Apple iMac

Simply staring at a picture of the new iMac really doesn't do it justice. It looks like an anglepoise lamp with a fat bottom. Only up close can this object of hi-tech beauty be fully appreciated.

Even the most ardent Apple lover cannot deny that the new iMac looks a touch odd, but the stylish and solid build oozes quality.

The base of the unit is a white hemisphere, measuring just 27cm across. This compact unit houses the motherboard, hard disk, CD or DVD-ROM drive and all the ports. At nearly 10kg, it's a little on the heavy side but there's a lot crammed into it.

The weight also helps to counterbalance the screen effectively. Unless you plan on moving it about a lot, it won't matter too much. It's still a lot lighter than the original iMac, thanks to the slimline 15in TFT display that replaces the heavy CRT monitor used in the original.

A shiny steel arm that pokes up out of the top of the base unit holds the screen. It's hinged in two places, allowing you to tilt, swivel, raise or lower the screen with just a touch of the finger. It's a nice bit of engineering and solid enough to act as the handle when you lift the iMac up from the desk.

General features

Our review unit was the top-of-the-range model, costing £1,600. This has a Motorola 800MHz G4 processor, which is roughly comparable to a Pentium 4 running at around 1.3GHz.

Other features in this model include a SuperDrive that enables you burn your own DVD-R, CD-R and CD-RW disks, 256Mb of memory and a 60Gb hard disk.

There are two less expensive models available. In the middle of the range is the £1,300 700MHz model with a CD-RW drive that will read DVDs. The cheapest model costs £1,100 and also runs at 700MHz but has 128Mb of memory and a CD-RW drive.

All three iMacs have nVidia GeForce 2 MX graphics cards, built-in microphone and speakers, a modem and a network port. There are three USB ports on the iMac but only two are available, as one is used to connect the keyboard.

Two FireWire ports are also on board to allow connection of digital camcorders or other devices, such as scanners or external hard disks.

Software for a digital lifestyle

Apple includes an impressive set of bundled software as part of its digital lifestyle strategy. There's the iMovie video-editing program, and a new program called iPhoto for importing and editing photos taken from a digital camera.

The top-of-the-range model also includes the excellent iDVD program, which provides easy-to-use tools for creating your own DVD-Video discs.

This software, patented by Apple, speeds up the DVD encoding process (and isn't available to PC users) so for £1,600, the new iMac provides an excellent all-in-one video-editing and DVD production system that can rival anything in the PC field.

Weak spots

The iMac isn't completely perfect. Anyone doing a lot of video or graphics work will find that the beautifully sharp 15in screen is a bit small.

It's unfair to expect a larger screen at these prices, but a 17in should be an option at the very least.

The lack of upgrade options has always been the iMac's main weakness. The compact base unit provides no room for expansion slots, so there are no options to add a better graphics or sound card.

There is provision for adding extra memory but with no way to open the unit, installing a processor upgrade or new hard disk isn't going to happen.

This sort of limitation is shared by many of the designer PCs that are now available, so it's not purely a criticism of Apple. It's fair to say as well that none of the all-in-one PCs available has the style, quality or simplicity of the new iMac.

The lack of upgrade options may deter hobbyists who like to tinker with the insides of their computers, but with FireWire and networking already on board, there is little else to add.

People who want a powerful, stylish and easy-to-use computer and don't mind leaving the familiar Windows environment behind, may find a friend in the iMac.

Contact
Apple Computer: 0800 039 1010 www.apple.com/uk

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Computeractive, Issue 90