Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have just made the switch to Mac and it is easy to see why they are so much better than PC. Everything works right out of the box and the look is very eye catching. Very modern design, sleek, and space saving. All the clutter has been taken away from my desk due to not having a tower or any USB cords running to the keyboard or mouse. The display is amazing! Crystal clear resolution and very pleasing to the eye. Simple setup, and can you say widgets? There are so many tools and things you can download for your desktop it is unbelievable. I did have to buy the iWork software for word processing for $79.99 but I had a mail in rebate for $30. It is worth every penny though. Instead of having to open a new document and do tons of editing to get the right format like in Microsoft Word, you can choose from what seems like hundreds of templates from a normal letter, to business cards and so on. The same goes for Mac's version of Excel which has templates for budget to savings and retirement, to expense reports and much more. Loaded with bar graphs, pie charts, line graphs all simple to edit and plug in your numbers, move to anywhere on the page, change color and so much more. Quite simply the best word processing software I have ever seen. Built in wireless airport for fast web surfing. Processor speed is great. Did I mention you don't have to buy any antivirus software as Mac's are nowhere near as susceptible to viruses, malware, or spyware as PC's are. There are only a handful of known viruses for Mac and MILLIONS for PC. I really don't know what else to say except, make the investment of a lifetime and buy a Mac. It is worth every bit in only the first week. Even as this is one of the base models it is loaded with stuff that is perfect for everyday use. My name is David and I am a MAC!!!!!

This is my first Mac and it is BEAUTIFUL. Couldn't be happier with the display. I didn't think I would warm up to the glossy, but I usually don't notice it because the backlight is so bright. Love the ability to have only 2 wires connected to it (assuming you have a router) and still be fully functional: 1 USB cable for my iPod and 1 power cord. The Magic Mouse's touch only inertial scrolling is a fantastically handy feature. The mouse itself tracks fine but is not as snappy as a wired mouse. The wireless keyboard could use a 9 key numeric pad. Both the mouse and keyboard take some getting used to ergonomically. And now my initial list of Snow Leopard gripes. Take them for what they are worth. No dealbreakers here but some Windows switchers will find it annoying to learn how Snow Leopard does business. 1) Finder (Mac's equivalent of Windows Explorer) won't cut and paste files/folders. Instead you must drag and drop files/folders in order to move them. 2) There is no merging of folders in Finder as well (i.e. you can't just combine contents of two folders by dragging one folder on top of the other). 3) Can only resize windows at the bottom right corner. 4) No "minimize all programs" equivalent like the "Show Desktop" button in Windows. Must use Expose and Spaces to keep things organized. 5) Numbers (Mac's equivalent of Excel) won't find/replace only the contents in a highlighted column like in Excel. 6) Need 3rd party software to write to NTFS format (the format Windows uses). This is awkward if you must share a network with a Windows computer like I have to at home. 7) Time Machine makes you select what you don't want to back up. I'd rather just select what I *do* want to backup. 8) Safari doesn't handle all the coupon webpages that my wife likes. Overall I love my new iMac. You will be hard pressed to find as beautiful a machine to get your daily business done on. The operating system is stable, fast, and fun to learn (yes, I say that despite my gripe list).

I am a first time owner of the Apple. I have little to no experience with Apple's; Only have used them in my middle and high school days since that is what the school used. I didn't know the difference between Windows and Mac then, And still am in the dark about them, To be honest. All I know, Is that they are two different operating systems. I did extensive research before buying a new computer over the past week. I know that I had wanted an Apple for quite some time now based on their lovely design and word around the bend, Of them being great computers. I initially was looking into a MacBook Pro. I went in-store, Seen the Mac area and was looking at their laptops. It was then, On the other side of the table, Did I see the gates of heaven of computers. There were two displays of the iMac. One with the 27 inch screen, And the 21 inch. I thought, Wow, I want this one(27 inch)! I then had an associate inform me what was better, The Macbook or iMac. He then showed me that the desktop had more space on the drive. The iMac has everything that the MacBook had, But was better in design and overall feel for me. I already have a laptop, Which is Windows, But now I am glad to have an Apple computer for my home desktop. I will continue to use my Gateway lappy, But only for travel and convenience. I didn't have a desktop before the iMac, So I figured I would buy another desktop. I walked into Best Buy, Thinking that I was just going to buy another laptop to replace my Gateway, But was won over with the lovely iMac! I hope that Apple lives up to its standard and what is said about their computers. For the price, They better! I love that the desktop doesn't clutter much space. It is so awesome! I was shocked to hear that you don't need anti-virus. That is a plus! iLife has great programs. Garage Band is amazing. I know that this will come in handy! If you have the money to spend of $1300.00, Do it. From what I think, As I don't know, You won't be disappointed. I would suggest researching others' reviews and then make up your mind if you'd like to buy one or not.

