New mac mini on store

brav

From:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/06/15macmini.html

* 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
* 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
* a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
* 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
* NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
* AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
* Gigabit Ethernet;
* four USB 2.0 ports;
* SD card slot;
* one FireWire® 800 port;
* one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
* HDMI to DVI video adapter;
* combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
* combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).

jarvis_c82

At last it has HDMI in it. Pity it doesn't have a blu-ray writer. Wonder how much its going to be?

kippy

jarvis_c82 wrote: »

At last it has HDMI in it. Pity it doesn't have a blu-ray writer. Wonder how much its going to be?

Too much no doubt.
Its a pretty basic piece of hardware so without the Apple logo it shouldnt go for any more than 300 Euro.

brav

Well it says $699, or £649 inc VAT, can't see EUR price anywhere

Kbeg3

Starting from €799

J-blk

brav wrote: »

Well it says $699, or £649 inc VAT, can't see EUR price anywhere

The product page (store not working for me yet) says "Starting at €799" - though it looks pretty nice overall, that's quite a price hike for not much in terms of specs over the previous gen...

Talisman

Irish store isn't working but the UK prices are crazy : £649 for base model.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini

Good to see they are finally admitting it can support 8GB RAM, no doubt this official support is one of the reasons for the price hike.

brav

Just saw that, http://www.apple.com/ie/macmini/features.html
RAM is now user upgradeable

DIY memory.

Thanks to a removable bottom panel, now it’s easy to open Mac mini and add memory. Just a slight twist of the panel and you’re inside Mac mini. Simply pop your memory into the SO-DIMM slot then twist the panel back on. And you’re done.

Ronan

Having just got a mac mini for a media centre 3 weeks ago at first I was annoyed, but now having seen the price of the new model I would have gone the old model anyway, all you need for plex

bluemachaveli

As soon as I saw the update I was on my way to buy one. Then I saw he price. From €549 to €799??

Someone in Apple must have lost their mind.

Sad Professor

I love the new form factor, but the built-in power supply is probably going to come back to haunt it. However, at least Apple have finally acknowledged that people use the Mini as a media centre with the addition of the HDMI port. I suspect the current AppleTV is about to be retired soon.

Too bad the extra 100 dollars is going to make the Mini prohibitively expensive for most people. But the Euro price has the potential to kill off European Mini sales entirely - 250 more than the old price. To match the new US price it should be €750 not €800. Apple must be expecting the Euro to tank over the next 6 months.

I was gonna wait for the new iMacs, but seeing as how they'll probably get a 200-300 price bump when they do arrive, I might go for it now. Even as it stands, Apple are selling the iMac for about a 100 euro less than the US price. Goes to show just how much the Euro has dropped against the dollar in recent months.

brav

I like the new look as well, was thinking of getting one for my media player, but this is a bit over my budget now. Will have to look under the couch for some extra change

Irish store still offline and now it looks like so are all the rest, probably more to do with iphone pre orders though

Also, seen online it looks like 10.6.4 may be out by the end of the week

DominoDub

Very Nice but way over priced :eek:

jester77

Should come with a tube of lube... that price is crazy.
I will stick with my current mini. Wish they would get over themselves and allow blu-ray as an option

whiterebel

Massively stupid price that.

K.O.Kiki

I figure the price increase due to many factors affecting mainstream PC parts too, such as labour & parts increases in Asia.

was.deevey

I dont think the price is "That" high considering.... and reckon they are onto a winner ....

1. Form factor vs price .. not that many PC's out there that rival it for size bar a few Atom powered ones, and ruggerized car or kiosk PC's which are also very expensive. Click to see Their "high powered" rival in the HT market (starting at over 2k sterling!)

30mm high (not much in it) and a hell of a lot wider and uglier by the looks !

2. Build quality ..I'm sure the Aluminium has to cost a bit more if for nothing else but that gorgeous finish ?

I have yet to feel a notebook that feels as sturdy and plain "lovely" to touch, use, feel as the macbook pro uni.. if thats anything to go by.. there isn't a rival in sight.

