APPLE MAC MINI (1.83-GHZ CORE DUO): THIS APPLE PC NEEDS POLISHING

Posted by newbie Monday, July 30, 2007 0 comments

Unless Steve jobs have some tricks up his sleeve, Apples reign over the small-format PC market may be in trouble. The latest Apple Mac mini iteration, with a 1.83-GHz Core Duo processor, barely keeps ahead of the HP Slimline and Acer Aspire L310 mini PCs. The Mac mini is still the epitome of cool, but it’s a bit frugal in features (especially with its premium price).

This Mac mini is slightly faster than the 1.66GB version that I tested a year ago. Though this model isn’t a speed demon, it’s sufficient for light photo duties. Wed still like to see a TV tuner added. In addition, were not willing to overlook the minis lack of keyboard and mouse, as well as its modest hard drive capacity and system memory in the default configuration.

Although the Mac mini is still a compelling choice, Windows systems are coming on strong in the mini PC arena. Apple needs to spruce up the next version, or at the very least offer features similar to those of its competitors for the price.

Apple Mac mini (1.83-GHz Core Duo): $874