Apple
last upgraded its popular all-in-one iMac desktop computers back
in early May. The refresh brought new Core i5 and Core i7 quad-core
processors along with Thunderbolt connectivity for both the entry-level
21.5" and higher-end 27" models.
The
starting price for the 21.5" iMac is $1,199 and it gets you a 2.5GHz Core
i5 processor, 4GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, and an AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU
with 512MB of memory. A student discount drops the price down to $1,149.
Now,
Apple is looking to further move into the education sector with an even cheaper
iMac priced
at $999 according to Mac Rumors.
Unfortunately, the $150 price cut means that this iMac comes with some serious
shortcomings.
The education-only
model comes with a dual-core, 3.1GHz Core i3 processor, a measly 2GB of RAM,
and a 250GB hard drive. The AMD Radeon HD 6750M GPU also has its onboard memory
cut in half compared to the "standard" iMac. It also loses out on the
Thunderbolt port included on all 2011-spec iMacs. All other features remain
including the 1920x1080 display, FaceTime HD camera, and SDXC memory slot.
The new
iMac does come pre-installed with the OS
X 10.7 "Lion".
