Customer Reviews

Apple iMac MC508LL/A 21.5-Inch Desktop (OLD VERSION)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I anxiously awaited this summer 2010 update to the iMac line.

iMacs offer a better value than one might think, and the space saving they offer compared to having many components spread out on a desk, make them an attractive offering from Apple.

My current iMac was an aging model, summer 2007. The first iMac with aluminum enclosure. Honestly, however, it is not far off the machines of today particularly notebook models. The iMacs are aging nicely, and I'm sure this new model will too. iMacs tend to offer a better value than notebooks and because they aren't carried around, can have better reliability / longevity too.

When I opened this new computer, I loved the widescreen display. This display is 16x9 similar to a television, whereas conventional widescreen computer monitors were 16x10 (including my old iMac). The extra width gives you more room to fit documents across your desktop (screen) while working. I like that.

Furthermore, don't let anyone suggest that this is not a fast computer. Its 3.06 GHZ i3 processor includes hyper threading to give you up to four "virtual," cores. Some argue that this feature isn't useful, or that not enough applications utilize hyper threading. However, I was able to look at CPU usage and see video encoding software on my computer using the multiple threads. It was fast.

I chose the 21.5 inch model because my desk is simply too small to house the 27-inch model. The 27 is absolutely staggering in size. I would choose it, if I had the room, but the 21.5 is far from being a slouch and is somewhat more sensible looking.

It features standard 4GB of memory, which can be easily upgraded to 8GB by buying two additional 2GB sticks. A 500 GB hard drive being standard on this model will be plenty for all but the hard drive pack rats out there. While optical media is less popular today, do not forget this iMac can play DVDs and burn DVDs. Burning DVDs can also be useful to backup important data such as your family photographs. The speed of the drive is satisfactory, and it is the cool slot loading variety.

A SD card slot is located under the DVD drive, to easily load pictures onto your computer direct from your camera's SD card.

Why choose this 1199 model over the 1499 21.5 inch? Both are actually competent machines. The 1499 model gives you a larger hard drive (1 TB over 500 GB, so twice the size), and it has a faster graphics processor, which is useful when gaming and in other graphic intensive applications. While I chose the 1499 model, the 1199 doesn't lack much, if that final ten tenths of graphic performance and extra hard drive space is not something you believe you will need.

The $1199 model is the RIGHT choice, unless you "know," you need the specific benefits of the 1499 model (larger hard drive and faster graphics processor). Truly, this $1199 model is one of the best values of any Mac right now.

The iMacs are great values over notebooks, if you don't need portability. You get more performance, more storage, and a massive display by comparison of a MacBook Pro. All at an attractive price.

One of my favorite features? iMacs have included for the past year bluetooth keyboards and mice standard! That means when you take the iMac out of the box, if you have wireless internet, you can be up and running by simply plugging in the power cord. The Magic Mouse and keyboard are both wireless and work flawlessly. They are easier on batteries than you might think too, though they take easy to acquire AAs.

Included software? The latest operating system Mac OS X Snow Leopard is included, plus iLife 09. iLife includes great and useful applications such as iPhoto, iMovie, and Garage Band.

Someone new to Mac might consider picking up the Student/Teacher/Home edition of Microsoft Office for Mac. It runs beautifully and has a Mac feel to it, despite being a Microsoft product.

My final verdict? I absolutely adored the machine. It was the fastest Mac I had ever used and a solid upgrade over my previous iMac. However, a week into ownership I discovered that the bottom and right side of my screen had a yellow tinge/appearance to it. A white background window, such as Amazon.com page, looked beautiful and white in the top left, but on the rest of the display, it turned yellowish. I had invested so much time transferring my data from my old iMac to my new one. I had to transfer everything back and securely erase the new one before returning it. I didn't want to go through that entire process again, during my busy time of the year, so I just returned it for a refund. Once I have some spare time to go through all the trouble, I will try again. Just be sure to check your display when it arrives because I have read some others having a similar display issue on the Mac Rumors forums.

