Apple iMac MB952LL/A 27-Inch Desktop (OLD VERSION)

by Apple

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 3.06GHz
• 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive
• 27-Inch Screen, Radeon
• Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Product Description

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Updated with a brilliant 27-inch LED-backlit widescreen display in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure, the new Apple iMac is ideal for watching high definition movies and TV shows from iTunes, or editing and watching your own videos or photos using iLife. The iMac now also comes standard with a wireless keyboard and the new Magic Mouse, which features Apple's Multi-Touch technology. And it's faster than ever with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The 27-inch iMac features a brilliant LED-backlit display with widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio.

The iMac declutters your desktop with a wireless keyboard and new Magic Mouse--the world's first Multi-Touch mouse.

The iMac's display offers an amazing 2560 x 1440-pixel resolution (for high-definition-plus viewing), and it uses IPS technology to deliver consistent color across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle. This 21.5-inch model also features improved graphics with the ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256 MB of dedicated video memory. It's powered by a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved multitasking, video, and gaming performance. This 27-inch model can also be attached to a wall mount, articulating arm, or other VESA-compliant mounting solution using an optional VESA Mount Adapter Kit.

It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system--an operating system custom-designed for the advanced technology inside--and it also comes with the iLife '09 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.

Key Features

• 27-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with IPS technology, a 2560 x 1440-pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, 375 cd/m2 brightness rating, and 178-degree viewing angle (horizontal and vertical)
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3 MB shared L2 cache for excellent multitasking
• 1 TB Serial ATA hard drive (7200 RPM)
• 4 GB installed RAM (1066 MHz DDR3; supports up to 16 GB)
• ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor (with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory) for better gaming performance and better responsiveness for video and photo editing.
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer DVD support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/
• Built-in iSight camera for video chatting
• Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible)
• Gigabit Ethernet wired networking (10/100/1000BASE-T)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for connecting with peripherals such as keyboards, mice and cell phones
• Side-loading SD card slot
• Four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port
• Mini DisplayPort video output with optional adapters for DVI and VGA output; supports input from external DisplayPort sources (requires cables and adapters, sold separately)
• Built-in stereo speakers with two internal 17-watt high-efficiency amplifiers along with built-in microphone, optical digital audio output/headphone out, optical digital audio input/audio line in
• Wall mountable with optional VESA Mount Adapter Kit
• Dimensions: 25.6 x 8.15 x 20.4 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 30.5 pounds
• Included Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse

What's in the Box
iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, cleaning cloth, power cord, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation

Limited Warranty And Service
The iMac comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer's purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts.

Key Features

Big, Beautiful Display Combined with All-In-One Simplicity

The evolution of the Apple iMac.

The new iMac has come a long way from the first 15-inch iMac. The all-in-one design of the first flat-panel iMac cleaned up the desktop, and put everything you need--display, processor, graphics card, hard drive, optical drive, memory, and more--inside one simple enclosure. New technology inside and out makes the new iMac a worthy addition to the all-in-one dynasty.

This 21.5-inch model features an edge-to-edge glass display that covers nearly the entire front of the enclosure. When all you see is the display, nothing gets between you and what's onscreen. Movies, TV shows, websites, photos--everything looks stunning on the new 16:9 widescreen iMac display. And the LED backlighting in the new iMac helps push more light through the pixels with remarkable brightness and efficiency. And because the LED backlight doesn't take up much space, the iMac enclosure stays thin--even with all the high-performance components inside.

The iMac display is designed to look great from almost any angle. A technology called in-plane switching (IPS) makes this possible. Whether you're sitting in front of the display or standing off to the side, you'll get a perfect picture with superb color consistency and no loss of detail.

The wider iMac display allows more room to separate the two hottest components, the CPU and the GPU. This keeps things cool inside the iMac enclosure. Apple engineers also implemented an intelligent control system that monitors temperatures and delivers just the right amount of airflow to critical components. And the three fans inside iMac have been tuned to be ultraquiet.

While you'll find a collection of ports on the back of iMac, you won't find much else. A seamless, precision-forged enclosure makes the back one continuous aluminum surface. And there's only one cord: the power cord.

Wireless Magic Mouse and Keyboard
Forget the mouse as you know it. Every iMac comes with the wireless Magic Mouse: the world's first Multi-Touch mouse. Use it once and you'll wonder how you ever used anything else. There's no scroll ball, no clunky wheel, no cord, and no visible button. Instead, the Magic Mouse uses Multi-Touch technology to let you control everything with simple gestures. Give them a try and you'll find that Magic Mouse changes the way you interact with your computer. Built-in software lets you configure Magic Mouse any way you want. Its smooth, seamless design is ambidextrous, and it supports two-button clicking--without buttons.

