Apple today announced that it's stopped production of its G4-based range of 17in one-piece eMac computers. These have largely been sold into schools and colleges and are being replaced by a more powerful, but more expensive, Intel-powered 17in flatscreen iMac that will be sold through the Apple Store for Education and Apple Education Specialists resellers.
VAT-inclusive suggested price will be £639. That's £240 cheaper than the lowest-spec'd iMac available to the general public on Apple's UK Store. However, the educational version has even lower specs.
iMac 17in (click for larger image)The £639 educational price buys:
Hardware
• An integral 17-inch widescreen LCD monitor
• A 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor
• 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2GB)
• A 24x combined CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (the standard iMac has an 8x DVD burner)
• Intel GMA 950 graphics (rather than ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory)
• Built-in iSight webcam
• Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g) wireless networking
• A 3.5in 80GB/7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (half the size of the standard iMac - though 160GB is a build-to-order option)
• Built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
• Three USB 2.0 ports (plus two USB 1.1 on the keyboard)
• Two six-pin FireWire "400" (IEEE 1394a) ports
• Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and composite/S-video are sold separately);
• Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
• Mighty Mouse and Apple keyboard.
OS & software
• Mac OS X V10.4.6 (Tiger) including Safari web browser, Mail, iCal, iChat AV (web-cam), Front Row (media-centre front-end) and Photo Booth - all running natively on the Intel-based desktop
• iLife ‘06, application bundle consisting of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand (music creation) and iWeb (web-site creation) - the newest suite member.
• An integral 17-inch widescreen LCD monitor
• A 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor
• 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 2GB)
• A 24x combined CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive (the standard iMac has an 8x DVD burner)
• Intel GMA 950 graphics (rather than ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory)
• Built-in iSight webcam
• Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11g) wireless networking
• A 3.5in 80GB/7,200rpm Serial ATA hard drive (half the size of the standard iMac - though 160GB is a build-to-order option)
• Built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet
• Three USB 2.0 ports (plus two USB 1.1 on the keyboard)
• Two six-pin FireWire "400" (IEEE 1394a) ports
• Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and composite/S-video are sold separately);
• Built-in stereo speakers and microphone
• Mighty Mouse and Apple keyboard.
OS & software
• Mac OS X V10.4.6 (Tiger) including Safari web browser, Mail, iCal, iChat AV (web-cam), Front Row (media-centre front-end) and Photo Booth - all running natively on the Intel-based desktop
• iLife ‘06, application bundle consisting of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand (music creation) and iWeb (web-site creation) - the newest suite member.
An Apple Remote is not included and nor is a modem or Apple's iWork suite, though these are available as build-to-order options. Bluetooth is also missing and, seemingly, not offered as an option.
Thoughts on this as a way to get an iMac on the cheap? Let us hear them in the HEXUS.community.
HEXUS.links
HEXUS.community - discussion thread about this article
Apple - Store for Education
Apple UK - online store
