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Along with several other updates today, Apple gave some lovin’ to the all-in-one machine: the iMac.

The most obvious change would be the screen. There are two models available—a 21.5-inch and 27-inch—both in 16:9 aspect ratio. The glass goes right to the edge of the machine, so, as Jony Ive himself says, “It’s all display.” The 27-inch model has the option of being wall mounted using Apple’s VESA Mount Adapter Kit, and with a viewing angle of 178 degrees, you’re sure to be in full few of your projects.

A top-spec new iMac could see you with a 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM (with support for up to 16GB) and a 2TB Serial ATA hard drive. Now that’s sounding like quite a mean machine; you’re really not going to be too limited by what this computer will allow you to do any time soon. The base iMac comes with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor, with the option to upgrade to the ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card for use with the quad-core processor. Since the 21.5” iMac display is 1920-by-1080 HD and the 27” display is a whopping 2560-by-1440 resolution (78 percent more pixels than the 21.5-inch iMac), you’re really going to see amazing quality imaging on the glossy 16:9 widescreen.

I think it’s also worth a mention that the new iMac comes equipped with an SD card slot. This is something that has been missing from Macintosh computers for some time, with many consumers wishing they had the ability to import photos form their digital cameras by simply inserting their SD card. It’s nice to see Apple addressing this request, and including four USB 2.0 ports for the rest of your peripherals.

Every iMac ships with a Bluetooth Apple Keyboard, the brand new Magic Mouse, Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife ‘09, so you will be enjoying your new purchase in no time. Unless you’re using any additional hardware, the only cable you’ll need is the power cord. I hate to bring it up, but have you looked behind a PC recently? You get the point.

I believe it’s safe to say that these updates have seriously improved the iMac. A few days ago, for serious computing, your best bet was probably the Mac Pro. Now, with up to 16GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive, the iMac is not to be laughed at. And with a 27-inch widescreen beyond HD display, everything will look amazing. Shame there’s no ability to watch Blu-ray discs, but that won’t stop you from downloading high definition titles from the iTunes Store.

The new iMac. The ultimate all-in-one. Available now, either at Apple’s online store, or at your nearest Apple Retail store.

Product [iMac]