3. OS / Applications.

4. PSU integrated .. WTF! .. how did they manage that inside a case like this? I know it probably seems like a no-brainer, but its a REAL PC ... under 2 inches high and what ? .. 6inches square !

How many man-hours of design and engineering went into this lil monster to make it what it is .. just coming up with a method of getting the PSU in there musta been a nightmare bugging designers for months.

5. It looks aimed at movie buff who already spend crazy figures on home theatre equipment / projectors / 40' LCD's .. I think designers / occasional gamers / musicians would probably just buy an imac.

6. I honestly have yet to meet someone who ever considered a Mini over an Imac or refurb macbook..I'm sure they have done their market research on this and discovered perhaps the majority of people were using their mini hooked into their home theatre OR using them as servers.

I wouldn't be too concerned about it heating up same as the time capsules, the unibody design "should" dissipate heat much better than the old plastic.

The server version is the one I can see should kick off though, Dual hard drives.. its $999 i think .. haven't checked the irish stores, but that includes the Server OS which should make it a great competitor in the SMB office server environment I would think.

Of course IT installers might have to learn a thing or two installing them instead of selling a crappy dell workstation running SBS2003 *groan* .. so probably never gonna happen :P

banquo

I don't think mac buyers really buy the mini as a dedicated PC. Not the majority, anyway.

There's been a definite trend toward Mac since the iPhone, but I think most new buyers are going iMac. So Mac Mini is now a dedicated, single-purpose device. And this model will do anything well except Blu-Ray.

New Mac Mini + 1080p widescreen telly + Drobo + terabytes of space + boxee = media centre nom nom.

Sad Professor

Yeah, I actually think it was a great update.

Obviously the Mini's target market has changed. The Mini was originally designed as a entry-level budget Mac to appeal to defecting Windows users. However, as mentioned above, I suspect that most switchers choose to go the iMac/Macbook route, which is undoubtedly what Apple would prefer as they both offer an superior introduction to the world of Mac.

In subsequent refreshes I think it became clear that Apple didn't really know what to do with the Mini. They went all of 2008 without refreshing it, and for a while it seemed like it was about to be discontinued. But Apple picked up on two things that people were using Minis for: media centres and home servers. And in this latest update, they have adjusted the Mini to fill either of those purposes nicely. So for both of those people, the Mini is still a good buy.

~Rebel~

Beautiful machine, if it wasn't for the price hike.

On the plus side however, this means that any previous gen models anyone can find should be going for great prices. The previous gen model new or second hand for between 300 and 450 with plex and 'Free Mouse' app for ipod touch or iPhone is pretty much as awesome as a home entertainment system gets

jpfahy

Wow, seriously expensive

Ghost Train

Have been thinking about a mac mini, but after the price hike with minimal improvement wouldn't go for it. The shape does look better but not much change in spec

Sad Professor

Ghost Train wrote: »

Have been thinking about a mac mini, but after the price hike with minimal improvement wouldn't go for it. The shape does look better but not much change in spec

The graphics card is a big improvement on what was in there, though.

Anyway, check out the refurb store for last gen Minis:

http://store.apple.com/ie/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/mac_mini

€469 for the old base model.

nesf

Looks pretty, pity about the price.

kippy

An acer revo on special offer is a far better option than one of these. The name wins out I suppose.

Sad Professor

kippy wrote: »

An acer revo on special offer is a far better option than one of these. The name wins out I suppose.

For someone looking for a ultra cheap media centre, maybe. But it's got noting to do with the name. The Mini would wipe the floor with the Revo. The Revo isn't a PC, it's a netbook without a keyboard. The Atom in it makes it barely suitable for anything else. The Mini is a full computer. The Revo is an alternative to the AppleTV, not the Mini.

K.O.Kiki

The Acer Revo also uses the much slower Atom processor, and nVidia ION for graphics.

Which means it would lose badly in CPU-bound applications/en- and decoding.
Not too sure about if ION can provide enough backup for that, though I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Ham'nd'egger

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah, I actually think it was a great update.

