The new all-in-one iMac G5 desktop tucks all of its components, including its hard drive, processor and slot-load DVD drive, behind a widescreen liquid crystal display. The machine, which is about 2 inches thick and is mounted on a curved metal stand, has proportions similar to those of the company's Cinema Display flat panels.
The computer maker unveiled the design -- its third all-in-one iMac -- at the Apple Expo in Paris. Mac enthusiast sites had been buzzing recently about possible designs for the new machines.
Previous models included the iMac G4, introduced in 2002, whose swing-arm-mounted flat screen drew comparisons to a desk lamp, and the first generation CRT-based machine from 1998, whose form is still emulated by the eMac. This time around the iMac G5 also creates a profile that emulates that of Apple's iPod digital music player when mounted inside its docking cradle.
In spite of the slim profile, Apple also squeezed in a fair amount of power into the machines. Two models include a G5 processor, otherwise known as IBM's PowerPC 970, and one model includes Apple's SuperDrive DVD burner.
Apple is billing the new design as "enchanting" and is looking for consumers to make a favourable comparison between the new iMac and the wildly popular iPod.
"Just like the iPod redefined portable digital music players, the new iMac G5 redefines what users expect from a consumer desktop," Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement.
The computer maker said it will begin shipping the machine in mid-September. Apple will sell three models, ranging from one with a 17-inch screen priced at $1,299 (£919)to a 20-inch model priced at $1,899(£1,349).
Although Apple kept the specs of the iMac G5 a secret -- several Web sites accurately predicted the basics of the design, but many purported photos of the device turned out to be fakes -- the company would have liked to have unveil the machine earlier.
Apple first confirmed a new iMac was on the way in July. At that time the company said that it had stopped taking orders for iMac G4 models and that it had hoped to introduce an all-new model available before G4 stocks ran out. But instead it said it was hampered by a component shortage, which would prevent the new iMac from coming out until September. Later it revealed that the component in question was the G5 processor, thereby confirming that the chip would power the new design.
Although Apple began taking orders for the iMac G5 on its Web site on Tuesday and plans to ship in mid-September, the gap in timing has left Apple without a consumer-oriented desktop to sell for the much of the 2004 back-to-school season.
The most basic $1,299 model will include a 1.6GHz processor and the 17-inch wide screen, whose resolution is 1,440 by 900 pixels. It also comes with 256MB of RAM; an 80GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive; a combination CD-burner/DVD-ROM drive; Nvidia's GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphics chip; and 64MB of dedicated graphics memory. Apple's Mac OS X version 10.3 operating system is also included.
The intermediate model, priced at $1,499, offers a faster 1.8GHz processor, whose data pipeline to and from memory also accelerates to 600MHz from 533MHz. It also comes with the Apple SuperDrive combination DVD-burner/CD-burner.
The $1,899 model's 20-inch screen offers a resolution of 1,680 by 1,050 pixels. This iMac also includes the 1.8GHz chip, a 160GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive and the SuperDrive.
Customers who purchase any of the machines direct from Apple can add more memory and a larger hard drive and can opt for add-ons such as an Apple AirPort Extreme wireless card. When fitted with 1GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive and an Airport card, the 20-inch model costs about $2,300, Apple's site shows.
As part of its efforts to keep the iMac G5 trim, Apple used design tricks such as incorporating the machine's power supply, making for a less bulky power cord arrangement -- many thin desktops use a bricklike external power supply. It also included a complement of audio- and video-out, USB, Firewire and Ethernet ports, but gives customers the option of adding Bluetooth, the short-range wireless networking technology for connecting peripherals, instead of cables to connect devices such as a keyboard and a mouse.
The Bluetooth module alone adds $50, while a module plus a keyboard and mouse adds $99 to the price of an iMac purchased direct from Apple.
