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I suspect the undercard could well have more long term significance than the main event...

In typical Apple style the company late yesterday took its store offline for several hours as it was in the process of 'updating' (yes, totally unnecessary, but a great party trick). On its return we have new Macs and the 'Magic Mouse'.

Dealing with what would appear to be the biggest (literally) news means we find new 21.5in and 27in iMacs (the latter the largest to date), a unibody MacBook and refreshed Mac mini. The first of these sees the iMac range adopt LED backlit widescreen displays (the 27 incher sports a native 2560 x 1440 resolution) with the option of Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i5 and i7 quad core processors. A choice of dedicated graphics arrives too with nVidia and ATI Redeon options and up to 16GB RAM. You'll also get 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and integrated card readers. Prices start from £949, but climb spectacularly.


The basic MacBook also sees some love with a new unibody design - though the finish remains in white. Again there's a new LED display, adoption of the enlarged multi-touch trackpad, a Core 2 Duo CPU and dedicated nVidia GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. Apple has also fitted its fixed battery which boasts up to seven hours of battery life. Prices start from £799.


Lastly the £499 entry level Mac mini is bolstered by a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo CPU alongside 2GB DDR3 RAM, a 160GB HDD, 9400M graphics and a SuperDrive. The £649 version brings a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 4GB RAM and 320GB HDD while a flagship £799 model comes with Mac OS Snow Snow Leopard Server and two 500GB HDDs.


What could be far more important long term however is the new 'Magic Mouse' - the world's first consumer ready multi-touch mouse. Much like the screen on an iPhone or multi-touch trackpad, the Bluetooth Magic Mouse allows users to navigate using the same gesture controls (minus pinching... for now) and will be supplied with all new iMacs. On its own the damage is more painful at a hefty £55, but the implications are substantial since Microsoft is also trialling multi-touch mouse designs of its own and it is clear we're headed into a new generation of mouse control.

As with most Apple launches, all the new products are immediately available and will no doubt sell by the bucket load.

Links:
iMac
MacBook
Mac Mini
Magic Mouse

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