Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz) Review

Apple has made it clear that it�s just as much about fashion as it is about performance and the recent update to the iMac line confirms that point.

DESIGN:
The design of the new iMac is the same as previous models, nothing much to talk about on the outside. You still have your aluminum housing and your 24-inch LCD glass display along with the usual webcam support and microphone support. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and such from the older iMac models are also included also. It also supports three USB drives in the back, two audio ports (headphones, microphone), FireWire 400 and 800 ports and of course the useless Apple proprietary video output.

The system carries the same clot loading CD/DVD drive as on previous models which is a little disappointing. For a company who was on the Blu-Ray bandwagon from the onset you would expect that being two years into the hi-def world (and the format war over) Apple would think about sticking a BD drive in such a pricy machine.

The only drawback of the new iMac (as is the case with most Mac products) is cramped space. With so many components in such a tight environment, over heating can be a problem especially in warmer environments. Also due to the design expansion is virtually impossible so it is good advice that when you are purchasing a new system make sure that you have all the specs you will need as upgrading the system means carrying it into an Apple center which will run you some $$$.

SOFTWARE:
This is your Mac, so the software of course will be OS X commonly called Leopard. The graphics are exactly what you would expect from Apple, a lot of detail is spent on visual and as usual the Mac shines in video editing and audio editing as well as photo and music. Thanks to some of the new features of the new Leopard OS features such as Spaces which allows you to group similar windows together and switch between and the new Time Machine application which backups your system at specified intervals it�s an improvement above the last OS.
But probably the greatest improvement in the OS is the ability to switch between Mac and Windows with the new boot camp software. This allows you to run a full version of XP or Vista on your Mac just like on another computer or run Windows in the Leopard environment like a window. This of course is Apple�s attempt to capture more Windows� users and turn them into Mac fans. So far the strategy has been a good effort but only time will tell if it will convince loyal Window�s to give Mac�s another go-around.

PERFORMANCE:
The major improvement in the new iMac is performance. The new system is for the same price as previous systems but the performance has been enhanced with a new Intel 2.8GHz processor system performance has been increased. Also updated is the RAM which is now at 3GB and the option for a better graphics card.

CONCLUSION:
For dedicated Mac fans this will be a must upgrade but if you�re considering switching to a Mac it is wise to take note that the new iMac�s are considerably higher in price than their Window�s counterpart. But to sum it up the new iMac�s are a solid hit.

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Simon Alexander writes on topics such as iMacs Freeze for No Apparent Reason, Apple Mighty Mouse, Visit Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz) Review.

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