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Apple Revamps Desktops, Laptops, and Adds Multi-touch 'Magic Mouse'

by Terrence O'Brien on October 20, 2009 at 03:45 PM

It seems like only yesterday that Apple was making headlines with its updated iPod line, but here it is again, making sure the new Macs are fresh for the rest of 2009 -- and the holiday season. The iMac, the MacBook, the oft-forgotten Mac Mini, and the much maligned Mighty Mouse (now known as the 'Magic Mouse') all got a revamp (some more significant than others) and landed in the Apple Store this afternoon. Look after the break for a quick rundown of what's new.

iMac Goes Wide
Apple is replacing its all-in-one 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs with new 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, respectively, complete with LED-backlit, 16:9, HD widescreens. The new iMacs gets some notable spec boosts (better graphics, faster chips), and also come equipped with a wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse (more on that later).
  • The 21.5-inch version retails for $1,199, and comes with 4-gigabytes (GB) of RAM and a 500-gigabyte hard drive.
  • The 27-inch model starts at $1,699 with a 1-terabyte (TB) hard drive.
  • Starting in November, the 27-inch model will be available with the more powerful quad-core Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

iMac Lineup




Mac Mini
Although Apple has labeled its new Mac Minis with the same decidedly non-mini pricetags, the company is still offering some modest upgrades here. The base model boasts a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor (up from 2GHz), 2-gigabytes of RAM (up from 1-gigabyte), and a 160-gigabyte hard drive (up from 120 gigabytes).
  • The brand new Mac Mini Server sheds the optical drive for a pair of 500-gigabyte drives (for massive amounts of media storage), and comes with OS X Server for hosting files that can be shared across a home network.
  • The Mini Server packs the same 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4-gigabytes of RAM, as does the $799 "premium" Mac Mini.
  • Unfortunately, there's still no keyboard, mouse, screen, or appropriately low price.

Mac Mini




MacBook
The new MacBook uses the unibody build technique found on the MacBook Pro line, but keeps the glossy white plastic aesthetics. The price ($999) stays the same, but it gets a new LED-backlit screen for added brightness and better battery life, as well as the same multi-touch, glass trackpad found on its MacBook Pro siblings.
  • The 'unibody' design means the MacBook now has a 'built-in' battery (read: non-removable). On the plus side, Apple claims that it gets up to seven hours of life on a single charge.
  • The MacBook also gets a minor spec boost to a 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM (upgradable to 8 gigabytes), and a 250-gigabyte hard drive.

New Macbook

Magic Mouse
Apple's stock 'Mighty Mouse' debuted back in 2005, and it has always been a 'love it or hate it' design; here at Switched HQ, we still swap horror stories of our fingers cramping when using the Mighty Mouse's mini-scroll ball. The updated (and renamed) 'Magic Mouse' connects to your computer via Bluetooth, and Apple claims a four-month battery life. Like the Mighty Mouse, the new mouse functions as one big button (Pushing down translates to a mouse click.), while tapping the sides of the top lets you effectively right and left click. The biggest news here, though, is the multi-touch tech that's been added to the mouse. The top of the mouse functions as a multi-touch gesture pad, allowing you to swipe and scroll through documents, Web pages, the Finder, and more.

Virtual Magic Kingdom



Apple has also, finally, updated its Apple Remote, which had previously been available only in the glossy white plastic of the low-end MacBook. The new version gets a coat of brushed aluminum and some black buttons for a more polished appearance, better matching the iMac and MacBook Pro designs.

All of these products are available today, with the exception of the Core i5- and i7-equipped iMacs, which will hit stores in November. For some more nitty-gritty details, and some hands-on coverage, head over to our pals at Engadget. [From: Engadget]

Tags: apple, imac, mac mini, macbook, MacMini, magic mouse, MagicMouse, top

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