Writing for the Wall Street Journal , Walter S. Mossberg has taken a look at the new iMac. His comments come in a new entry in Mossberg’s Personal Technology column entitled Radical New iMacs Boast Power, Features at Competitive Prices
Calling the new iMac “the most radical-looking person computer [he’s] ever seen,” Mossberg said that the new design both shocks and surprises.
Mossberg said that the new iMac’s screen design is a “thing of pure beauty.” He had a chance to work with the new iMac for five days before writing his column, and said that it worked very well.
After going over specs, rollout schedule and prices, Mossberg noted that the new iMac isn’t priced at “bargain-basement” levels. Apple has pegged the prices for the systems aggressively, given their flat-panel status and the wealth of other features found from top to bottom on the line now.
To prove his point, Mossberg spec’d out Dell systems comparably configured, and found that both on the high and low end, Apple beat dell by up to $200. And while the Dell systems might have a few things the iMac lacks, the iMac gains its own list of amenities, like an optical mouse, built in wireless networking antenna and the gorgeous floating screen.
Not to mention great software, like iTunes, iMovie, iDVD and, now, iPhoto.
“In my tests of the new iMac, the machine handled everything I threw at it. It ran Microsoft Office handily, opening numerous documents created in Windows without breaking a sweat, and creating documents I was able to open instantly on a Windows machine,” reported Mossberg.
Mossberg criticized Apple’s decision to stick all the ports for the iMac on the back of its base, which he said are hard to reach. And he’s not impressed with having to turn over and disassemble the bottom of the iMac to install RAM or an AirPort card. Mossberg would have also liked to see a wireless keyboard and mouse, and reported some difficulty getting music and video to play properly.
“Still, this is an excellent computer with plenty of power and an innovative ergonomic design. I didn’t swoon over its looks, but I very much enjoyed using it,” said Mossberg.