iMac aims for smooth sales

Apple will take a second stab at the consumer market after it finally unveiled its long-awaited product for the budget market - a translucent, all-in-one desktop called the iMac.

The machine, with its innovative design, sent the Apple share price through the $30 barrier, despite the fact that analysts believe it will have a tough job in the growing budget consumer space when it ships in August.

This was partly because it appears, at $1,299, to be more expensive than PC models, which come in under the $1,000 psychological ceiling.

However, as Apple pointed out, these PCs usually do not come with a monitor, while the iMac offers keyboard, monitor and processing unit in a single turquoise and grey translucent casing.

One dealer said: 'The PC prices will keep tumbling. Some are already talking about retail models for under $800. That means small margins and price fighting - not what Apple needs right now.'

Steve Jobs, Apple chief executive officer, said: 'It looks like it's from another planet - a good planet. One with better designers.'

For those buying on features rather than style, Apple claimed the processor that powers the iMac - the G3 implementation of PowerPC - was optimised for graphics, which is vital in the games-oriented home market, and performs these faster than the Intel Pentium II family.

Other features include a 233MHz processor, 4Gb hard drive, built-in networking and CD-Rom drive.

This was the first Mac to support the Universal Serial Bus, but it does not have slots for adding new devices via the motherboard. Instead, these will be added externally using the USB link.

Only the memory can be upgraded within the system itself. This is an approach that improves the ease of use and maintenance, but may ultimately alienate the more technical users.