Rumors abound that Apple will announce a revamped line of MacBook Pros today. In fact, they may already have, as I'm penning this on Wednesday evening. Will we see new iMacs, as well?
In a report (http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110221PD220.html) touching on Apple's anticipated MacBook Pro refresh, DigiTimes suggested that Apple may also update its iMac line either alongside or soon after the notebook line's update. In addition, the iMac update may see a change in screen size offerings from the current 21.5- and 27-inch models, the article adds.
Apple's iMac line of desktops were last updated in July 2010 with Intel's Core i3, i5 and i7 processors and ATI Radeon graphics. The current lineup has a starting price of $1,199. I'm rather dubious that we'll see new iMacs today, though, if we don't, I think we'll see them soon.
If DigiTimes is correct, I'm not sure what sort of new screen sizes we may see. Perhaps a 17-inch model with a lower price point? Doubtful? A 30-inch model with a built-in TV tuner and Blu-ray support? No way, though I'd LOVE to see such a critter announced. (But no way should Apple remove a 27-inch model from its line-up.)
I do think that the next iMac will have Light Peak and SDXC support. "MacRumors" (http://www.macrumors.com) thinks that the new MacBook Pros will sport Light Peak technology, though Apple will call it Thunderbolt.
Intel, which developed Light Peak, has said in the past that the first products using Light Peak should appear in the first half of 2011. When Intel initially demonstrated Light Peak at its developer conference in 2009 it used a machine running Apple's Mac OS X.
Light Peak paves the way for a new generation of extreme computer input and output (I/O) performance, delivering 10Gb/s of bandwidth, with the potential ability to scale to 100Gbs over the next decade, according to David Perlmutter, executive vice president and general manager, Intel Architecture Group. At 10Gb/second, a user could purportedly transfer a full-length Blu-Ray movie in less than 30 seconds.
The optical technology allows for smaller connectors and longer, thinner, and more flexible cables than currently possible. Light Peak also has the ability to run multiple protocols simultaneously over a single cable, enabling the technology to connect devices such as peripherals, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more.
In other words, Light Peak is designed to cover all the bases. In theory, that means it could allow Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pros to connect to an Apple Cinema Display, for instance, with just one cable, providing both A/V and multiple data stream connections between the two devices simultaneously. It’s "the ultimate single-cord solution," says "GigaOm" (http://macte.ch/D6Iq0).
Additionally, "9to5Mac" (http://macte.ch/KkWtg) says the new MacBook Pros will sport a SDXC port. Compared to the 32GB SD Cards that are available now, SDXC cards can theoretically go up to 2TB and beyond. If true, you can also look for that feature on new iMacs.
-- Dennis Sellers