Overall, this iMac was an impressive update. It features the latest processors, plenty of storage, and offers one of the best Mac values. The display is a great size and aspect ratio, but be sure to check it for the yellowish color when it arrives.

First of all, I'm not a gamer, and this is not a gamers rig. Don't get me wrong, it has very capable graphics, but there aren't many good games available for the Mac OSX.

No biggie for me, I produce music, and Mac is well known for fitting the bill in this area. Paired with Logic, making music couldn't be easier.

Windows was another story.

I don't have a lot of cash to burn, but I hear a lot of criticism from Windows users about how "overpriced" Mac is. Well as somebody who has been through Windows '95,'98, XP and Vista and Windows 7, I have spent SO MUCH freaking time repairing Windows-related issues as opposed to just enjoying Windows applications.

I don't want to spend all day trying to figure one more cryptic, Windows error code.

I bought my Imac almost one year ago, and everything JUST WORKS, the way it is supposed to. No viruses, no BLUE SCREENS, no crashes... I HAVE had a couple of issues that were directly my own fault (screwing with settings and such). When I contacted Macintosh support, they were polite, friendly, knowledgeable and eager to assist me. And they got me up and running in a matter of minutes. Something, sadly, I am NEVER able to find with ANY other product or service I use.

Bottom line, you get what you pay for. If you work in I.T., and you absolutely LOVE diagnosing operating system errors, missing DLL files, registry and security issues while battling trojan after trojan, by all means, stick with your Windows products. I just want a machine that works.

I would rather spend my valuable time using a product, NOT fixing it.

I, for one, will NEVER go back.

*** This model has only been out for TWO weeks so the guy saying he has "owned it for 18 months" has a different model****

The NEW I3 intel processor is ridiculously fast compared to my older dual core imac (2.0ghz 3gb ) The value of the machine really speaks for itself. LED SCREEN!! The ram is upgradeable to 8gig and the new ATI video card is supposed to rock ;although, I have not really tested it out yet. Spend the extra 160$ to get the apple protection plan, especially on this newly updated one.

This review is intended for the 21.5 iMac mid-2010 model which came out recently. Apple made a significant improvement for the iMac line and it shows: 3.06GHz Intel Core i3 processor with 4MB level 3 cache; 4 GB of RAM upgradable to 8 GB; and also an ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory. Look at last year's iMacs and you'll see that this is a very tempting offer despite the $1200 price tag.

Having said that, I don't think last year's iMac owners should rush to buy these new ones. However, if you haven't upgraded your desktop Mac in over a few years or you're looking to buy your first Mac desktop, this is one unbeatable deal you should not miss.

Mac's are notorious for being outrageously priced for the hardware you get. This machine is no exception. But it's a Mac and if you're going to pay for one, you're going to pay for the name. Is it worth it? You'll have to decide.

It's incredibly fast. Now, in fairness I don't have a new PC to compare it to. However, comparing it to the 2007 top of the line MacBook Pro, it's blazing fast. Compiling apps on this machine takes approximately 75% less time than my MacBook Pro. Seriously, 20 seconds to 5 seconds.

The keyboard is great. It's a small keyboard, which normally I would hate but it just feels nice. The arrow keys are oddly shaped so gamers who like arrow keys over WASD may find it annoying. But the keys have the perfect amount of pop to them.

The magic mouse... wow. This thing seems odd at first but thank you Apple for finally recognizing RIGHT CLICK. Even though you have to turn it on yourself it's a great addition to a mac mouse. The mouse will occasionally scroll by accident when I don't want it to but it's not frustrating (The middle of the mouse serves as a scroll wheel). Using finger gestures to navigate in Safari is genius and quick.

Construction of the whole machine is incredible. It's clean, simple, and very attractive. It's also very sturdy and heavy. It does not feel like junk. And it isn't junk.

