Apple announced that its entire iMac line now features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor in every model, delivering up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous iMac.* A new 24-inch iMac with a brilliant 24-inch widescreen display joins the 17- and 20-inch models, and iMac prices now start at just $999. Every new iMac includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box; Apple’s breakthrough Front Row media experience; and iLife ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications.

“Every iMac—from the $999 model up through the new dazzling 24-inch widescreen model—now features blazing Core 2 Duo performance,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “And the new 24-inch widescreen iMac is the fastest, biggest and brightest iMac we’ve ever made.”

The new iMac lineup includes four models: a 1.83 GHz and a 2.0 GHz 17-inch, a 2.16 GHz 20-inch and the all-new 2.16 GHz 24-inch iMac, and features the new Intel Core 2 Duo processor which delivers up to 50 percent faster performance than the previous 20-inch iMac running industry standard benchmarks.

Ideal for both consumers and professionals, the 24-inch iMac features a 24-inch widescreen LCD display with a 1920-by-1200 pixel resolution that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model and a brighter display to make reading text and viewing images even easier. The all-new 24-inch iMac packs professional performance into the convenience of an all-in-one design and includes a 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB of shared L2 cache, 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 128MB of GDDR3 memory and a SuperDrive™ for burning professional-quality DVDs. Delivering greater customization for performance and expansion needs, users can configure the new 24-inch iMac with a 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 3GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, a 500GB Serial ATA hard drive and the NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT with 256MB of GDDR3 memory for outstanding graphics performance
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Every iMac includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box using Apple’s award-winning iChat AV, or recording a video podcast or iMovie using iLife ‘06, and the breakthrough media experience of Front Row for a simple, intuitive and powerful way for consumers to enjoy their content. Providing the latest in high-performance connectivity options, the iMac includes built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, built-in AirPort Extreme®, a total of five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two FireWire® ports (including one FireWire 800 port on the 24-inch model).

Every iMac also comes with iLife ’06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring iPhoto®, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and iWeb, the latest iLife application that makes it super-easy to create amazing websites with photos, blogs and podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click. Every iMac also comes with the latest release of the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X version 10.4.7 “Tiger” including Safari™, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth, running natively on the Intel-based desktop.