Obviously the Mini's target market has changed. The Mini was originally designed as a entry-level budget Mac to appeal to defecting Windows users. However, as mentioned above, I suspect that most switchers choose to go the iMac/Macbook route, which is undoubtedly what Apple would prefer as they both offer an superior introduction to the world of Mac.

In subsequent refreshes I think it became clear that Apple didn't really know what to do with the Mini. They went all of 2008 without refreshing it, and for a while it seemed like it was about to be discontinued. But Apple picked up on two things that people were using Minis for: media centres and home servers. And in this latest update, they have adjusted the Mini to fill either of those purposes nicely. So for both of those people, the Mini is still a good buy.

I recall reading an article about Mac Mini's last year which said that much of their sales were made to business users who use them as discrete hard drives, back up units, running CCTV, servers etc as opposed to units for home and domestic use. Giving the Mini this level of a bump would indicate than Apple view it very much as a unit with a future and that it holds potential as a cheap alternative to X Serve and Mac Pro for smaller based businesses and systems. Let's not forget, most revenue and sales from PC brands are made from business users and work machines that run from servers have very little inside them in terms of memory and hard driver storage while Microsoft make fortunes from licencing OS and softwares to work places. It would take a very very little slice of this market to make a lot of money for Apple if it's sold well to the business world even as a niche market.

enda1

Really nice product.
With a bit lower a price it would be a real contender for me to upgrade from my Mac Mini Core Solo.

was.deevey

Quite apart from the price:

Revo
Low powered Atom
External Power brick
No CD / DVD
No Digital Audio on HDMI
No Decent Graphics Card (Try playing even NFS carbon which is a few years old on one of these).
Playing High Def video even over youtube is stuttery.
Factor in the non-basic version of Win7 into the price

Conclusion - headless netbook


Mini
Decent Powered CPU
Decent Graphics Card capable of playing most game (ok some at low res admittedly but most everything is playable.
Digital Audio over HDMI
DVD / CD Burner
Built in power brick
Unibody design
Decent OS included.
Can be used as a mid range office server with dual HD's and server class OS at a reasonable price.

Conclusion headless imac..if you have a 32 high def TV great!

I can see exactly where the revo is a much better deal, aren;t the two so so so similar .. in the same way as LADA and BMW ... both have 4 wheels and an engine

its cheap and will get you there (eventually) but without any style, slower than the rest and lots of headaches .

kippy

Sad Professor wrote: »

For someone looking for a ultra cheap media centre, maybe. But it's got noting to do with the name. The Mini would wipe the floor with the Revo. The Revo isn't a PC, it's a netbook without a keyboard. The Atom in it makes it barely suitable for anything else. The Mini is a full computer. The Revo is an alternative to the AppleTV, not the Mini.

This machine is starting at €799 euro.
An absolutely crazy price for the hardware in it. Thats the name.

kippy

was.deevey wrote: »

Quite apart from the price:

Revo

Low powered Atom
External Power brick
No CD / DVD
No Digital Audio on HDMI
No Decent Graphics Card (Try playing even NFS carbon which is a few years old on one of these).
Playing High Def video even over youtube is stuttery.
Factor in the non-basic version of Win7 into the price

Conclusion - headless netbook


Mini
Decent Powered CPU
Decent Graphics Card capable of playing most game (ok some at low res admittedly but most everything is playable.
Digital Audio over HDMI
DVD / CD Burner
Built in power brick
Unibody design
Decent OS included.
Can be used as a mid range office server with dual HD's and server class OS at a reasonable price.

Conclusion headless imac, if you already have a 32' high def TV which you can use for production its possibly a better deal.

Yes definetly I can see where the revo is a much better deal, kinda like an underpowered car .. its cheap and will get you there but without any style and lots of headaches (eventually).

