Apple rolls out new Pro, iMac, Mini

Apple has updated the Mac Pro desktop, and given the iMac and Mac Mini a refresh.

CUPERTINO, California - Apple has introduced a refreshed line of desktop computers, notable as much for their price tags as new features.

The rollout included a long-rumoured update to the Mac Mini, as well as a less-expensive iMac and Mac Pro. In a significant nod to the recession, Apple pointed up the affordability of its new machines, a departure for a company used to focusing intensely on performance and design.

"Our flagship 24-inch iMac with twice the memory and twice the storage is now available for just US$1,499," Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said in a statement. The 24-inch iMac models start at $3299.

The new Mac Pro, with Intel's "Nehalem" Xeon processor, starts at $5599 in New Zealand.

The latest version of Apple's top-line desktop offers "an advanced system architecture, new faster processors and our best-ever graphics options to deliver a faster, more powerful system," said Philip Schiller, an Apple vice president.

Apple's cheapest computer at NZ$1399, the Mac Mini, has been updated with a faster graphics processor and the ability to run more than one display at a time. Apple is also touting the Mini as the most energy-efficient desktop in the world, saying it draws less than 13 watts of power when idle, or about one-tenth of the power of a typical machine.

- AP