Apple Store Reopens with Many New Products

The speculation has turned out to be a reality with Apple dishing out many new products and among them are; iMac 20", three iMac 24" models, two Mac Mini models, and two Mac Pro models - with one including an ATI Radeon HD 4570 graphics card. Also as rumored, there was the new Airport Extreme, and Time Capsule in 1TB.

The iMac 24" models include processors ranging from 2.66Ghz up to 3.06GHz and all of them include 4GB of memory. The hard drives range from 640GB on the lower end models and the 3.06GHz model includes 1TB of space for those power users needing more.

The Mac Mini gets 5x faster with Nvidia Geforce 9400M graphics chipset, a faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor at 2.0GHz and best of all the Mac Mini now uses 45% less power than previous models. iLife '09 is also included with the purchase of a new Mac Mini to provide you with the latest versions of iPhone, iMove, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. You'll find the two new mini's priced at $599 and $799.

The Mac Pro is the granddaddy of them all. The lower-end Quad Core system includes a 2.66Ghz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processor, 3GB of memory, 640GB hard drive, 18x double-layer Superdrive, and a NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 with 512MB of memory priced at $2,499. Finally, we have the 8-core system which includes two 2.26Ghz Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors, 6GB of memory, 640GB hard drive, the 18x double-layer Superdrive, and of course the NVIDIA Geforce GT 120 with 512MB of memory priced at $3,299.

Continuing Apples commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. Both iMac and Mac mini exceed current Energy Star 4.0 requirements and are leading the industry as early adopters of the more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements which will become effective later this year. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables and contain no brominated flame retardants. Both iMac and Mac mini feature material-efficient system and packaging designs and use highly recyclable materials. Apples new desktop lineup joins its recently introduced aluminum unibody MacBook family in achieving EPEAT Gold status.

Every Mac also includes Leopard, the worlds most advanced operating system which features Time Machine, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, the best way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; Mail with easy setup and elegant, personalized stationery; and iChat, the most advanced video chat.

The AirPort Extreme Base Station also gets updated priced at $179  now feature simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band networking for optimal performance, range and compatibility. An innovative Guest Network feature allows setting up a secondary network for friends and visitors with Internet-only access so you dont have to hand out your WiFi password.

Time Capsule 1TB combines an 802.11n router and server-grade hard disk for automatic wireless back-up with Time Machine, and is immediately available in two models: a 500GB model for $299 and a 1TB model for $499.

Overall, I think consumers are happy with the new products unveiled today by Apple, at least until the speculated iPhone Lite hits this Summer. Regardless, I think the new product launches today reiterates the fact that Apple is #1 in the market place compared to its competitors and rightfully so.

More Information on all of the new products can be found at Apple.com