The iMac banishes desktop clutter completely with a wireless keyboard to go with the wireless Magic Mouse. This low-profile keyboard takes up less desk space--24 percent less--than larger keyboards. There's no numeric keypad, so you can place your mouse comfortably next to the keyboard. And built-in Bluetooth means there are no cables to connect.

Built-in Wi-Fi
High-speed 802.11n wireless technology is built into iMac. And with Time Capsule or the AirPort Express Base Station, every computer in every room can wirelessly connect to iMac, the Internet, and each other. Over this network, everyone can print, surf the web, and play music on iTunes through your home stereo--wirelessly.

iSight Webcam
Hidden behind the glass display at the top of iMac is an iSight camera. Use it with iChat, and you can be anywhere without actually being there. Video chat with up to three of your friends, share a video with a colleague, or present to a client. Use iSight with Photo Booth for fun photo effects. And there's no need to waste valuable primping time installing software or configuring the camera.

Pre-Loaded with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife '09

Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Installed software

• Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
• iLife '09 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD)

@ Design

Because Apple designs both hardware and software, we can reduce our environmental footprint in ways others can't. For starters, a highly efficient power supply reduces the amount of power wasted when bringing electricity from the wall to your Mac. Unlike a lot of PCs, a Mac uses energy-efficient hardware components that work hand in hand with the operating system to conserve power--even between keystrokes.

A Mac also doesn't contain a lot of toxic materials. All Mac displays are mercury and arsenic free, and the internal components are free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

Efficient Power Supply
The iMac includes a highly efficient power supply that reduces the amount of power wasted when bringing electricity from the wall to your computer. Lower power consumption reduces energy bills and lessens the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Advanced Power Management
Unlike a lot of Windows-based PC systems, iMac uses energy-efficient hardware components that work hand in hand with the operating system to conserve power. Mac OS X spins down hard drives and activates sleep mode on already energy-efficient LED-backlit displays. And it balances tasks across both central processors and graphics processors. Mac OS X never misses a power-saving opportunity, no matter how small. It even regulates the processor between keystrokes, reducing power between the letters you type. That's just one of many ways Apple manages small amounts of power that add up to big savings.

ENERGY STAR Qualification
The iMac meets the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, making it ENERGY STAR qualified. ENERGY STAR 5.0 sets significantly higher efficiency limits for power supplies and aggressive limits for the computer's typical annual power consumption.

Product Description

Featuring brilliant LED-backlit 21.5 widescreen display in a edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all aluminum enclosure. The iMac, is the fastest ever with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06 GHz. Storage is never an issue with the iMac, this unit features a 500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive. The iMac ships with a wireless keyboard and the wireless Magic Mouse, the worlds first mouse with Multi-Touch technology. 21.5 iMac - 3.06GHz/1TB HD plus ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics with 256MB Apple Wireless Keyboard Magic Mouse Cleaning cloth Power cord Install/restore DVDs Printed and electronic documentation

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 192 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Video Review: Mostly Great, but a couple bummers... November 29, 2009

By D. Bowman

Length: 4:43 Mins

It is hard to capture how beautiful this computer is in words much less video.
You have to see it in person.

I took a stab at a video review.

I hope you enjoy.
Let me know your feedback, thanks!

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Upgrading from a G4 iMac December 18, 2009

By korova

Many reviewers have already thoroughly discussed the essential hardware and software features of the 27" iMac. So, I am focusing this review on my experience of upgrading from a G4 igloo iMac that was running System 10.5.8 .

Migration Assistant
*I used a Firewire 400 to Firewire 800 cable to move the contents of my old computer to the new machine with Migration Assistant.
*The process was virtually seamless, with only a few minor adjustments necessary to the transferred data. Only four applications required reinstallation: ClamXav, iTunes (due to the Soundflower plugin--in any case, no music was lost or damaged), Microsoft Expression Media 2, and a Juniper Networks remote access program (part of a corporate telecommuting package).
*Rules for Little Snitch, a third party utility, need to be reestablished.
*Customized preferences for Spotlight must be reentered.

Magic Mouse
*iMacs now come with a wireless mouse as standard equipment. The Magic Mouse is a vast improvement over the Apple Mouse (aka Mighty Mouse) because it doesn't have a roller ball that eventually stops working. In fact, there aren't any external moving parts on the Magic Mouse, other than the on/off switch.
*Exposé and Dashboard functions are now on the top row of the keyboard, not on mouse buttons.

Keyboard
*The chiclet style keys took me a little while to get used to, but now I prefer them to traditional "long stroke" keys.
*For some reason, Apple has made a compact laptop keyboard the standard iMac keyboard (Steve Jobs must be nostalgic for the original 1984 Mac keyboard). Anybody who relies on Page keys for navigation or on a numeric keypad for data entry is out of luck.
*An extended keyboard with Home/Pg Up/Pg Dn/Delete keys and a number pad is available as a build-to-order option, along with additional memory, upgrades to desktop-class processors, and other treats, at the online Apple Store.

