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It appears that Apple are beginning to listen to their customers with regards to system specs. The new systems in the iMac G5 line have been “speed-bumped” to 2.0 GHz max from 1.8 GHz at the high end. Not only that, but there seems to be a doubling of numbers across the board.

• VRAM goes from 64 to 128 MB. Not to mention the Radeon 9600 with all its Quartz 2D Extreme capability.
• System RAM jumps to 512, up from 256 MB. This is something some Mac fans have been after Apple on for years now. Stop complaining.
• Max Disk drive is 90 GB heavier. It’s not exactly double, who’s counting? Plenty of disk space there.
• Added 2005-06-04: They have doubled the speed of the combo drive.
• Added 2005-06-04: Bluetooth and 802.11G are now included. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse are $60 when bought with the system, $60 ea. separately.
• Price doubled… oh wait, it’s down by $100 at the high-end. What gives?

So what’s going on here? It seems that Apple are getting aggressive about selling features that compete on a quantitative as well as qualitative level. They are moving to add numbers to the bullet points (something I accused Dell of in the last article) while at the same time making the user experience that much more fun. Wouldn’t you love Q2DE effects on your system? I know I would.

I want to know what Apple will come up with next, however. The G5 iMac appears to be the end-game of the all-in-one Mac. I don’t know how much more simple one can make a system. What do Apple have in store for us next? I can’t wait. Until then I suppose I’ll have to stick with the current object of techno-lust, this beautiful rectangular machine.

2005-05-04 Update: I didn’t notice this before, but Apple have also rolled in both Bluetooth, and 802.11G support, something they used to charge $100 for. The keyboard and mouse that go with will still cost you $60, however.

This means the refresh added, 200MHz, 90GB, updated video with twice the VRAM, 256M more system RAM, Bluetooth and wireless for $100 less than the previous model. It may not be a $300 Dell, but at least it’s not a $300 Dell.