Apple Unveils Desktop For Education Market, Adds Titanium G4 Model

Apple

The all-in-one eMac sports a flat CRT monitor and a 700MHz PowerPC G4 processor, an upgrade from the G3 processor in the original iMacs that are still popular in the K-12 education space. Despite retaining the curved shape of the original iMac enclosure, the eMac houses a bigger display--17 inches vs. 15 inches--and is 8 mm less deep, a size Apple said is better for classrooms and computer labs.

Slated to ship in May, the eMac will be available to U.S. and Canadian education customers, Apple said. The eMac comes in two 700MHz models: a unit with a CD-ROM drive, and a unit with a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive and a 56K V.90 modem. The CD-ROM model is priced at $999, and the combo drive model costs $1,199. Apple is billing the eMac as "the most affordable PowerPC G4 system ever."

Other eMac features include 128 Mbytes of RAM, a 40-Gbyte ATA hard drive, built-in 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, five USB ports, two FireWire ports, support for optional AirPort wireless networking, NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 3D AGP 2X graphics with 32 Mbytes of Double Date Rate (DDR) video memory, an audio-in port, a headphone jack, and an integrated 16-watt digital amplifier and stereo speakers. The eMac comes with a full-size Apple Pro keyboard and an Apple Pro optical mouse. The computer's 17-inch display has a total viewable image size of 16 inches and screen resolutions of up to 1280-by-960 pixels in 24-bit color. Both the CD-ROM and combo drives are tray-loading. An optional stand lets users tilt the eMac from minus-5 to plus-15 degrees up and down, and swivel the unit 360 degrees to promote collaborative learning.

The eMac's software bundle includes AppleWorks, QuickTime, Mac OS X Mail, Microsoft Internet Explorer, WorldBook Mac OS X Edition, PCalc, Adobe Acrobat Reader and Apple's multimedia applications (iPhoto, iMovie 2 and iTunes 2). Users can boot up with the Mac OS X 10.1.4 or Mac OS 9.2.2 operating systems, and OS 9 applications can run in OS X's Classic mode.

In the K-12 education market, Apple holds the largest share of the installed base for desktops and notebooks, according to the most recent figures from IDC. Apple has a 27.7 percent share of the K-12 desktop market, compared with 14.2 percent for Dell and 9.3 percent for Gateway, the next nearest competitors. On the laptop side, Apple has 34.9 percent of the K-12 installed base vs. 14.3 percent for Dell and 10.8 percent for Toshiba, IDC reported.

"Our education customers asked us to design a desktop computer specifically for them. The new eMac features a 17-inch flat CRT and a powerful G4 processor, while preserving the all-in-one compact enclosure that educators love," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a statement.

The new Titanium notebook, available now, features a 15.2-inch, high-resolution display, plus an up to 800MHz G4 processor, a digital visual interface (DVI) port and integrated Gigabit Ethernet.

The 5.4-pound unit's display has an enhanced resolution of 1280-by-854 pixels, 23 percent more than previous Titanium models, and improved brightness and color saturation, according to Apple. It comes in 667MHz and 800MHz models and features high-speed L3 cache of 1 Mbyte of DDR SDRAM and a 133MHz system bus. The new DVI port supports analog/digital video output and enables a pure digital connection to DVI-equipped digital projectors and Apple's line of flat-panel displays. Apple said the new PowerBook's Gigabit Ethernet is up to 10 times faster than that of any other notebook.

The 667MHz model (256-Mbyte SDRAM and 30-Gbyte Ultra ATA hard drive) carries a retail list price of $2,499, and the 800MHz unit (512-Mbyte SDRAM, 40-Gbyte Ultra ATA hard drive and built-in AirPort Card) lists for $3,199. Both models have a slot-loading DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive and provide up to five hours of battery life. Education customer prices for Titanium notebooks start at $2,249, according to Apple.

Apple on Monday also released the Apple DVI-to-ADC Adapter, which allows users to connect Apple's flat-panel digital displays to the new PowerBook G4 via its the DVI port. The 5-inch square adapter, which contains active components that boost the DVI signal, also lets users add a second Apple flat-panel display to selected PowerMac G4 configurations. The device lists for $149 and includes an integrated power supply, an AC power cord and a 2-meter cable with USB and DVI connectors.