Though it surprised everyone by releasing the new machines earlier than rumored the new line in it self failed to impress. Apart maybe from the new line of Mac Pros that packs the high-end Xeon processors from Intel’s new Nehalem class.

 

Although it’s pleasant to hear from Apple something besides iPhone 3G and MacBook Air for a change, the new line of machines launched on Tuesday did not come with a very different configuration than their predecessors. Furthermore, despite the fact that Apple said the new line will be more affordable, it’s really not. 

 

Besides the new powerful, next-generation processors from Intel, the big news is that the entire new line-up includes Nvidia graphics and chipsets. The Mac Mini and iMac pack an Nvidia motherboard chipset instead of the usual Intel chipset. 

 

The flagship of the release is the 24-inch iMac. It features twice the memory size and twice the storage of the previous iteration, but the price of $1,499 remained unchanged. Apple may be the only computer maker that seems not to care much about the recession and about the year that is said to be the slowest for computer sales. 

 

The 2.66GHz quad-core Mac Pro costs $2,499, $300 less. If that’s what Apple meant by affordable prices, then that announcement was probably made to Wall Street bankers who just received bail out funds from the government. 

 

Maybe Apple used us to earth-shattering releases during the last couple of years and that’s why we fail to appreciate the refreshed line of Mac Pros, iMacs and Mac Minis only for its plus value that this time came without a revolutionary design and concept.