Apple announces new Intel-based iMac, MacBook Pro

By David Chartier

If you've been following our chatcast extravaganza of the Macworld 06 keynote that just wrapped up, you might have heard that Apple announced both a new Intel-based iMac and a
"MacBook Pro," which will be replacing the PowerBook line. Both of these zippy new Macs feature Intel Dual Core processors, essentially meaning that two processors are on one chip, which will offer incredible boosts in speed.
Each core of the new iMac is faster than the previous G5 chips, offering a 2-3x increase in speed and power, while the MacBook Pro's 1.67 or 1.83 GHz Dual Core Intel chip will bring a 4-5x increase in speed over the previous G4 chips.

The iMacs are shipping today, while MacBook Pros will ship in Feburary, with preordering open for business.
Here's a rundown on specs for each model. Most of the now-standard specs such as SuperDrives and lit keypads are present, so I won't bother listing them. Commence drooling:

new Intel-based iMac, starting at $1299:

  • Up to 2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor
  • Click, squeeze and scroll Mighty Mouse
  • Get the big picture with a 17- or 20-inch widescreen flat-panel display
  • Play fast with PCI-Express ATI Radeon X1600 graphics processor
  • See and be seen with built-in iSight camera and iChat AV5
  • Enjoy truly personal theater with Front Row and Apple Remote
  • Burn DVDs or CDs with 8x SuperDrive
  • Banish clutter with built-in wireless
  • Extend your desktop on your TV, display or projector with optional adapters
  • Connect to a Windows network
  • Organize and share music, movies and photos with iLife '06 featuring iWeb

new Inte-based MacBook Pro, starting at $1999:

  • 15.4-inch widescreen display
  • 1.67 or 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
  • built-in isight
  • 667MHz frontside bus and main memory
  • PCI Express architecture
  • Up to 120GB Serial ATA hard drive
  • ATI
    Mobility Radeon X1600 with up to 256MB memory on 16-lane PCI Express
  • Dual-link DVI, VGA adapter included
  • Optical digital and analog audio I/O, built-in microphone and stereo speakers
  • Mac OS X Tiger with iLife '06 featuring iWeb, iWork '06 trial, and more

Update: Here's Engadget's take on the iMac.

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