I have used pc's since the beginning and this is my first mac. I literally just opened the box, plugged it in, and i was up and running. I've had little experience with mac computers. A few clicks here and there with macbooks but no experience with imacs. i am literally writing this review from the imac i set up about 15 minutes ago! After turning it on and doing about 10 mins worth of set up, it was ready to go. It automatically recognized my wireless network. I typed in my password and the imac did the rest. I backed up everything i wanted to transfer to a external hard drive earlier today. After i was set up on the mac, i plugged in the hard drive and transferred everything without a hitch. Itunes, pictures, documents, and all were created on my pc. The mac automatically configured everything and put it in the right place. You can even use pdf, excel, spreadsheet, and word documents with a program called papers from apple for about $80. So no more worrying about compatibility issues between pc and mac. Which was the only reason i waited so long to get one. I am kicking myself now for waiting as long as i did! There is a slight learning curve with switching to mac but as with any new device there will be some adjustment period. In reality, i found learning the mac actually easier than switching to stupid windows 7 from XP (which I returned and went back to XP before dumping PC all together to get a mac). The hints and prompts are very clear, and even if you dont read one word of printed documentation on how to set up a mac, which i didnt, its super easy to set up, personalize and navigate thru the mac. Plus wireless keyboard and magic mouse are really nice. Huge HD screen and just an overall really nice solid computer! I would recommend this anyone in need of a new computer. Especially if your considering the switch from a PC. Do it and you will not be disappointed!

First, let me just take a second to convey the "Wow" factor...WOOOOW! This is such a beautiful piece of equipment. Compared to my PC notebook, the imac is blazing fast. I can run multiple apps, multiple safari windows with absolutely no lag whatsoever, and none of that "Internet Explorer has stopped working" business! Waiting for my programs to respond is a thing of the past. I took about a month to decide to take the plunge, I was worried about compatibility...ease of use. Regret...nope, I love this computer. The programs I use are 100% compatible. Ease of use? I think my iMac is psychic! Its very intuitive and very easy to navigate. Never used a Mac before and I'm already surfing through the interface using keyboard shortcuts within 2 days. My pictures look darn good on this computer! iPhoto is awesome. I recommend going to Best Buy and experimenting. I did that about 3 times before purchasing. Best thing? NO ACCOUNT CONTROL, I do not have to click three different windows to tell the computer what I want to do. I open my preferences, make my change, and close the window...so simple! After Vista, I don't think I can go back to another Microsoft OS.

the imac, in my opinion, is the most innovative computer i've ever used! I have used Toshiba, Dell, Compaq, and HP. None of these brands come even close to the imac! The crisp, bright display amazes me! The speed of this computer so fast, its unreal. The price may be a bit much, but this computer is 100% worth the money. In the first week of having it, i couldn't get off this computer. It was very addicting! Web browsing can't get any faster than this! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great computer at a good price. :)

