Apple announced on Wednesday some pricing changes for its consumer and education-focused eMac system. While the line’s least expensive model is still US$799, Apple now offers that entry-level configuration with more horsepower and better features than before.
“This becomes the most affordable way to achieve the digital lifestyle,” Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Product Marketing, told MacCentral.
The eMac was first introduced late in April of 2002. Sporting an all-in-one design evocative of Apple’s groundbreaking CRT-based iMac, the eMac was originally intended specifically for the educational market. Public demand for the system was so strong that by early June, Apple announced it would sell the system to consumers as well.
The eMac gains no new features with this refresh, but the previous entry-level system — a $799 800MHz CD-ROM based model — has been flushed from the lineup, as has a mid-range $999 system equipped with a Combo drive.
In their place is a 1GHz system equipped with a CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo drive, at the same entry-level price of $799. Other entry-level features remain the same — including 128MB RAM and a 40GB hard drive.
A “SuperDrive”-equipped model capable of burning DVD-R media, previous priced at $1,299, is now available for $1,099. Its specifications remain the same, also, with 256MB RAM and an 80GB hard drive.
Otherwise, the eMac is unchanged — it still uses an integrated 17-inch flat CRT that can display up to 1,280 x 1,024 pixels, and is equipped with ATI Radeon 7500 graphics and 32MB of DDR VRAM, two FireWire 400 ports and five USB 1.1 ports. The system also comes equipped with 10/100BASE-T Ethernet connectivity, a 56K modem and support for Apple’s AirPort Extreme (IEEE 802.11g), 54Mbps wireless networking technology.
Details about the specific configurations and pricing changes have been made.