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Apple iMac 24in - 2009 Edition Review

Author	Andy Vandervell
Published	25th Mar 2009
Manufacturer	Apple
Price	£1,042.61 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£1,199.00 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price

Design
Features
Performance
Value
Overall

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It's well over a year since we looked at the Apple iMac last. Back then it was the first outing of the current aluminium design and it received a glowing endorsement, bagging itself an Editor's Choice Award. It's a testament to the quality of that machine that it's taken so long for Apple to update the range, but it has done just that and we've got the 24in version here for your perusal.

Our version is only the entry-level 24in model, but even so its specification is very generous. Directing proceedings is an Intel Core 2 Duo processor running at 2.66GHz. This is backed by a capacious 7,200rpm, 640GB hard drive as well as 4GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 RAM. Both these parts can be upgraded, though Apple is up to its usual shenanigans here by making the 1TB hard drive an £80 upgrade (i.e. the cost of a single drive), while upgrading to 8GB of RAM costs an astonishing £800! It's just as well few people will need that much memory.

Other standard configurations include the 20in model, which sports the same processor as our version but has just 2GB RAM and a 320GB hard drive, while the other two 24in versions sport 2.93GHz and 3.06GHz CPUs, nVidia discrete graphics and, in the case of the top-of-the-range model, a 1TB hard drive.

At £949 it's worth noting that the 20in iMac is considerably more expensive than the old one, which started at just £799.99 at launch, but our entry-level 24in, which Apple sells for £1,199, actually looks like very good value given the lack of a cheaper 24in all-in-one - something you can't say about Apple too often. One can't help but feel, though, that Apple is trying to compel people to upgrade to the more expensive 24in version in pricing the 20in as it has.

Beyond these newly refreshed configurations the other big change for this year's iMac is the chipset which, like the new MacBook and Mac mini, is nVidia's 9400M integrated graphics effort. This is an obvious and positive move on Apple's part, since it's more than capable of dealing with most things that'll be thrown its way (including GPU accelerated applications) and for those that do need more grunt options are available.

Draft-N Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 also come as standard, but it's disappointing to see that wireless keyboards and mice aren't. We can see why some might prefer the wired variety, but it's hard to escape the allure of a system that would effectively have only one wire (that for power) protruding from it. As it is you have to pay extra for both, though at least neither is extortionately expensive, with the wireless mouse costing £14 and the keyboard £20.

One thing that is included in the price, however, is iLife '09. This has always been one of the highlights of the Mac experience and, as our iLife review pointed out, that remains the case. iPhoto is particularly useful thanks to the addition of a nifty new face recognition system and Facebook integration, but every element of the suite exudes the usual Apple ease-of-use and comfort. So, given most would probably want to get it with their iMac anyway, we're pleased to see it aboard.

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SpiderJacek said on 26th March 2009

<Fyad> When I bought siemens cellphone, siemens sold its cellular section. When I bought yakumo screen, yakumo got bunkrupt. When I bought fujitsu-siemens laptop, siemens sol... more

Gordon said on 26th March 2009

@S_p_i_d_e_r - nothing that I own ;)

lensmann said on 27th March 2009

Carl Abudephane: It *is* the exchange rate. In the US, $1,499 used to buy you an entry-level 20-inch iMac. Now, the same $1,499 gets you an entry-level 24-inch iMac. That's... more

gareth edwards said on 7th May 2009

Speaking from experience.
I'm a mac user and a pro one at that, I've been making money and paying the bills for over 15 years using firstly Apple Macintosh and now 'mac' computers and I've enjoyed 99% of it.

I have a new 24" iMac with the 3.06ghz C2D, 1tb HD and the now infamous Radeon HD4850 graphics chip and aside from the Radeon issue which kept me from using it until the EFI patch was released I have to say it is stunning.

Design
From simply an industrial design POV the build has no competition in the current market. NONE, nothing from Sony's Vaio range or HP's TouchSmart comes even close, infact the closest rival from a built POV is something by VOODOO but that's to be expected for the £££'s they want for their kit. So in short, if you want a good looking PC this is it. Period.

Glossy Screen
OK, some people choose to bang on about this but look, I'm a graphics pro and I use this machine every day in a well lit room and I can't really see a problem. Yes it reflects more than a normal matt screen but because it is a very bright panel this kind of cancels it out to a degree. So, unless you are watching dark films or playing dark games on it in a bright room it shouldn't pose any problems really. Dissagree with this and you're either being pedantic or you use your shiny screen PC under a light and deserve everything you get. Apply common sense to where you use your PC and you'll be fine.

Price
OK, the apple crowd already know this and accept it. The PC crowd know this and don't. YOU WILL ALWAYS PAY A PREMIUM FOR SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DESIGNED. Simple as that. I'm a designer and I charge money to design stuff, when I visit new clients that have had work done by people who like to think of themselves as designers but have no real experience and do it on the cheap the end result is always a worse, less effective design. Want something that looks good? then you have to pay for it.

Spec
People always bang on about this as well but really, when you take a close look at an apple machine and make a direct comparison between it and a Wintel box that offers the same spec (DDR3, a good FSB etc etc etc) they are either close or the apple is actually better value. I know this though personal experience as I have owned (and do own) both Macs and PCs. Also, you get a lot with the iMac (iLife) and for a similar suite of quality software for the PC you would be paying £100 up. But remember you can ALWAYS build something cheaper and more powerful, take a Westfield car, thrashes Ferraris and eats Porsches and no doubt they are awesome cars but I would rather drive a Porsche day in day out than a Westfield as you will spend more time on the road and less time tinkering in the garage.

Service & Support
Something that people tend not to factor into the price of any machine is how will you and it be looked after once you have it at home and something goes wrong. With a PC it's like getting blood out of a stone. With a Mac (and it's only happened once in the last 15 odd years!) it's actually quite a refreshing experience. The Radeon card on this machine didn't work till the EFI fix, I download it and it now works perfectly but I chose to complain to their Customer Relations dept. 1 phone call to a person who spoke perfectly understandable english, who had a nice manner about them and who at no time palmed the blame off onto me. Understood the issue, accepted that Apple had made a mistake and apologised and offered in way of compensation either vouchers or a new Shuffle to say sorry. Now THAT is customer relations. And to top it off an email afterwards asking me to tell them how the phone call wnet and if I was happy with the outcome. HOW MUCH IS THAT WORTH?

So, in short, the new iMac is a stunner. It takes a small step forward from the last gen and improves graphics, storage, speed and memory specs. the screen is beautiful for a mainstream non-pro screen (and I am colour conscious and hard to please). It's design is head and shoulders above it's nearest competition and the footprint is tiny. On top of this the machine is SILENT (or as near as pos) and when you tie this all up with OSX it's a wonder why people choose anything else.

Speaking from experience.
I'm a mac user and a pro one at that, I've been making money and paying the bills for over 15 years using firstly Apple Macintosh and now... more

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