New iMac - all screen no box

PARIS (Reuters) - Apple Computer has unveiled its new iMac desktop computer design, which integrates all disk drives and processors into a flat display less than two inches thick.


Apple's newest iMac
"Now we have the world's thinnest desktop computer," Phil Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing, said in a keynote presentation at the annual Apple Expo in Paris Tuesday.

Shipping from mid-September, Apple said the computer would be available in versions with a 17-inch and a 20-inch display, with a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Apple said in July the launch of the new iMac would be delayed until September.

Retail prices will start at $1,299 for the 17-inch model. The more expensive and slightly thicker 20-inch model will cost $1,899.

The model will take over from the current iMac, which created a buzz of its own when launched a few years ago with its minimalist design featuring a thin display perched on a stainless steel pole above a white hemispherical base.

The new iMac, designed by the same team that developed the iPod portable music player, works on G5 microprocessors.

The new model is equipped with internal Bluetooth so peripherals like cell phones can communicate with the iMac without cords.

Options include the wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as AirPort Express, which lets users connect to the Internet, stream music and print remotely.

Sales of the iMac have slowed in recent quarters, but Apple's portable notebook computers have been doing well.

Apple (AAPL: Research, Estimates) stock has risen steadily this year, partly on brisk sales of iPods and music

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