Apple's released an update to their popular iMac range. The aluminium form factor that debuted last August is retained (no shock there) so what we're seeing is the speed and spec bump we see every nine months or so with each Mac prodcut line.

What I find really surprising is that their is an increasing gap between the 20" and 24" units. In order to get the fastest, 3.06GHz processor, you'll need to get the 24" unit with a 500GB hard drive, 8x double-layer SuperDrive and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512MB.

The problem, in my view, is that if you're in a space-constrained environment, you can't get the fastest unit. I can understand the need to differentiate products but surely a better customer outcome would have been 20" and 24" units with the same top specification. There's no option to upgrade the video card or processor in the 20" units.

Here's what I'd have liked

1. Base model: As per the new 20"


2. Mid range: 20" or 24" option with 2.8GHz processor option


3. Top end: 20" or 24" option with 3.06GHz processor option

That makes five models rather than four but, from Apple's point of view, consolidates to three processors rather than four. Surely there would be some price benefit as Apple could by larger volumes of fewer processors. Also, it would mean that customers would have better options.

 Apple • iMac • iMac Speed Bump • New iMac