Apple iMac DV Special Edition

Apple's new iMac range is a clear attempt to keep the iMac ball rolling and this version, the DV Special Edition, is the high-end model.

The new range has been split into three tiers. The entry-level £799 iMac is available only in blueberry and has a 350MHz G3 processor, 64Mb of RAM and a 6Gb hard drive. Next up is the £999 mid-range model, which is available in all five iMac colours and boasts a specification boost with a 10Gb hard drive, two Firewire ports and a quad-speed DVD-ROM drive.

The Special Edition shifts the iMac into a higher gear altogether. This is a computer aimed at more demanding users and, as such, has a 400MHz G3 processor, a 13Gb hard drive and 128Mb of RAM, plus a DVD-ROM drive and Firewire ports.

It also looks unique, with a see-through graphite (grey to you and me) case that allows you to view all the internal components, plus a toning keyboard and mouse. These are the usual USB Mac versions that ship with all of Apple's latest computers, so if you loathe the round rodent, sorry, it's still there.

The DV tacked on the end of its title reveals the raison d'etre of the Special Edition: this is a computer designed to be used to edit footage from a digital video camcorder. It has two Firewire ports, which allow you to import movies direct from your DV camera using the supplied cable.

Best of all it can handle this process at top speed, transferring data at up to 400Mb/sec, 40 times faster than Ethernet.

Once you've got your film on to the iMac you can use Apple's iMovie software to do real-time video editing - adding your own music, special effects and titles. Learning how to use the software is a breeze, a simple drag and drop procedure. But note that you get only 13Gb of storage - not really enough if you want to use your computer as a video-editing studio.

The Special Edition benefits from a quad-speed DVD-ROM drive, but when we used the supplied Apple DVD software to view a movie, we found that the sound and pictures were slightly out of sync, though playback was otherwise smooth. As with all software DVD players, if you try to do anything else on your computer while you are watching a film, the quality of sound and images will be compromised.

For DVD enthusiasts, DVD movie playback is set to region 2 - those DVD movies sold in the UK, Europe and Japan.

Ease of use is still key to Apple's philosophy, and as soon as you switch on the iMac there's a tutorial to get you started and hooked up to the Internet. Upgrading has also been made even simpler with this model. If you want to install extra RAM, you simply pop open the lockable door on the base of the computer and push in a memory upgrade card.

Graphics performance from the ATI Rage 128 VR 2X AGP graphics accelerator was impressive, managing 38fps (frames per second) in Quake II - good enough for all but the most seasoned gamers.

As our VNU Labs tests are for PCs only, we ran a few tests of our own to check out performance and found it was a lot faster than the previous 333MHz iMac. It completed our AppleWorks Find and Replace test in 57.87 seconds, 15 seconds faster than the older model; and it finished the Adobe Photoshop Action test in 40.75 seconds, almost three minutes faster than the 333MHz version. It managed only 11.67fps in the QuickTime test, against an optimum of 24fps - and compared with a score of 12.67fps from the 333MHz iMac.

Contact Apple 0870 600 6010

See also:

Judge issues injunction against producers of iMac lookalikes

A Silicon Valley federal judge plans to block two companies from making, selling and distributing lookalikes of Apple Computer's iMac boxes by issuing injunctions against them.  09 Nov 1999

PC vendors are dazzled by colour

PC manufacturers are looking to ape Apple's fruit-coloured iMacs, as they rush to release machines in various colours and designs.  08 Oct 1999

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