Now to the one problem. The Yellow Color at the bottom of the screen. I don't think everyone will have this issue, but I'm sure a majority of purchasers will. Simply because the stories I've heard lead me to believe this isn't a rare issue but rather very common. The bottom of the screen has a yellow bar across it. It's a gradient so it blends into the rest of the screen. Also it's only visible on a solid light (most visible on white) background. When you load up the Mac for the first time, you can look for it at the solid gray loading screen. For me it was obvious. Heart sunk a little when I saw it. But honestly, while I think Apple should fix this issue (it's been happening over multiple years and models), I'm willing to live with it. It's just too great of a machine otherwise.

I have own PCs (Microsoft Windows) since I was a little kid. I am amazed that with this new Mac I have downloaded many programs and the computer runs just as fast as it did when I first opened it! I can't believe that I am editing HD videos and the computer has never crashed. With Windows Vista my computer slowed down when I downloaded programs and it would crash randomly when editing HD video.

Cons:
For someone like me who is new to Mac it does take a few days to get used too. I had to watch videos online this week to understand all the features.

Pros:
Very quiet, Comes with a mouse that has "multi touch" (a cool feature), it doesn't slow down with programs added, doesn't crash, no viruses, I can play and edit HD video without any problems, It was easy to set up (only one plug to plug in), the screen is crystal clear, with bluetooth I can connect to my phone and both keyboard and mouse are bluetooth.

In Summery:
I personally will never go back to a Microsoft Windows PC. The iMac works perfectly and is easy to set up! It is well work the money because you don't have any problems like you do with PCs. I can't believe how well this computer performs!!!

Highly recommend this iMac to new computer users and experienced power users, and everything in between. This computer is very easy to setup - no longer than 15 minutes and you can be online - and that includes the time to look at the owners manual! No ugly wires hanging all over, no cryptic navigation, and no Micro$oft software. The screen is beautiful! striking colors and contrast. Watch a movie clip and see how computers should display action shots. Built in camera, microphone and SD card reader keeps the clutter to a minimum. You'll be glad you bought this computer.

I have been a PC user since the mid 80s and just recently had my Windows based machine held hostage by a virus, even though I had anti-virus software loaded that I was paying for. I said "enough is enough" and decided to switch from "the Darkside (of Windows) to an Apple. When I received the package and opened the shipping box to find a padded handle to lift the iMac out, I realized they just do things right, and that feeling carried through with the installation and using the iMac. Things just work the way they should without the complications that Windows machines give. I have still got things to figure out and learn about this new computer, but as of now, I think I am a true Apple convert. I love the wireless magic mouse and keyboard, and this replaced so much clutter of cables and attachments from the PC I was using. Thanks Apple for making such a great computer product.

I'm 50 years old and have been using PCs all adult life for work and home. I've had what I consider to be very good PCs & Laptops over the years. I NEVER thought I would switch over to a Mac because I'm not into gaming and I'm not an artist. But I just made the switch and I'm thrilled, to say the least!

The analogy that comes to mind between the two is this...
I liken my current (and past) excellent quality, loaded Laptop PC to a strong, healthy work horse. It looks nice, it feels and looks strong, and I have no doublt it can get the job done. We have a good relationship, we're buddies.

But I liken the iMac to an Arabian stallion! It's simply gorgeous to look at and touch, it's muscles are rippling and glistening with strength- it has unfettered energy, and it can take me places I can't even imagine right now! But don't get me wrong... if there was crap behind the screen and inside the housing, no amount of good looks could make up for it. What I'm really falling in love with is the way it thinks, the way it works, and the possibilities ahead of me. It will do the mundane work that I need to get done, with a style, flair and ease that the PCs just don't contain and it's making my work feel not so much like work anymore but like play, and I know it's going to inspire me to be more creative with the work I do and the projects I'm just starting to envision.

Regarding Customer Service; I don't care how good customer service has ever been with HP, or Dell, or any other brand that I owned, Apple's customer service is in a different league with or without their Apple Care plan, which I highly recommend. They are amazingly helpful and personable- as if you're talking to someone you could easily be friends with- any one of them that you speak to. ...and you're talking to people who speak English as their first language so they understand what you're saying and you can understand them! They never rushed me off the phone, even before I actually made a purchase. They were patient, gracious and very helpful with me without being condescending when they were helping me sort through technical confusions I had.