There are literally THOUSANDS of people out there with Revis purchased for less than 200 sterling having absoltely no issues with it as a media centre/surfing the web/storage. Check out the tonnes of user reviews.
What do you want style for in a desktop unit? Seriously?

kippy

By the way, I've got nothing against Macs - some of my best friends are Macs
But calling a spade a spade (and forgetting about the revo comparison, I am fully aware of the specs being different) this is a very very overpriced piece of kit.

was.deevey

As mentioned

Revo

No hdmi audio
High Def video an issue
cannot play DVD's as no drive

Factor a slim DVD Drive in alone is an extra $100 euro odd over the revo price.

But I do understand where you are coming from and not arguing the people have no issues with the Revo as a basic HT machine in the same was as a netbook is fine as a basic browsing / email / youtube video machine.

Where the revo struggles in the hardware and horsepower end e.g. in the high def / DVD side of things the Mini wins out.

The market has changed for the mini, I'm sure Apple has done its homework and is not interested in competing with bargain bin HTPC's at rock bottom prices in the same was as BMW does not compete with Fiat.

They are looking for people IMHO ..

a) Finding people who are upgrading their HTPC setup and wanting to do more than watch the occasional low quality 750mb bitorrent download or surf the net from their TV.

b) People actively upgrading or installing their home theatre setup with high def video playing capability (and spending lots to do so .. a mini in the grand scheme of things is small change).

c) People who would like to utilize their HDTV as an occasional games platform e.g. Steam games, WOW etc .. (revo does not have the horsepower).

d) SMB's as office file and small web servers.

If this is seen as a HTPC by apple then its designed to sit under / beside your TV in the living room .. but you're right Style in a desktop machine .. yeah who needs it they all should all be grey boxes apple is wasting time designing stuff that looks good.

But calling a spade a spade (and forgetting about the revo comparison, I am fully aware of the specs being different) this is a very very overpriced piece of kit.

Comparing the spec alone its a hefty price, YES I agree. You could build a "grey box" machine for under $350 with DVD player and in a DVD player sized case.

Comparing the form factor this comes in Vs specs though miniaturizing is expensive .. FACT! and there is little out there that (if anything) that matches it .. sure they could add in i7 or core2quad .. but possiblilty of heat issues etc in this form factor.

however 2gigs ram is a joke!

mickoneill30

was.deevey wrote: »

As mentioned

Revo

No hdmi audio
High Def video an issue
cannot play DVD's as no drive

Factor a slim DVD Drive in alone is an extra $100 euro odd over the revo price.

What's HDMI audio? I've a Revo with the HDMI plugged into the TV. Audio is going over that cable for me. There's no extra cable for audio for me.

High Def video is not an issue. I'm streaming from my PC using either wirelessly or over a Homeplug. Admittedly the max I've tried is 720p. I haven't (ahem) downloaded anything better quality than that.

It can't play DVDs unless I stream them from my PC. Might bother some people.

OS is Ubuntu (requires a USB key or external DVD drive to install, I'm not a linux head but it was dead simple to install). Player is XBMC (also simple to install).

Style doesn't matter to me. It's sitting behind the TV.

The Revo cost me about €210 delivered.
You'd need to add on an extra €30 or so for a good remote and about €10 for a HDMI cable.
Do those come with the Mac or are they extra costs for that too.

For a media centre, that's pretty hard to beat. Plenty for the web too. Wouldn't use it for games or image processing.
Maybe the Mac beats it as a HTPC but at quite a large price.

But this is a Mac thread so I'll shut up now

aidan_walsh

I'm torn between this and the AppleTV. This is a beauty, not much larger than the TV, and a lot more versatile. But I would be primarily using this as a media centre and maybe occasional second Mac desktop. The lack of HD movies through iTunes is a hit that the AppleTV makes up for. And I'm not sure I can justify the price to myself.

I'm torn.

waynegalway

Just bought one of the "old" ones. Got the educational discount, so I think it's far better value than the new one. At 799e it's very close to imac territory. I spotted in argos in galway today that they have a 21.5" imac for 999e.

was.deevey

I'm not saying the Revo is a bad bit of kit as a basic media centre BTW .. but you've already mentioned the cons of it

1. Learning / installing a new OS, in your case ubuntu
2. External remote - usb or built in ?
3. Additional non-digital audio alongside the HDMI cable ..
4. No DVD

So .. more plugged in, external power brick, new OS, can't be used for occasional intensve tasks (easily) e.g. photoshop, music production etc..

