Apple Updates Mac Line: New Computers Are Faster, Cheaper, Have Bigger Screens

SEATTLE — Apple Inc. updated its iMac desktop computer line Tuesday and introduced a mouse that responds to the touch of fingers instead of using buttons or scroll wheels.

Those were among the finishing touches on a holiday lineup Apple hopes will help maintain the momentum of the past several quarters, in which the company has grown stronger despite the economic downturn. On Monday, Apple reported its net income soared 47 percent from a year ago, sending shares up sharply in Tuesday trading.

The updated iMacs have bigger screens – 21.5 inches and 27 inches, compared with existing models' 20 inches and 24 inches. They also have speedier processors and better graphics. The least expensive model costs $1,199, the same as the past generation, but the top-of-the-line iMac is now $200 cheaper at $1,999.

The wireless Magic Mouse, as Apple calls it, will be sold standard with iMacs or by itself for $69. It lets people manipulate what they see on the screen by pinching, swiping and using other gestures, similar to the control mechanism made popular on the screen of the iPhone.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, said that after using the new mouse for a few months, sitting down at a computer with a traditional mouse makes him "want to throw it out the window."

Apple also made its least expensive laptop, the $999 MacBook, sleeker, faster and more like the higher-end MacBook Pro machines, with a "multitouch" track pad and a sealed-in battery that can't be removed.

Apple, which is based in Cupertino, Calif., told analysts Monday that it will pay more than it usually spends on air freight to ship the new iMacs and other items in time for holiday shopping. That didn't bother investors, who sent Apple shares up $8.80, or 4.6 percent, to $198.66 in midday trading.

Earlier, the stock touched $201.75 per share, nearing the split-adjusted all-time high of $202 set in December 2007.

Comments

[Rule Of Law]

Boy this was quick--I hate being right all the time; On the 20th here I posted--

Every time Apple has a great quarter, or introduces something cutting edge, someone in the market goes into action and makes the stock pay for it. So I fully expect to see a new Apple "scandal" erupt, carefully fueled by a very clever PR/Media blitz that attacks the company's quality in some way. Concurrently, there will be a massive influx of naked shorting and bogus share sales. Watch for it.

And Tdoay--

""In a Lawsuit, Nokia Says iPhone infringes its Patents

By KEVIN J. O’BRIEN
Published: October 22, 2009

BERLIN — Nokia, the world’s biggest cellphone maker, sued Apple on Thursday, claiming that Apple illegally used 10 of its patented technologies to make the iPhone, its innovative touch-screen smartphone­.""

Coincidence?

[guyfrombrooklyn]

I almost forgot, my all time favorite app:

INSTALL SHIELD WIZARD

The app that uses OTHER apps to INSTALL programs because at any given time a PC could be using (you fill in the blank with a number) to run a simple app.

and don't get any of the fellow Apple folk started on the amount of frozen downtime the PC has.

Safe mode is a way of life.

I remember hard booting, cold booting and having to ALWAYS know where the BOOT DISK was.

Don't know where any of that is with the MINI and never needed to.

[guyfrombrooklyn]

I would be tempted to wonder WHY, if the PC is such a superior device, does the PC user always attempt to throw cold water on the joy of using an Apple product.

I really get a laugh at the commercials touting the purchase of a PC and the new owner getting the balance/difference in cost.

For much less you get about an hour of setup time out of the box.

1. Temp versions of VISTA or whatever the hoo-ha-hey PCs use.
2. A temp version of NORTON anti virus or whatever the hoo-ha-hey PCs use.
3. Ads and "widgets" from every nonsensical company associated with the PC, BEFORE you EVER connect to the web.
4. The fun of being told that a page is NOT known and could be dangerous at almost every turn.
5. The elation of having to buy some sort of spam-defender and spyware-stopper.
6. Knowing that the defender (wow that's an oxymoron) programs MUST be updated annually for a small fee EVERY year, or else a BEAUTIFUL pop-up screen insists on how dangerous your use will be.
7. Compressing, checking, scanning and analyzing your hard drive at least once a month (for 4-6 hours).
8. And so MUCH MORE that can't be fit into this small POST box.

