Apple’s new iMac may be hard to find, but it’s getting glowing reviews. The latest reviews that sing the iMac’s praises are at Business Week Online and USA Today .
In his latest Byte of the Apple column for Business Week Online , Charles Haddad calls the new consumer machines a “teen dream” after seeing his teenage son, Matthew, enamored of the revamped iMac.
“A natural-born geek, Matthew owns Macs and PCs and uses both at school every day,” Haddad writes. “He understands the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each much better than I ever will. My son represents just the group Apple needs to win over: young people who have yet to align themselves with one computing platform over another. So, when he proclaims the new iMac is a good deal, I know Apple has hit the bull’s eye.”
The columnist feels that the appeal of the new iMac is its winning combination of hardware and software at a very good price. And he’s certain that PC copycats are already working to cash in on the machine’s beautiful design.
“If my son is any guide, the iMac’s floating screen will draw them like bees to honey — and its raw computing power will keep them buzzing,” Haddad says.
In his review for USA today , writer Edward Baig says the new iMac “represents the kind of dramatic design breakthrough that only further solidifies Apple’s reputation as a radically impressive innovator.” And he thinks it will appeal to the Windows crowd with its digital hub abilities.
“Based on looks alone, this Windows user, for one, was ready to bite,” Baig writes. “Sitting down to work at the machine only confirmed my impressions — I wrote this column with Microsoft Word for OS X, the version specially distilled for the latest Mac interface. Of course, if the past is any indication, I suspect it won’t be long before PC companies ”borrow’ some of Apple’s freshest ideas.”
He likes the screen and its ability to tilt. He likes the hardware specs and software bundle. He likes Mac OS X. And he likes the price.
However, Baig isn’t impressed with the Apple Pro Speakers that come with the top iMac models. He calls them “visually appealing” but “tinny” sounding.
The reviewer also had problems when listening to CDS on the SuperDrive. He said it “labored unnaturally.” In addition, Baig had problems getting a CD to eject — Apple attributed the problem to the fact that Baig was using a “pre-production unit.”