Great for geeks, but out of the box the mini just works without anything extra to learn and is a "real" computer if one so desires

Am I missing something

Maybe they will bring out a plastic unibody like the macbook at a lower price point and aim this at high end and server market

kippy

was.deevey wrote: »

I'm not saying the Revo is a bad bit of kit as a basic media centre BTW .. but you've already mentioned the cons of it

1. Learning / installing a new OS, in your case ubuntu
2. External remote - usb or built in ?
3. Additional non-digital audio alongside the HDMI cable ..
4. No DVD

So .. more plugged in, external power brick, new OS, can't be used for occasional intensve tasks (easily) e.g. photoshop, music production etc..

Great for geeks, but out of the box the mini just works without anything extra to learn and is a "real" computer if one so desires

Am I missing something

Maybe they will bring out a plastic unibody like the macbook at a lower price point and aim this at high end and server market

Again, the revo works for "Non geeks" as well.
Theres no need for a seperate audio cable at all, the poster already said he gets audio over HDMI. This isnt really an issue either for the majority.
The new OS is just as big an issue for the iMac if its someone that has never used it before, as you said yourself the revo comes with W7 starter OR a linux distro.
An external USB Powered DVD drive can be gotten in a bricks and morter shop for less than 60 euro.
Occasional "intensive" tasks............
If you like your Macs then splash out and get a proper one. At least you'll get more value for money.

Sad Professor

aidan_walsh wrote: »

The lack of HD movies through iTunes is a hit that the AppleTV makes up for.

Yeah, I was thinking the same. The poor choice of HD video on the Irish iTunes store at the moment a big turn off. Of course, you could always buy from the US store using vouchers instead.

Content providers in Europe obviously find the Mac platform too open and easy to pirate on. Where as the Apple TV and iPad are nice and locked down for them. I'm not sure Apple will be able to persuade them any time soon.

If you are planning to source your video primarily from iTunes, the AppleTV is probably a better choice.

was.deevey

If you like your Macs then splash out and get a proper one. At least you'll get more value for money

I would indeed opt for an imac myself at the moment, as I don't even have a LCD televison!

But if I had a nice 32 - 40' High res and home theatre i'd be tempted by the Mini by its size and lack of external "bits" needing to be plugged in, and the fact its capable of running every other day to day task at the same speed I'm used to.

W7 starter OR a linux distro.

So the option of a lite verison of the most popular OS or an OS most regular folks haven't used.

An external USB Powered DVD drive can be gotten in a bricks and morter shop for less than 60 euro.

Thats just it though .. more external junk hanging around the TV .. i've lived in that house with the mess of video's DVD's, sound systems etc all plugged into a mess behind the TV cabinet.. one less device or cable can mean a whole lot. (especially to the ladies in our lives).

Theres no need for a seperate audio cable at all, the poster already said he gets audio over HDMI. This isnt really an issue either for the majority.

Apologies .. I'd read on other reviews people were having trouble with this, I agree probably a non issue for now but WILL become an issue as it becomes the standard for more and more people.

I'm in complete agreement BTW that as of this date the REVO will fit 90% of the needs of the "cheap and cheerful media server market for those not needing very high resolution video or gaming or intense desktop apps.

And on this note I don't agree with comparing the Mini to the Revo in general .. its different beast altogether except for the obvious HTPC comparision.

Someone else said "lets call a spade a spade" .. well its a reasonably specced desktop inside a teeny tiny form factor with a build quality and looks that will be hard to rival by any competitor.

So in my quest to find the other "spades" (similar size and spec) ...

Good Comparisons could be:

Aopen MP45 $966 appx

From Mini ITX site ... DIY though and £550 ex vat + shipping.

The mini is not that far off in price once you factor the OS into the mix...

