Apple Delivers New iMacs, Magic Mouse, Mac Minis And MacBook [white]

The rumors preceded them as usual and now they are finally here. Apple stores all over the world (most of them, at any rate) have been updated to show new Macs from Apple. While this update has several new products, most of the attention is focused on the new Magic Mouse and the new iMacs. And for good reasons too.

The Mighty Mouse (R.I.P.) AKA the Apple Mouse was getting really old and was long overdue for an upgrade. After the Pro Mouse from Apple, we haven’t seen a truly useful and sleek mouse from Apple. Turns out they were developing something that is the first of its kind.

Apple has put a capacitive multitouch layer on top of a wireless aluminum mouse that has optical tracking. As a result, the new mouse acts just like the glass trackpad on the MacBooks, with full gestures support, 360º scrolling and also two button mouse emulation. You can touch any part of the mouse and it will respond. It is still a mouse though, it has optical tracking and can track without a mousepad on almost any surface. Plus, just like the glass trackpad on the MacBooks, the entire surface clicks when you click. So you have physical feedback of the clicking.

There are no wires either, thanks to Bluetooth. However, I was concerned about the battery life of the device but Apple says you can get 4 months of usage out of the AA batteries that you will be using. The Magic Mouse and the new wireless keyboard come as standard with the new iMacs. So you are getting a fully wireless set up to work with.

The iMacs themselves are causing a lot of excitement as well. The main thing to notice about the entire upgrade is the fact that Apple has really gone for power this time. All the iMacs, except the highest one, run on 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors. That one iMac is the new quad-core Mac that we heard about. It is powered by a 2.66 Intel Core i5 processor with an option to upgrade to a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor.

Memory is standard at 4GB across the board and they are all 1066MHz DDR3 memory modules. Upgrading to more RAM is possible. It is 8GB for the first three models and 16GB for the quad-core model.

Storage starts at 500GB with the $1,199 model and for every other model it is standard at 1GB, with the option to upgrade to 2TB.

There are two 21” and two 27” models. The second 27” model is the quad-core model. Look below for the pricing. The entry point is $1,199 and the quad-core model is $1,999. Also, for $19 extra you can get the new redesigned aluminum Apple remote.

The new MacBook has received the unibody treatment and has a sealed-in battery like the MacBook Pro series. But the chassis is still made out of white polycarbonate. The unpopular sharp edges have been slightly rounded off to provide a better feel. The new battery is rated at 7-hours. It has also gotten the glass trackpad like the MacBook Pro line. So all in all, it is even more like the MacBook Pro line now. It is more powerful than the previous model but it is still the cheapest MacBook ever at $999.

The Mac Mini line has received minor speed and storage upgrades. The new thing is a server Mac Mini for $999. It has no DVD burner and has two 500GB HDDs instead. The Mac Minis cost $599 and $799 respectively.

Over all, it seems like the new iMacs and the MacBook will be immensely popular this season. The iMacs for their incredible power and the MacBook [white] for its portability and lower-than-ever price. The Windows 7 launch will affect Mac sales but it is likely to be temporary with Apple regaining the market’s attention in Q1 2010. But it can’t be said for certain till Windows 7 has been out for a while.

Price Details

iMacs

MacBook

Mac Minis