Apple releases new Mac products today
Quick! Take a look at the Apple Store today and the new iMac and Mac Pro, as well as updates for Apple's Time Capsule and Airport Extreme. Come back here when you're done for some chatter.
You'll find a bunch of new product updates that just went up for sale this morning. A good day for an impulse buy?
There's a new Mac Mini (still starting at $599) a new selection of iMac desktops (starting at $1,199), and new Mac Pros (starting at $2,499).
I'm interested to check out the new Time Capsule and the new Airport Extreme, both with some new features. (Eye-catcher: Time Capsule will now allow you to set up a "guest network", so guests can access your wi-fi, without having access to devices on your network you want out of their reach.)
For all your uber-geeks, I'm sure David Zeiler, over at the Apple a Day blog, will cover the nuts and bolts of what these new gadgets mean and how they compare to their previous versions.
But for all you impulse buyers out there, what do you think of Apple's latest product roll-out -- which happened a little more quietly than in the past, I think.
Any interesting or exciting upgrades to Apple's offerings of desktop computing and wireless networking?
UPDATE 1: Looking for some other articles covering the launch of new Mac products today? Here are offerings from CNET and Macworld.
UPDATE 2: VentureBeat notes how Apple released news of their new products today with little fanfare. Indeed they did. They link to the two press releases Apple put out, which are here and here.
For more updates, hit the jump:
UPDATE 3: Engadget points out that Apple took away the number keypad on the standard keyboard, for the iMac desktops. But it's apparently giving the consumer an option, as a free upgrade, to get the longer keyboard with the number pad. So, if you don't use the keypad, and prefer some extra desktop real estate, it's your choice on how to configure the keypad. Good or bad idea?
UPDATE 4: ZDNet weighs in with the question: Is the Mac Mini irrelevant? That's what reader/comment Jeff S. wonders in the comments below. PCWorld also covers the new Mac stuff. How about that?
Comments
Gus -
I'm pleased to see a new Mini that is much more powerful and capable, but Mac Mini + Screen vs. iMac seems to make the Mini a foolish choice.
The base 24" iMac with a 2.66 GHz processor, 4GB RAM, and a 640GB HD is the same price as the Mac Mini with a 2.0GHz processor, 1GB RAM, and a 120GB HD with a 24" screen. To top it off, the mini doesn't come with a mouse or keyboard.
Granted, you can buy a 24" screen from vendors other than Apple for less than the price Apple charges ... but to compare Apples to Apples (cheesy) the money just doesn't make sense for the Mini
Jeff: I've thought about getting a Mac Mini and using it as a computer to power my "entertainment center." Dream setup: Mac Mini attached to my flat screen TV and stereo system, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and me sitting on my couch surfing the Internet, watching Hulu.com, etc. It's small enough to fit nicely in my stereo system setup.
I think some people who make the switch from PC to Mac do so by starting with a Mac Mini -- because you can still use your other peripherals with it. Not sure of how big of a trend that is, but I've that approach as one of the reasons for the Mac Mini's rationale for existence. But you're right: to accessorize the Mac Mini with other Mac products, i.e. screen, keyboard, mouse, etc., doesn't make a lot of sense, from a cost perspective. -- Gus
Posted by: Jeff Shepherd | March 3, 2009 9:41 AM
I long debated the idea of buying a Mac Mini. In the end, I decided that it wasn't a good fit for me.
I think it's great for users that already have/need a PC and just want to use their current accessories (monitor, keyboard, mouse) with a Mac and hook it via a KVM switch. Not a bad setup for people with not much room.
I just purchased my first Mac, a MacBook Pro, last month. Being a Windows software developer, it was quite an interesting move for me. I'm running VMWare Fusion with XP to do my Windows tasks. For people that need Windows, but want a Mac, you really can't go wrong with that either. Performance won't be as a dedicated machine since it's a VM, but it's not bad for most stuff.
Posted by: Shane | March 3, 2009 11:24 AM