Apple did just that with this morning's announcement of the latest upgrade to their iMac line.
The tech blogs were buzzing this morning after many were noticing that Apple stores were closed. The immediate reaction was that Apple was getting ready to unveil the new iMacs, and within hours were proven right.
Granted, the rumors of the upgraded iMacs had been flying for weeks so this was expected, but now that they've finally hit the stores it's time to take a closer look:
- Ditches miniDisplay ports in favor of the new Thunderbolt connection, which is 20 times faster than USB. The technology was developed by Intel and could become the new standard for connecting peripherals to your computer, and these iMacs are the first device to implement it.
- The new Sandy Bridge chips will provide a big boost in speed and performance.
- Includes a built-in HD camera with Apple's FaceTime software.
- Despite a noticeable upgrade to the line, Apple kept the price comparable to previous iMacs. Prices range from $1,199 to $1,999, and here's a basic breakdown of the available options:
- $1,199: The "budget" model gets you the 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.5GHz quad-core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 500GB hard drive.
- $1,499: This price keeps the 21.5-inch screen but upgrades the hardware to 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6770M and 1TB hard drive.
- $1,699: For an extra $200 you get the same internal specs I just mentioned, but with the larger 27-inch screen.
- $1,999: The high-end of the new iMac line takes the larger 27-inch screen and bumps the internal specs to a 3.1 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD Radeon HD 6970M and 1TB hard drive.
All in all this, looks to be a solid upgrade to the iMac line, but the big question will be whether this can slow the steady decline of the desktop computer as more and more focus goes to tablets and laptops.