Local iMac and MacBook pricing uncertain

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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Apple recently announced several new additions to its product range, specifically within the iMac and MacBook catalogues.

The manufacturer, which recently posted a 47% increase in quarterly profit margins, has chosen to update its entry level MacBook range with a number of new features. The machine now features a unibody polycarbonate casing and includes an LED backlit display which allows for reduced power consumption.

Like the MacBook Pro, the updated MacBook will also feature a multi touch glass track pad. It will come equipped with a 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 2GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive.

Apple has also unveiled two updates to its desktop iMac range in the 21.5 inch and the 27 inch LED display options. These devices will include Intel Core 2 Duo, i5 and i7 processors according to pricing level and the displays will feature a minimum resolution of 1920×1080, which is regarded as fit for HD viewing.

The 27 inch model will feature a resolution of 2560×1440, offering 60% more pixels than the 24 inch version which has until now been the largest available.

Each iMac device will ship standard with 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 memory with a capacity for 16GB across four SO-DIMM slots as well as the recently released Snow Leopard OS X Apple operating system.

The company also announced the release of the world’s first multi touch mouse, which will ship with the iMac range and will be available as an accessory for $69 (R511).

Internationally the MacBook will be available for $999 (R7402). The iMac line will be available from $1199 (R8459), although the higher end models are expected to be considerably more expensive.

Local Apple distributors could not however confirm South African pricing or date of availability for these models, adding that “it usually takes at least a week for the local pricing on new or updated products to be finalised”.

Despite the lag in pricing confirmation, Apple products have a reputation for being readily available locally within a reasonable timeframe. For example; copies of Apple’s updated operating system Snow Leopard OS X were available nationally on the day of release.

It should be noted that the prices reflected by Apple in the US do not include value added tax or shipment costs.

iMac & Macbook pricing in SA – discussion