iMac review - Computers

First impressions

When you unpack an iMac. your first reaction is to treat it with respect. The sheer style and build quality of the aluminium and glass body with its finely engineered stand are unique among desktop computers.

Place the iMac on your desk and your automatic response is to take a step back and admire it. There isn't a single thing to break the smooth lines except the discretely mounted iSight camera at the top of the screen. The power button and the sockets are at the back; the stereo speakers lie underneath; the optical disc drive is situated neatly on the side; and the camera's microphone is beneath a set of tiny holes drilled into the top. The iMac is ahead of the game when it comes to being sleek and stylish.

Quality and style extend to the Apple Mighty Mouse and the Apple Keyboard, as is synonymous with Mac computers. They're also a pleasure to use. Once you're familiar with the single button of the Apple Mighty Mouse, it's easy to operate and fits snugly into the palm of the hand. The Apple Keyboard may surprise you with its compact, sleek looks; its low front edge, however, means there's no need for a wrist support. The ergonomic design and soft keys help keep the user's hands in a natural, relaxed position.

This is fine, of course, but the other initial point of interest for a new computer is the quality of the screen images. The iMac has two screen sizes, a 20 inch and a 24inch. Both are widescreen TFT active-matrix liquid crystal displays with glass fronts. The resolution of the 20 inch screen is 1680 by 1050 pixels, and that of the 24 inch screen 1920 by 1200 pixels.

For the user, the screens are remarkably clear with dynamic glossy colours and satisfyingly sharp detail. The glossy finish can prove a problem in some lighting conditions so you do need to account for this when you locate the screen. But this is a minor quibble for screens that burst with life and offer viewing angles of 1600 on the 20 inch model, and 1780 on the 24 inch version.

Technical spec

The technical specifications of the iMac prove this machine is good value for money. The processors are all Intel Core 2 Duo with options of 2.4GHz and 2.66GHz for the 20 inch model, and 2.8GHz and 3.06GHz for the 24 inch. With such powerhouses, you can expect to engage in fast, slick computing. Apple has gone a step further, however, and increased frontside bus speed from the 800MHz that appeared in former versions of the iMac to 1,066MHz. This improves the link between the processor and the computer memory. The result is an even quicker operating speed.

Standard memory for the 2.4GHz is 1GB (installed as a 1GB SO-DIMM), and for the other processors, 2GB (installed as two 1GB SO-DIMMs). You can buy more RAM and add it to the iMac via the Memory Access slot to a maximum of 4GB. If you do this, there's no need to replace the original SO-DIMM.

Basic hard drive storage is a useful 250GB for the 2.4GHz iMac with an option for 320GB or 500GB. These options are particularly attractive if you intend to keep a lot of music, pictures and videos on your machine. The other models come with 320GB and a chance to boost this to 500GB or 750GB. The 24 inch iMac also offers 1TB of storage as its top of the range option - surely enough for most purposes.

On the 20 inch screen with 2.4GHz, graphics come via an ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT processor with 128MB of GDDR3 memory. This increases to an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory for the 2.66GHz version. Gaming enthusiasts will doubtless opt for the latter, although the most serious among them will consider the 24 inch iMac. This is not just because of the enhanced screen size: Apple gives them the chance to have the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR3 memory. The NVIDIA gives you superb quality from the most challenging 3D games available, and with such a graphics card behind it, gaming fans cannot ignore what the iMac offers them.

Hardware

Connections

The iMac now has three USB 2.0 ports at the back and two on the Apple Keyboard. The keyboard ports are particularly convenient for the quick and easy attachment of devices. One extra feature worth noting is that you can now charge your iPod from one of the USB ports, even when the iMac is in Sleep mode.

All models also have one FireWire 400 port and one FireWire 800 port (rated at 7 watts each). This is a distinct improvement on previous iMac versions where only the 24 inch model had the 800 port.

Communications

Each iMac has wireless capability. This is in the form of AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. There is also an Ethernet connection.

Audio

The built-in stereo speakers with their internal 24 watt digital amplifier give excellent sound quality. Once they hear these, most users won't need to attach external speakers.

Other audio features include headphone/optical digital audio output and audio line in/optical digital audio input minijacks.

Other

A Mini-DVI output port gives you the option of DVI, VGA, S-video and composite video connections. You may need a suitable adaptor for some of these, however.

Software

The operating system is the Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard. The computer press has almost universally compared this favourably to Windows and it's easy to see why. A PC user may certainly struggle at first to adapt to Mac OS X, but once this hurdle is past, the system is fast and simple. And thanks to Apple's determination to provide a useful, state-of-the-art machine, you can now run Windows alongside Mac OS X Leopard and install Microsoft Office.

The pre-installed software of the iMac includes a wide range of updated Apple applications, together with iLife '08. Briefly, the iMac software enables you to perform all the basic functions you'd expect such as emailing and Internet surfing, plus extras such as creating and editing websites, photos and films. You can also use iChat to set up four-way video conferencing.

Depending on your needs, however, you may want to add iWork to the software spec. iWork allows you to manage all Microsoft office systems that cover word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.

But whatever the software, it originates with Apple. This means that the same principles apply to each screen. Once you grasp the drag-and-drop approach, everything becomes simple - and fun - to use.

Performance

It's surprisingly difficult to compare the iMac to its competitors because Apple offers three distinct differences:

Nonetheless, it is possible to compare the more objective items of power, memory, storage and graphics. In these respects, the iMac is not only great value, Apple have put the computer together very cleverly. By giving a lot of thought to the interaction of the iMac's component parts, Apple has maximised speed and efficiency. You rarely see this on comparably priced PCs with the possible exception of Sony's VAIO range.

The iMac is an eye-catching and desirable piece of equipment for anyone interested in style, but the level of specification also makes it a practical, cost-effective and exciting computer for the home and office.

Pros

Cons

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