Audio System
*Optical digital audio input and output requires cables or cable adapters with 3.5mm plugs. Standard size TOSLINK connectors won't work. Also, digital audio I/O is run through the microphone and headphone ports. It is consequently impossible to use headphones or an external mic when the computer is setup for optical digital audio use.
*The speakers are a weak point in the design. They are small, underpowered, and sound tinny. I think the igloo iMacs had much better sound. If I recall correctly, they had a specially tuned amplifier--plus the speakers were fairly large and were not built into the computer housing. Users who use their iMac as their main music source or who work with music and sound will want to buy a separate pair of speakers.

Using the computer: screen, fan noise, heat, Rosetta
*This iMac is all about the gigantic 27" screen. It's incredibly sharp and bright, with better-than-HD resolution. Excel users will love being able to see columns A-AE and rows 1-95 all at once at 100% zoom. No more wasting time scrolling around and splitting windows. Photos, movies, and graphics all look absolutely fabulous.
*I initially thought I would hate the glossy finish on the screen, especially after seeing how much glare demo models at the Apple Store showed. But, as it turns out, the shiny glass isn't distracting at all in my home office. That said, anybody who hasn't ever seen a glossy screen computer in person should go check one out before placing an order.
*Something that I miss from my igloo iMac is the ability to move the screen both from left to right (x-axis) and up and down (y-axis). Aluminum iMac screens can only be swiveled up and down, in a fairly limited range.
*Under most conditions, the computer runs very quietly. Fan noise is normally inaudible.
*The top of the computer can become noticeably hot to the touch. Not hot enough to cook the proverbial egg, but definitely warmer than most other electronic devices (except for the original PlayStation3, otherwise known as the Sony Spaceheater).
*PowerPC applications run well under Rosetta. Once it is downloaded automatically, upon demand, it runs invisibly.

Some early buyers have reported display problems
*Sporadic screen flickering (Update: Apple released downloadable fixes for this on 21 Dec. and 1 Feb.)
*Color temperature differences between the top and bottom of the screen
*See the Apple Support discussion boards for details (links in the Comments area below)

Bottom line: it's the screen, the SCREEN, THE SCREEN!! Massive amounts of screen real estate, combined with fast performance, make the 27" Aluminum iMac a true joy to use for both work and play. One star penalty for not making an extended keyboard standard and for the terrible built-in sound system.

------
May 2010 Addendum
Q: With hindsight, would I still buy this machine?
A: Yes!

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beauty! November 16, 2009

By Tim Challies TOP 500 REVIEWER

I upgraded from the 24" iMac to this 27". Let me give just a few of my impressions:

The screen has gone up in size by 3 inches but, perhaps more importantly, has changed in perspective from 16x10 to 16x9. This means that the monitor is significantly wider than the 24"--more than you would expect based on merely the 3" addition in monitor size. This thing is MASSIVE in its width and in the comparison of width to height. The resolution has changed significantly, going from 1920x1200 to 2560x1440. This leads to small text on the screen--not ideal for older eyes but a treat to those of us who want to maximize our use of screen real estate.

The new iMac ships with a new version of the wireless keyboard (which uses only 2 batteries instead of 3) and the new Magic Mouse. The keyboard has a great feel to it (very good tactile feedback) but lacks the numeric keypad, the extra delete key, and so on. After two days I reverted back to the old wired, full-sized keyboard. I just found myself missing those extra keys too much. I may try the wireless again, though, just because it is so nice to be completely wireless and to take up less desk space with keyboard and cables. The Magic Mouse takes a little getting used to but is a very nice little gadget. I have had trouble consistently right-clicking (I just don't move my finger far enough to the right) but beyond that have found it very easy to use. For now it has fairly limited functionality but I expect that to change as time goes on. I'm sure it won't be long before software allows the mouse to perform many other functions.

In terms of hardware, the new iMac is a bit beefier than its predecessor. The hard drive is a nice, big 1 TB and there are now four GB of RAM standard with the ability to add more without removing what is already there. In previous iMacs you had to completely replace the existing RAM--now you can add to it, saving a few bucks along the way. The processor keeps things moving well, though I don't notice any really obvious speed increases. The same is true of the standard video card. It gets the job done and runs The Sims 3 in full resolution without any real problems.

Overall, this is a very sweet computer and a good upgrade from older iMacs. I wouldn't recommend moving from the 24" for the time being (just not worth it for most of us) but would recommend this to anyone in the market for a solid desktop PC.