Bring it home, plug it in, it just works. Really, it does. The bad: Doesn't require hunting for and installation of printer or camera or video or <your favorite PC peripheral here> drivers. Doesn't bother me with virus ware, doesn't spend half of its processing power and memory to run firewalls, virus scanners, spyware or other malware I have no clue about. Doesn't try to tell me what *it* thinks I should do Doesn't get in my way, just quietly waits for me to do whatever I need to do. So it's really kind of boring, no registry to fix, no virii to scan for, no firewalls to manage, no broken drivers to fix, no wireless network problems to solve. The good: Magic mouse is awesome, mouse gestures work well. Screen is very readable, crisp, clean design Keyboard has a great tactile feel, keys provide an excellent feedback Speakers work very well, even at full volume Takes minimum desk space Cost (power, software, other): Comparably equipped PC will cost about $300 - $400 less. Power cost comparison: This iMac uses 68 watts of power while running and not doing a whole lot (open email, Skype, web browser). My comparably powerful PC requires 220 watts doing the same thing. My machines are on for prolonged periods of time, 10+ hours any given workday (home office). Assume 8 hours per day, 260 workdays. The annual cost to operate: iMac will cost 8 * 260 * 70 = 145.6 kWh my desktop will cost 8 * 260 * 220 = 457.6 kWh For comparison, our average monthly consumption is around 900kWh. Lower heat production also means I don't have to run air conditioning in the summer. Not as much anyway. You do the math. YMMV. Software availability and cost: Anything you want and it seems relatively inexpensive. iWork office suite costs $80 for a single license, for $20 more you get to legally install it on 5 machines in your household. No need to pay for virus scanners and scrubbers, just get a good router with a built in firewall. Breaking free from frustrations of running Windows - priceless Other thoughts: Memory expandable to 8GB (DIY for less than $100) and it also supports another monitor for a dual monitor setup (you do need to buy an adapter to do this). And if you really, really miss Windows you can still run it through the magic of virtualization software like vmware (pay to play) or virtualbox (free for download). Summary: The machine is very well designed, takes minimum space on my desk, is almost inaudible, doesn't heat up my home office. It does the job, doesn't try to think for me, lets me do my work very effectively. It's very fast, very snappy Final thoughts: As soon as I get all my data from my PCs, they'll go on craigslist, let someone else deal with the frustrations.

Finally wised up and made the switch to MAC. Upgrade to Windows 7 on my one year old Dell Laptop from the dreaded Vista OS, and it didn't run any better. Feed up, been thinking about switching to an iMac and after the windows 7 upgrade dissatisfaction, made the plunge. I had researched a bit already, and had decided on the iMac. I bought the iWorks software with it, and the iMoble, although I don't even have a cell phone, so that was a mistake, sort of, but the software had a rebate, so no biggie. I also went back and got the Parallel Software to run Windows within Snow Leopard, but I ended going back to to Bootcamp, (which is already included in the iMac) as I found running windows in Snow Leopard was too confusing for me. ANYWAY, I had a unused XP Professional OS disk, so I decided to try installing my precious and sorely missed XP OS on the iMAC...well what a delight! Windows runs at it's best in an iMAC! WHO KNEW? I didn't even have to bother to try to connect to the internet or all that hassle. Once I got Windows installed (there were a couple of reboots, but nothing scary, just hit the start button in the back of the computer, and it will proceed. Don't bother "customizing windows" until you run BootCamp from your Mac Install Disk (come with the system). I followed the Mac instructions to install BootCamp from the Mac install disk, and it did all the connections (even my default printer) for me in a snap! And it updated itself once it got installed! A MIRACLE!!! Now I can run both operating systems and get the best of both worlds. Mac is so fast you won't believe it, and you don't have to have a 64 bit Windows program. (in fact, it recommends the 32 bit). After iMac has done it's work, be sure to eject the disk, because you won't have an icon telling you there is a disk in the computer on Windows. I actually bought a separate USB LG External DVD drive (MAC compatible) so I wouldn't have to use the Slot drive. I had a bad experience with my Dell slot drive laptop once, so I prefer a regular drive, in case a disk get stuck by accident, and there is no chance that you will forget that there is a disk in the drive, and try to insert another, which of course breaks the disk drive. I don't like the keyboard or the mouse from Apple, but that is a minor adjustment, and I am hard to satisfy on those two items anyway. I would recommend you upgrade to the 1TB hard drive if you are going to install windows, though, so you can allocate a lot of memory to the both operating systems, since you will be splitting up the hard disk. THE SPEAKERS ON THE APPLE ARE AWESOME, BY THE WAY. Apple makes it easy, I have to say, I am glad I moved from the dark side back into the light!

