Apple refreshes iMac, Mac Pro, Cinema Display; intros Magic Trackpad and Battery Charger

On Tuesday Apple refreshed their iMac and Mac Pro computers, pushed out a larger Cinema Display, and introduced a new input device for the iMac called Magic Trackpad.  Roundup time!

The new iMac family now features Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 processors and upgraded graphics cards from ATI.  The displays feature IPS technology (for better viewing angles) and the SD card slot now supports the SDXC format.  The two 27-inchers can be customized with an HDD and SSD (either can function as primary or secondary drive).  Available today.  Check out the lineup:

*$1,199 :: 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display; 3.06 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache; 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 4670 discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM; 500GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm.

*$1,499 :: 21.5-inch 1920 x 1080 LED-backlit display; 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache; 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm.

*1,699 :: 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display; 3.20 GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache; 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 5670 discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm.  Configure-to-order options include a 3.6 GHz Core i5 processor, 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

*1,999 :: 27-inch 2560 x 1440 LED-backlit display; 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor with 8MB shared L3 cache; 4GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 5750 discrete graphics with 1GB GDDR5; 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm.  Configure-to-order options include a 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB hard drive, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) and up to 16GB of RAM.

All iMacs come included with :: slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); Mini DisplayPort for audio and video output (adapters sold separately); AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; iSight video camera; Gigabit Ethernet; four USB 2.0 ports; one SDXC SD card slot; one FireWire 800 port; built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and Wireless Apple Keyboard, Magic Mouse.

Look after the break for a breakdown of the Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display refreshes and to learn all about the new Magic Trackpad and Apple Battery Charger.  Plus, there’s a plethora pictures ranging across all the different products.

The Mac Pro has gone even more pro, just when you thought it wasn’t possible.  It now features the latest quad-core and 6-core Intel Xeon processors and ATI graphics cards.  It can also hold up to four 512GB solid state drives.  There are too many configure-to-order options to list here, but here’s the most notable one–two 2.93 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon X5670 processors; that’s 12-cores of raw processing power!  Available in August.  Check out the lineup:

$2,499 :: one 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon W3530 processor with 8MB of fully-shared L3 cache; 3GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 16GB; ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory; 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm.

$3,499 :: two 2.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon E5620 processors with 12MB of fully-shared L3 cache per processor; 6GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 ECC SDRAM memory, expandable up to 32GB; ATI Radeon HD 5770 with 1GB of GDDR5 memory; 1TB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive running at 7200 rpm.

All Mac Pro configurations come with :: two Mini DisplayPorts and one DVI (dual-link) port (adapters sold separately); 18x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW); four PCI Express 2.0 slots; five USB 2.0 ports and four FireWire 800 ports; AirPort Extreme 802.11n; Bluetooth 2.1+EDR; and Apple Keyboard with numerical keypad and Magic Mouse.

Apple’s 24-inch LED Cinema Display now has a bigger brother: a new 27-inch LED Cinema Display.  Here’s some specs for you.  2560 x 1440 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, IPS technology (for a wide 178 degree viewing angle), ambient light sensor (which automatically adjusts the display brightness based on external lighting conditions); built-in iSight video camera, microphone and speakers, powered USB 2.0 hub, and universal MagSafe connector.  The built-in Mini DisplayPort connector makes it a perfect companion for your MacBook Pro laptop.  It will be made available in September for $999.  It’s been confirmed that the 24-incher and the aging 30″ Cinema HD Display will disappear from Apple retail and online stores as soon as inventory clears.

Next up is a brand new product from Apple, the Magic Trackpad.  Essentially it brings the multi-touch gestures of MacBook trackpads to the desktop experience.  It looks like laptop trackpad extracted from its natural habitat.  It “enables users to scroll smoothly up and down a page with inertial scrolling, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate an image with their fingertips and swipe three fingers to flip through a collection of web pages or photos” and supports single button or two button commands; all of these options and gestures can be enabled and disabled in System Preferences to your liking.  Its body is made of aluminum to match the iMac and its multi-touch surface is covered with glass.  The surface “clicks” just like MacBook trackpads, so you have the option to physically click or tap-to-click; again, your choice.  Technically you can replace your standard mouse with the trackpad if you prefer the laptop input method over the desktop/mouse configuration.  It’s powered by two AA batteries and communicates with the iMac via Bluetooth up to 33 feet away.  It also shares the same design and angles of Apple’s wireless keyboard, so it’ll match perfectly next to it.  The Magic Trackpad is available today for $69.  (Note: Apple has issued Magic Trackpad drivers for OS X and Windows.  On a Mac it requires OS X version 10.6.4.  The new drivers also update MacBook and MacBook Pro trackpads with inertial scrolling and three-finger drag.)

Last there’s the Apple Battery Charger.  That’s right–Apple now makes battery chargers.  With a handful of their products relying on AA batteries for power (Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad), they have decided to ship an energy-efficient battery charger that comes with six NiMH rechargable batteries that promise up to 10 years of shelf life.  Apple claims it has the lowest vampire power draw of similar chargers on the market (meaning it automatically reduces its power intake once your batteries are fully charged).  This is how they see it being used in the real world: you use two batteries for your keyboard, two for your mouse or trackpad, and two for charging.  You’ll never have to worry about buying new batteries again (or at least not until 2020).  The Apple Battery Charger is available today for $29.

[Via Apple here, here & here; Engadget here & here]




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