08 Aug 2007 12:15
Three new iMacs were unveiled at an event held on Tuesday at Apple's Californian headquarters. There will be two 20-inch iMacs with different specifications, and a more expensive 24-inch model. The 20-inch systems will cost $1,199 (£590) or $1,499, depending on the configuration, and the 24-inch system will cost $1,799, $200 less than the current 24-inch iMac.
Apple is also introducing a new thin keyboard along with the new iMacs. The new keyboard has audio and video controls at the top, and is available in either wired or wireless versions.
Current Mac users who want to use the new keyboard with an older iMac or Mac Pro can buy the wired version for $49 and the wireless Bluetooth version for $79. Batteries are included with the wireless version.
A detailed look at the specifications of the new iMacs. Jobs said that, although Apple's Mac business is two-thirds notebooks these days, iMacs will remain the Mac system of choice for people who need large displays. "I haven't seen anybody request a 24-inch laptop yet," he quipped.
A look at the multiple input and output jacks on Apple's new iMacs. Jobs said it was the first time ever Apple had put the FireWire 800 jack on an iMac.
Jobs also introduced a major revision to iLife, the company's suite of home media software. The new version, iLife '08, will cost $79 and come with new versions of iPhoto, iMovie, iWeb, iDVD and GarageBand, the five applications in the iLife suite.
iPhoto '08 will come with the ability to upload photos to a new set of .Mac services, so home photographers can build web pages with their photos. It also incorporates a new feature called "skimming", which lets iPhoto users preview images in an album without having to open the album itself.
The most significant upgrade to the iLife suite is to the iMovie application, which changed so much that the company decided to give it a new icon, Jobs said. Mac users can create short movies of their home videos with iMovie but, before this new version came out, it was very hard to create a short movie in a short amount of time, he said. The new version lets users drag and drop video clips into a movie template, where transitions and a soundtrack can be added.
The new version of GarageBand lets you create a customised background track for your vocals or instrumental prowess using several different templates, such as rock, blues, jazz, Latin, or reggae.
In a rare move, Apple executives (from left to right) Tim Cook, chief operating officer; Jobs; and Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, took questions from the press and analysts assembled at Apple's headquarters.
The new iMacs are made from aluminium and glass, a combination of materials that Apple previously reserved for its professional line of products but which has impressed lots of regular folks, Jobs said.
Apple had several iMacs on display after the presentation, and they should be available in Apple stores and on the web now. Apple hadn't updated the iMac's design in several years, and it also used the occasion to insert Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors into the new systems.
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