I'll stick with my MINI. Never had a problem.

[OddManOut]

Fanboy, please.

[sharpstick]

Empty response from an empty head.

[Loretta Callahan]

Lol, Mr. Vee .... considering some of my vehicles have cost less than my vacuum cleaner, perhaps so. I'm going all Mac Mini ... lots of beef for around $700 and just about any monitor and keyboard will work with it.

[mjeffn]

I thought the religious war was over a long time ago.

[edgemo]

I love the mouse! While Microsoft has gone the route of trying to get people to use their fingers on their screens in windows 7 (I do my best to NEVER touch my screen), Apple simply gave the functionality to the part you already had in your hand.

[brueso]

(rimshot)

[sharpstick]

@ eds123

"You wouldn't admit it if you had."

LOL, that's a very childish dodge. Either you can produce your "facts" or you can't. BTW there are also people who are "mac haters" who are annoying and arrogant and it's clear you're one of them.

So put up or take your wuppin like a man.

[sharpstick]

correction

@ Eris23

[sharpstick]

correction Eris23

[KeysE2S]

I'm still waiting for Eris to show me a list of high-end audio facilities that run PC instead of Mac. I wouldn't hold my breath.

[NHBill]

Does anyone know why Apple refuses to put HDMI in the mini?

[solid]

I don't know. I kind of wish they did. I might be tempted to ditch my AppleTV for a mini. But you can get a mini-dvi to HDMI adapter cable for less than $10 at Amazon (the downside being you still have to run an audio cable from the mini to your HDTV).

[OddManOut]

It's not a refusal, you just don't need it - according to Apple.

[eds123]

What seems to be missing here is that Apple released a $1000 server. A server that has a small footprint, runs cool and quite (you can keep it in your office, no expensive server rooms required), has great admin tools and provides all of the services that a small business would need to run their business off of.

[sharpstick]

Yes!!!

And BTW, sorry about misreading your earlier post ;)

[middleofthemiddle]

AmandaBC I'm a Fan of AmandaBC 479 fans permalink

"it has the new intel icore5 or intel icore7"

Which PCs have had for months...
----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------­----------

This is mainly because PC manufacturers put out a new line of laptops or desktops every few months.

Apple does not do this. They are more stringent in what gets thrown into their machines.

[I once had a Crysknife]

If Apple's stock keeps going up they will become too big to fail and risk a government take over.

[levelshot]

there's a saying that goes - Once you go Black...i mean once you go Mac you never go back

[igorz]

For the last 25 years, 92 out of every 100 buyers have chosen something OTHER than a Mac ... so, like, why is this even a relevant topic in a non-enthusiast magazine/website.

For all of its insulting advertising and absurdly-price me-tooism, the Mac ceased to be important somewhere around its 15th year of single-digit market share.

Now? The Mac more resembles an aging B-movie starlet who insists on parading her sagging self on the red carpet; where even the paparazzi won't give her more than a few snaps. C ya, Mac. We hardly knew ya, but that is not much of a loss.

[PaleMail]

Is that you Bill?

[thaggas]

First, your wrong. 92 out of every 100 COMPUTERS have been PC. When you remove corporations that are buying hundreds of cheap PCs and laptops, that number goes down dramatically. Also market share is growing for the Mac and nowhere is that more evident than on college campuses and among teens. Don't be mistaken, Microsoft is scared $hi+!e$$.

"Bah! Kids. Who cares what kids are into?" Well, this generation is growing up with Mac and when they are given a choice (like when they are running the company) they will choose what they know, love and trust. Take it from someone who went through college on a Mac fifteen years ago: My company is exclusively Mac.

