by , 11:00 AM EST, February 4th, 2002
Fortune's Peter Lewis likes the new iMac. In a recent article in Fortune, Peter Lewis relays his experiences while test driving the new iMac. Mr. Lewis generally has glowing words for the 20 pound marvel. He says:
Apple clearly has learned from its Cube experience. The new iMac is functionally better than the candy-colored, beach-ball-shaped original iMac in nearly every way. The $1,799 SuperDrive model I've been testing appears to be not only a great home computer, especially for people with an interest in the Internet, digital music, digital photography, and digital video, but also a heck of a bargain.
Mr. Lewis not only compares the iMac to its predecessor, but also to current Dell PCs, and find that the iMac stacks up nicely. Here's what he said about the Dell comparison:
It's impossible to make an exact match of specifications to compare the SuperDrive iMac with competing Windows systems, but I got pretty darned close with a Dell Dimension 4400 desktop. The Dell has a slight edge in hardware and support, while the Apple has better software and aesthetics, but the Dell arrives at the checkout line costing $350 more than the iMac.
Everything isn't all aces, however, as Mr. Lewis weighs in on some of the negatives of the new iMac. Here's what he had to say:
What's not to like about the new iMac? For starters, there's the awkwardness of adding additional memory and wireless networking capability from the underside of the base, a procedure that only a proctologist could love. Bottoms up! Also, the pre-production unit I tested occasionally hummed and buzzed and vibrated when the SuperDrive was engaged, spoiling the otherwise nearly silent operation of the computer. The problem may not affect regular-production iMacs, but keep your ears open for reports from early buyers.
Go check out the full article at Fortune online.
There always is something that could be better, as iBrotha pointed out in his forum thread on the subject. Stop by and give Rodney your impression of the new iMacs