 inchers are a bit dodgy. Obviously that's no excuse since many users are likely to be buying the lower end models.