I purchased the 21.5" i5 iMac. I loved the 27" but it was just too big for my space and the longer I spent in front of it at Best Buy, the more I realized that the screen was simply too big for me to sit in front of to work... I just didn't want to have to turn my head to see from one side of the screen to the other and I didn't want to have to cover that much acreage with a mouse! :)

I also purchased Apple's Airport Extreme wireless router and created a wireless network with my current laptop PC, My HP Photosmart printer and the iMac. (It was very simple to do by the way.) I love the iMac's keyboard and mouse, but I also purchased a Bamboo Craft pen tablet mouse due to a damaged tendon in my mousing hand that gets very painful with mousing (wish it was also wireless but it's not). Later I purchased the remote for the iMac but that's coming in a couple of days.

Before I started using the Mac, I watched the tutorials on Apple's website, and I would recommend any new users take advantage of that quick and easy training as well. I've already downloaded Office for Mac, transferred all my iTunes music and movies from the PC to the iMac, I've hooked up my external backup drive and got that rolling and have downloaded a very cool program to digitize all my DVDs so I can get rid of the physical 'stuff' that's taking up space in my apartment! (My books are going digital too when I get my Kindle tomorrow!) I've been spending time exploring the different applications in the Mac and loving them and the way they work. I've also set up my preference and have set up different user accounts, and more.

But I guess in this review, I'm really talking about the difference in the experience between a PC and a Mac.

And it started right at the beginning when I called Apple for some pre-sales help.
Then when my iMac arrived, the experience of opening the box and taking the computer and everything out of the box. The way Apple packages its products shows that they care about and value the products they're selling and that they value you, their customer... their packaging tells you you've just bought something amazingly special, and it is. Like I said before, I'm not fooled by pretty packaging, I care about the substance and there is absolutely no disconnect here. Anyway, the feel of opening that computer box was one of luxury, of being pampered, and of having received something very important and worthwhile.

Then the setup- it couldn't have been easier. I'm not saying that I didn't have some technical confusion when setting up my network, but had I fully read the instructions I wouldn't have had that confusion and I wouldn't have had to call Apple for help! (I'm embarrassed to admit that I plugged the ethernet cable from my cable modem into the wrong slot in the Airport Express- the correct one was clearly marked, duh!!!) If it wasn't for my flub, the experience would have been amazingly smooth.

Moving my files so far has been simple even though I'm going from a PC to a Mac (it's simpler from Mac to Mac from what I understand) using an external drive. I had a small Seagate drive that I had used for a backup with the PC and to house all my albums in my iTunes- that move was a breeze. I've also moved over movies and my personal documents using this same drive. I'm preparing to move over my Outlook .pst files and found a cheap application that will do that simply.

So far, the experience of purchasing, receiving, and now using my iMac has been better than I could have hoped for. Unlike anything I've experienced with a PC. It's like I just upped my quality of life by a several notches!

So, in closing after a very long review (which I hope has some meaning to anyone who reads it), I have to say that I'm so glad I decided to upgrade. It has already and will continue to change the way I work and the energy surrounding that work! This machine has made the hours I spend in front of the computer less stressful and demanding and thus it has made my life easier. It sounds crazy to attribute so much to a computer, especially how it makes you feel to use it, but there you have it. :)

If you're considering switching from a PC to a Mac, particularly to this iMac, I would say you should go for it. You'll be happy you did!!!

Simply put my new mac is far and beyond better then any PC I have ever owned. It has been about 5 months since I have owned it and the transition was very easy and not one computer crash unlike all the PC's I have owned. I can't wait to get a macbook to replace my HP laptop soon! I did buy office 2008 with the 2011 upgrade included and it runs very smooth with no problems to report. iphoto and imovie are very easy to use and help keep all my home made movies and pictures very organized. I could not believe how easy it was to edit video clips, drag music from itunes and make great looking movies so quickly. The tutorials do help quite a bit and are very easy to follow and straight to the point not taking up to much time. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking of making the switch to do so, you will not regret it except like me, the only regret would be that I wish I would have made the switch sooner.