I have had zero problems with my mac. I forgot my password to log into the system once and could not save anything or load apps. But after reinstalling the operating system andd i set a new password it was all gravy baby. It is so Easy to set up. Literally plug in and go!!! The great thing about it, is the speed. I would have to wait for my pc to load a page for about 10 to 15 seconds. With my mac, no waiting it is almost instant. If you are trying to decide 21.5 incher or 27 incher. the 21.5 incher is already big enough. This is a great computer overall. Although the price is kinda high its past worth it. You would be getting a real deal with this computer.

I have always had a pc until about a month ago. I bought my wife a MAC laptop Pro and was amazed at the performance she had over my pc. To keep it fair, my pc was old even though I had upgraded everything in the computer, it was a 32 bit version running XP. I decided to buy the 21.5 inch iMac for me for use at home. The software is incredible from the time it takes to boot the computer and be online (30 sec. approx), to the face recognition within iphoto, the file search capability within the whole computer, the ease of handling/sorting files within itunes, the ease of installing my Microsoft Word, Excel, PP, and Entourage which was the optional software that had no compatibility issues since it was made for MAC. i purchased that so I could do my work. I do not play many purchased games on my computers with the exception of a couple online games, so I did not need to keep my pc. It is my understanding that if you play a lot of games, for compatibility reasons, you may want to keep your pc in addition to having the MAC. Not only will you not be disappointed, I really believe you will be amazed as I am with the difference. I have the Snow Leopard software on my iMAC.

I bought an iPhone about 2 years ago. I immediately discovered what all the hype about Apple is. So about 2 months ago I finally decided after my pc with vista crashed to buy an iMac. I do not regret anything. It is a little pricey but you do get a lot with that price. It is very easy to navigate through, it performs unbelievably fast compared to anything that I have ever been on, and I love the design of the screen and the keyboard. The mouse looks cool but can be a little difficult to get use to. I will not purchase another pc. I helped talk some family members into making the switch also and they feel the same way. Most definitely would recommend this or any Apple product...

From the minute I plugged in our new iMac I was thrilled! There is no "boot up" time. There are no lags. You click...it goes. Fabulous graphics. Software that works. Seriously...you can't go wrong with this computer. My only regret is that I waited so long!

I've been using PCs since the days of DOS and this is my first foray into the world of Apple (well, since the days of the Apple II). It was the first time I'd noted a reasonably performing iMac at a fairly reasonable price and I thought I'd give it a shot. What I've noticed right off is the ease of setup and use compared to a Windows PC (but of course, it is and all-in-1). It has fairly decent performance and the overall quality of the hardware is excellent. It's honestly the first time I've had a flat-panel screen that hasn't had any dead pixels, a testament to Apple's quality. The only problems I've seen with the system are the price, about half again as much as I'd have paid for a somewhat better performing PC with an equivalent LED backlit monitor, and a rather finicky DVD drive. I would not recommend purchasing the iWork/mobile Me package with the system as it's been a complete waste when put beside free software such as the full features OpenOffice suite.

After my 2nd PC in 3 years would not shut down and became very slow and basically unresponsive, I began looking for a replacement with the new Window 7. Well for the HDD and ram DDR3 space that I was looking at, the price range was around 600$...not bad right? Well add in the price of MS Office, Antivirus, speakers, and a monitor, your looking at well over $1500 depending on whether or not you need a monitor. So, after years of frustration, I went with this new IMac and if I had known it would have been this easy, I would have had a mac years ago. Literally, no less than 5 minutes before I was using the internet and discovering all the things mac has to offer. No added software besides Iwork due to grad schooling, but one thing MS would not like people to understand is that you DO NOT NEED MS OFFICE FOR MAC to view, open and save your files as word docs. So do not waste your 150 bucks for MS office. Plus there is a rebate from Apple right now for IWork. Best thing right now I can say that stands above and beyond any features, there is far less clutter on my desk, I only have 2 power cords, 1 for the MAC and another for my printer.Thats it. A lot less than the 5 I had with a PC, Do yourself a favor and spend the extra now, rather than a year or 2 from now when your new awesome windows 7 PC begins to slow to a halt and your stuck dealing with extra expenses, and pop up that remind you of those added expenses, like MCaffee and Norton.

