Apple unveils its new Mac

Apple introduced its new iMac today, the latest version of the desktop computer that restored the company’s fortunes as a force in personal computing.

The latest model, unveiled by Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller at the opening of the Apple Expo in Paris, upgrades the iMac line to feature faster G5 processors currently used in Apple’s top-end Power Macs.

“It’s a much faster architecture,” said Schiller as he presented the new iMac, an all-in-one unit resembling a flat-panel monitor but with the processor and other components stashed behind the screen. CDs or DVDs load vertically into the side of the two-inch-thick panel.

“A lot of people are going to be asking where did the computer go?” Schiller joked. “It’s around here somewhere and I just can’t find it.”

The announcement ended days of fevered speculation about the launch, postponed from earlier this year because of inadequate supplies of the G5 processors made by IBM.

Schiller said the iMac would begin shipping in mid-September. Priced at £725 (€1,072) in the UK, the basic 17-inch model features a 1.6 gigahertz processor with 256 megabytes of RAM and an 80GB hard drive.

The top-end model, with a 1.8GHz chipset, 20-inch screen and 160GB hard drive, will go on sale at £1,060 (€1,568).

All models feature three USB and two Firewire ports and can be expanded up to 2GB of RAM.