[Eris23]

Microsoft bought 7% of Apple in the mid 90s. Did they sell their stock? I really doubt they're alarmed, especially since so many of the Mac cultists claim that part of Mac superiority is the ability to run Windows on it. ;)

[solid]

This is the Technology Section of Huffpo. This is a technology article. Do you have a problem with reading comprehension. And you took the time to post nonsense that makes you look petty and ridiculous. You're a bit of an odd duck.

[aztarheel]

I started using macs in '88; today I have 7 macs. The oldest one used regularly is a G3 tower about nine years old; another is an iMac--with the swivel screen which I loved!--about eight years old. There's a really old laptop, a laptop about five years old, one two years old. The one I use the most is a G4 dual hooked up to a 30" screen and a 21" screen. Rarely, rarely any problems at all--and when I do have problems they usually come with the Windows Office software I use on them. But the real kicker? I also have a mac from 1988--and THE DANG THING STILL WORKS! My only regret regarding Apple is that I never bought any stock.

[thinkb4uleapII]

Your experience mirrors mine. I had the fortunate experience of working in an IT environment many years ago that embraced the Mac from it's beginnings - and that's where my Mac love affair began. I fondly recall getting my first Mac Plus that was later upgraded to a Mac SE. Our staff had interesting discussions back then about the "speed" increase the SE provided over its predecessor (LOL). Ahh, Good times...

I've had the pleasure of owning several Macs over the years and am what some may consider an Apple devotee. Few understood my passion for the Mac and why I resisted the seeming inevitable pull of the PC clones. The "dark years" of the Mac made it that much more difficult to openly express and justify my devotion.

Alas, the "worm has turned" and many who once scoffed now seek my advice on which Mac they should purchase. In the words of the 20th century poet, Biz Markie: "damn it feels good to see people up on it..."

[superstition]

The Mac Plus' SCSI was considerably slower than later models', which was the main factor regarding speed in comparison with the SE. I am very fuzzy on the details, but I believe the Plus had a latency of three wait states for its SCSI while the SE had two.

[NotMcCain]

I don't mind that people love their Macs.

But the delusional idea that (1) it's a better product than PCs and (2) is a better or equal value in price is frustrating.

If people stopped reading MacWorld and forums and made one of the PC/Mac comparisons you can do at Best Buy online (or checked out the user comments at Amazon), you might have a more complete picture.

You can get a much more powerful and versatile machine, at a much lower price, if you buy a PC. (And I've never had any problems with Windows--not XE, not Vista).

That goes for Macbook Pro models and Macbook Air (which is undeniably a pretty machine--but just look at its appalling specs!)

Love your Mac if you must. But please don't keep thinking its the end all and be all of technology. Because, seriously, what it offers for the price is pretty darned bad.

[PaleMail]

I'm not a techie by a long shot and don't intend to become one. Switched to a Mac 3 months ago and just find it easier to operate. Unlike what I experienced with Windows, when you click on "Help", you really find easy-to-follow instructions to resolve a problem.

[hydrogeoman]

"Appalling specs" for MacBook Pro, you say?

Sorry, but YOU obviously haven't read the reviews, nor have you ever used one of these machines. By assuming everything important stems from "specs," you simply don't know what you've missing.

Although I continue to use my comparatively sluggish Dell & Windows XL at work to suit the powers to be, I've never regreted coming home to actually ENJOY my Apple products.

[thinkb4uleapII]

As another poster intimated, specs and price tell only half the story. If you don't know, you don't know!

[Eris23]

Specs and price tell the whole story today. Your only point after that is the OS, which I can run on a PC. So, I can drop over $3k to have the Mac hardware that is equivalent to my $900 PC hardware, or I can stick with the PC and go Hackintosh for any Mac only app I may need, which simply don't exist at the moment. The day Apple prices themselves to sell the same or better hardware at a cheaper price than a generic PC is when I'll start buying Apple again. But, I've essentially not needed an Apple since 1998.