New iMacs are pretty but not much new inside

Today, Apple released its next-generation iMac computers – moving away from the white polycarbonate slab introduced with the iMac G5 in 2004 toward a new, slimmer aluminum slab look.

The new Macs are pretty, though I fear that the MacBook-style keyboards will be a turnoff. They feel fine, but they look too much like the chiclet keyboard (see photo) that helped sink the IBM PCjr.

When you get underneath the skin, there’s very little difference between these new aluminum-slab iMacs and the previous generation of Core 2 Duo-based white-slabs. Frankly, if you already have an Intel-based iMac (even a Core Duo one), there’s not much reason to upgrade.

Compare the specs of the new 20” and 24” models (which Apple calls “mid 2007”) with the older 20” and 24” models (which Apple calls “late 2006”). The new machines are a little faster, sporting 2.0GHz and 2.4GHz processors and an 800MHz frontside bus, compared to the 2.16GHz and 2.33GHz chips with a 667MHz frontside bus. Definitely nice, but not nice enough for replacing an otherwise fine machine.

The other specs show similar incremental improvements. The new machines can handle 4GB RAM; last year’s models officially top out at 3GB RAM, though I’ve seen third-party kits that can bypass that limitation. Last year, you had 250GB and 500GB disks; now, you can get up to 1TB in the 24” model.

A nice touch is that you can have 802.11n in the new iMacs, but were limited to 802.11g in the “late 2006” white slabs. I’m also pleased that Apple has put FireWire 800 ports on both the new 20” and 24” iMacs; earlier, FireWire 800 was only on the 24” model.

So… Apple gets points for style, and if you don’t have an Intel-based iMac, this an excellent model to have. However, if you already are on Intel (with either Core Duo or Core 2 Duo), and don’t otherwise need to make a change, there’s no reason to buy at this time.