Yup, you guessed it.... long time pc user. Not anymore. Mac's are the way to go. this thing is just plain fast. I've tried to bog it down by opening up every progam on it, but every program keeps loading is seconds with all the other programs still in memory. Loading webpages are lightning fast, even graphic heavy sites. I'm still looking for ways to slow it down, but it won't. I'm going to give up. Very simple to figure out and customize too. My kids, 11, 9, and 8 year old, they already are playing on it and going to they're favorite sites within minutes. No wire clutter, no virus scans, scrubs, updating, or downloading, windows constant downloading updates in the background, or crashing. I'm sick of restarting windows!! Never again! What a display, just plain wow! the screen is big enough no matter what people say. That 27 inch is just way overboard. didn't your mom ever tell you not to sit so close to the tv? Well, a 27 inch Brilliant display that you can see from across the street, and your going to sit with your face 2 feet from!? c'mon, really? The 21.5 is really nice no kidding, but it's up to you. Tell ya what, I will never go back to a pc again. thanks apple, you made my life so much simpler..... and faster! :)

I was a staunch Windows user before I bought this computer. Apple lost me with its first iMac in 2003 when it ate my linguistics project. Poof! Just disappeared right off the screen. I swore I'd never use another God forsaken Apple product again. Until I bought an iPod nano in 06. And really, really liked it. And then an iPod Touch in 08. And then an iPhone in 09. I can't put my stupid iPhone down either. I find myself telling everyone else around me to buy one. Truly, it's made my life so much better! I never get lost, I never get bored, and I never go without Starbucks if I don't want to. Now the iMac. It's super-fast, super-pretty, and super-fun. It makes any Windows machine look archaic and clunky in comparison. I get frustrated on Windows computers now, because they aren't as easy to use. If you're a computer geek you might not like it because it's not as versatile and there aren't as many features. But for lovers of simplicity such as myself, it is a dream come true. No mess, no searching, no waiting. It's all right there and it's always one step ahead of you. This is coming from a former hard-core Apple hater. I used to hear people say things like "intuitive, simple, fun, easy" and scoff, because it seemed like such a pain to learn. But for the computer-literate, it takes a few hours to get over the learning curve once you watch the videos. After that, it's smooth sailing. I don't regret the purchase at all, and would encourage any other Windows users to make the switch. Life is better on the Apple side!

I've been using a PC for years, and I wish I switched sooner. I just got the Mac, and installed iWork. Everything works amazing. It's super fast, too. I was originally going to get the 27" iMac, but the 21" just fits on my desk... if it was any bigger, I'd need a gigantic desk! The only annoying thing is that I have to turn the entire Mac around if I want to plug in something to the USB ports. This is most definitely worth 1200!

went in for pc replacement and ended up buying the imac. have no regrets for moving away from windows,etc. easy set-up, looks great and has no cables/wiring, wireless keyboard and mouse are fantastic. future replacements for my other laptops/desktops will be mac computers. they appear to be pricey but with the cost of spyware, internet security software,etc needed for the windows based units the gap closes quickly.

There is not a better all-in-one pc on the marker, this beats them all, unless you really need touch screen, which I think isn't that great yet. You can work faster with mouse, especially having touch sensative mouse like the magic mouse, its best mouse apple made so far. Its fastes all-in-one, yes you can buy faster tower for same money but it doesn't matter how much power you have if you Windows, what I'm trying to say mac OS is far superior it uses less ram, and less cpu power to do the same Job, so you can get things done faster and while having more fun. Only application I recommend get iWORK 09 better than Office and half the price, it read office 97-2007 format, and saves in 2003 .doc format, which is more widely used than 2007 office format.

I am a long time PC user and this is my first Mac. The associates at Bestbuy were very helpful and did not push me into this mac, they just simply showed me the differences between the PC that I originally went in there looking for and the mac that I bought... I'm an armature photog and this computer is great for photo editing and storage. iPhoto is awesome as is all the apps on the system. trust me if you can afford the extra $ to step up to a Mac you won't be disappointed. I never saw myself as a "Mac person" but I was wrong. I will never go back to PC. This is a must have unit if you like your computer to work.