I'll include this dell .. but it suffers a mobile Low power CPU like the REVO
Dell Zino (Although only mobile processor 1.8ghz X2 AMD) rest of the specs are decent.

And IMHO there's no reason a desktop "can't" be pretty we've just become complacent as a society .. as computers become more and more of daily life "ugliness" in technology I hope will become a thing of the past.

I sence a unibody plastic version could be in the pipeline for the people wanting to outlay slightly less ($100 perhaps).

Yep too much time on my hands today :P

was.deevey

oops

Sad Professor

There's definitely a market for the Mini, or else it would be gone by now. But obviously it doesn't appeal to everyone, much like the Mac itself. However, it can't be said that you just paying for the name. Design and compactness are costly and do matter to people, even if many aren't willing or able to fork out for it. Just because Apple don't offer a big grey box option at Dell prices doesn't mean they are trying to screw people. They just aren't interested in the lower end of the market.

The main negative about the new Mini is the price, which is mostly down to the poor state of the Euro right now. A year ago it would have gone for €650 over here. Unfortunately there's probably more price bumps in store when the iMac and Mac Pro get updated.

was.deevey wrote: »

I sence a unibody plastic version could be in the pipeline for the people wanting to outlay slightly less ($100 perhaps).

The rumoured new AppleTV, yeah. But that will likely only be good for playing iTunes content.

silvine

I got a second hand Dual Core Mini 2GB RAM Mini Mac in Jan and I use it with Plex as a HTPC. The Mac is connected to a HD TV and my 6.1 amp. It can handle all HD content without any issues and performance has never been an issue.

There's an EUR30 adapter you can buy to convert the DVI cable to HDMI. I also had to get another toslink adapter for EUR25 to get digital sound and all in all the total cost came to just over EUR500.

If anyone's thinking of getting a new Mini Mac to use as a HTPC but needs to save cash I'd recommended either a) going the refurbished route or b) picking up a last gen Mini Mac.

creativedrinker

yesterday i found that there is a new xbox out after just replacing my old one... today i find out about this after getting a mac last week..... some bad luck!!!!

Sad Professor

creativedrinker wrote: »

yesterday i found that there is a new xbox out after just replacing my old one... today i find out about this after getting a mac last week..... some bad luck!!!!

Normally I would agree. But given that the price of the Mini increased by €250 in this instance, it could also be said that you were very lucky. :pac:

Digi_Tilmitt

Importing mine from Japan, getting the base model with wireless keyboard for around €650. No need to pay the ripoff republic price! Will upgrade to 8GB of RAM and an SSD in a few months.

Mikey23

Digi_Tilmitt wrote: »

Importing mine from Japan, getting the base model with wireless keyboard for around €650. No need to pay the ripoff republic price! Will upgrade to 8GB of RAM and an SSD in a few months.

Nice one! Have contacts over there?

Digi_Tilmitt

Mikey23 wrote: »

Nice one! Have contacts over there?

Yeah have a friend over there at the moment. Emigrating there myself in a few months to start work so I figure it makes more sense to get it from the Japanese store so if it breaks within the year warranty I'll be able to return it.

I think it's even cheaper again to buy it from the USA though, so if you knew anyone there it might be worth seeing if you can get them to send it on/bring it to Ireland.

Talisman

silvine wrote: »

I got a second hand Dual Core Mini 2GB RAM Mini Mac in Jan and I use it with Plex as a HTPC. The Mac is connected to a HD TV and my 6.1 amp. It can handle all HD content without any issues and performance has never been an issue.

There's an EUR30 adapter you can buy to convert the DVI cable to HDMI. I also had to get another toslink adapter for EUR25 to get digital sound and all in all the total cost came to just over EUR500.

If anyone's thinking of getting a new Mini Mac to use as a HTPC but needs to save cash I'd recommended either a) going the refurbished route or b) picking up a last gen Mini Mac.

Don't talk sense. Uncle Steve needs us to spend more money.

Dman001

Love the new look, but I think it is about €150 overpriced. You can by a Dell Zino with a BR drive for about €600 which is hard to overlook.