Apple colours!!

Well, so much for that rumored March 24th event. Apple has gone ahead and announced its refreshed desktop line—including a new Mini—all with faster processors, bigger hard drives, and more memory. Also: Modest updates for Airport wireless base stations.

Now, if you were hoping for major design changes from the desktop iMacs and the Mini, prepared for disappointment—most of the improvements are under the hood. Same goes for the new Airport Extreme, Airport Express, and Time Capsule Wi-Fi devices, which boast a couple of additional features but look more or less the same as the previous versions.

So, here we go:

iMacs:
Ranging in size (as before) from 20 to 24 inches, the new iMacs all come with processor and graphics bumps, with the 24-inch iMac now priced the same as the old 20-inch model ($1,499). The new 20-inch iMac ($1,199) now comes with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and Nvidia 9400M graphics, while the 24-inch version delivers a 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory, a 640GB or 1TB hard drive, and Nvidia options ranging from 9400M integrated graphics to GeForce GT130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics for "ultimate performance" (as Apple puts it).

MacMINI:
Yes, it's back, and it looks like all those spy shots were real after all. The new, $599 (for starters) Mini indeed comes with five rear USB 2.0 ports, as well as a Mini DisplayPort and a mini-DVI port. Specs for the revamped mini start with a 2GHz Intel Core Duo 2 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a FireWire 800 port, and a DVD-burning SuperDrive. Apple also crows that the Mini burns less than 13 watts when it's idling, making it "the most energy efficient desktop in the world."

Mac Pro:

The beefy Mac Pro has always been the alpha male of the Mac desktop line, and the new version flexes its muscles with new Intel "Nehalem" Xeon processors, running at speeds up to 2.93GHz, along with Nvidia GeForce GT120 discrete graphics or an optional ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphic card. The new Mac Pros (starting at $2,499) also come with Mini DisplayPorts and DVI ports, five USB 2.0 ports, and four FireWire 800 ports.

Airport Extreme, Airport Express, and Time Capsule:
Apple's line of wireless base stations, along with the Wi-Fi enabled, hard drive-equipped Time Capsule (designed to work with the "Time Machine" backup feature in Mac OS X Leopard) get a couple of new features, but not much else. First up: Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, good for boosting overall wireless performance and range. Next: Guest networking, a feature that lets you create limited-access guest accounts on your protected Wi-Fi network without exposing all your private directories. The main Airport Extreme base station sells for $179, the portable Express is $99, and Time Capsule is $299 for the 500GB model, $499 for the 1TB version.