iMac Ports
The 21.5″ iMac falls into the same category as all the other old iMacs; cute but stupid. Now the 27″ iMac… that is a completely different beast!
Apple got the 27″ incredibly right on this release by adding a feature that no one is talking about but has been demanded by fans for years.
So there is tons of new stuff about the iMac… and a quick google search will find you almost everyone’s opinion on it. The gist of it is that it has gone from a 4×3 screen to a 16:9 screen, sizes have gone from 20″ and 24″ to 21.5″ and 27″ and the screen now uses the same kickass IPS panels as the new 24″ cinema display.
So why is this 27″ so great where as the former iMacs and the 21.5″ are lacking. Well the main thing to remember is that when you buy an iMac you are getting a decent desktop with a great monitor. (Some may not like the Apple displays because of the glossyzzle and other such reasons, but then you don’t care at all). The big issue is that the monitor on the iMac is not really monitor at all, but a dedicated display for the desktop. That doesn’t help say my MacBook Pro which I would love to have a kickass external display for.
Well the 27″ iMac solves this issue. In the fine print it states: 27-inch models also support input from external DisplayPort sources (adapters sold separately). So the 27″ model lets you plug in an external machine and utilize the monitor that you just paid big bucks for. This is very good news.
Now it is limited to MiniDisplay Port sources, which is far from great, but nevertheless this is a move in the right direction. When you consider that the 24″ Cinema Display is $999 and now you can get a 27″ Display for $1799 (with a computer attached), it actually looks like a pretty sweet deal, or at least not a bad deal.