Apple debuted a newly redesigned version of its Mac Mini today, with an aluminum unibody enclosure and updated internals. The new Mini lives up to its name by standing 1.4 inches tall and keeping all of its power supply within the enclosure — no unsightly bricks here, folks.

One of its biggest additions is an HDMI-out port, a first for Apple and something that will turn the Mini into a stylish small HTPC. Other specs include a  2.4GHz Core 2 Duo CPU, 320GB HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 320M chip, 802.11n wireless, 2GB DDR3 RAM, optical drive, 4 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, an SD card reader, and a Mini DisplayPort jack. If you want to beef that configuration up to use the Mini as a server, Apple also offers a Mini intended for Snow Leopard Server, with two 500GB HDD (one of those replaces the optical drive), 4GB DDR3 RAM, and a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo CPU. Users can upgrade the RAM themselves via a removable bottom.

The Mac Mini is available now starting at $699, with the Snow Leopard Server version starting at $999..

Apple Unveils All New Mac mini

CUPERTINO, California-June 15, 2010-Apple® today unveiled a completely redesigned Mac® mini, featuring up to twice the graphics performance, a new HDMI port and a new SD card slot, all in an amazingly compact aluminum enclosure. Mac mini is the world’s most energy efficient desktop and starting at $699, is the most affordable way to enjoy Mac OS® X, iLife® or Mac OS X Snow Leopard® Server.

“The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini.”

Created with the unibody construction process pioneered by Apple, the new Mac mini features a compact aluminum enclosure just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. A new integrated power supply eliminates the need for an external power adapter, reducing overall system volume by 20 percent and keeping cable clutter to a minimum. A removable panel underneath provides quick access for memory expansion. Mac mini is incredibly versatile, effortlessly connecting to existing peripherals such as mice, keyboards and digital displays, while the new HDMI output connects Mac mini to an HDTV and the new SD card slot enables easy transfer of photos and videos from a digital camera.

Inside its sleek, compact enclosure, the new Mac mini includes the fastest integrated graphics processor on the market today. With 48 processing cores, the NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor delivers up to twice the graphics performance of its predecessor, making Mac mini ideal for graphics intensive applications or visually rich games. Mac mini comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 320GB hard and 2GB of RAM for $699.

With twice the graphics performance, the new Mac mini is still the world’s most energy efficient desktop.* The new Mac mini reduces power consumption by an incredible 25 percent to less than 10W at idle, less than half the power required by competing systems. Mac mini meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieves EPEAT Gold status.** The new aluminum enclosure is highly recyclable and Mac mini uses PVC-free components and cables, contains no brominated flame retardants and features material-efficient system and packaging designs.

Mac mini comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto®, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand® which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar.

Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server fulfills all the server needs of a workgroup or small business including email, calendar, file serving, Time Machine® backup, Wiki Server, Podcast Producer and more. Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server uses less than 11W of power at idle, a fraction of the power consumed in comparison to typical entry-level tower servers.*** Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server is faster than before with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 500GB hard drives now running at 7200 rpm, 4GB of RAM and supports unlimited clients for $999.

Pricing & Availability
The new Mac mini is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $699 (US), includes:

* 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).

Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture™ 3, Final Cut® Express 4, Logic® Express, iWork® (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.

The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:

* 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
* 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
* two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 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).

Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

*Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star 5.0 database as of June 2010.

**EPEAT is an independent organization that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognized as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

***Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010.

AppleInsider is reporting massive shortages of the Mac Mini, fueling rumors that an imminent refresh of the Mini is coming soon, perhaps on June 6th. They also received a tip that the new models would feature an HDMI port in addition to a mini DisplayPort (rather than the previous generations DVI connection), making them easier than ever to connect to HDTVs. As for other internal specs, an updated Mini would most likely include the GeForce 320M GPU currently featured in Apple’s MacBook line and stick to the Core 2 Duo, keeping costs down for Apple’s budget-minded device.

The Mini was last updated in October 2009.

Read

According to numerous reports, the new and much improved Mac Mini and iMac are expected to be released tomorrow. This is entirely possible since Apple typically releases new hardware upgrades on Tuesdays. We shall await with baited breath.

Mac Mini specs:

• Ports: USB (five), FireWire 800, Mini DVI, Display port
• Graphics: Nvidia chipset
• CPU: Starts at 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• Memory: 1 or 2 GB DDR3 memory (max 4 GB)
• Storage: 120 GB hard disk (max 320 GB)

iMac specs:

• Screen size: one 20-inch model; three 24-inch models
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo (not a quad core): 2.66GHz, 2.93GHz and 3.06GHz
• Ports: Display port
• Memory: 2GB DDR3 memory in the 20-inch model; 4GB DDR3 memory in the 24-inch model (max 8 GB)

[Wired]

According to reports, the new Mac Minis will be launched at the MacWorld Expo 2009. The new Mac will supposedly feature:

• Aluminum-black enclosure
• SATA optical drive which can be swapped out for a SATA hard drive
• Nvidia chipset

Not much else can be said for the device but expect a much needed processor and video card upgrade.

[Wired.com]

According to reports, a new Mac Mini will be announced on January 5, 2009 at Macworld 2009. This popular little desktop hasn’t been refreshed since August 2007 so it’s definitely due for an upgrade.

According to Wired.com these are the possible specs:

• Similar to the MacBooks, the Mac Mini will sport a silver enclosure composed of a block of aluminum.
• Some internal parts will be PVC-free, and combined with its size and low power requirements, Apple will tout this as the “greenest Mac ever.”
• For video output, the Mac Mini will use the DRM-crippled DisplayPort for connectivity, whichApple is offering to manufacturers for a no-fee license.
• It’ll have a CD-DVD slot loader (i.e. Super Drive). There will be no Blu-ray player, because Steve Jobs believes the format is a “bag of hurt.”
• It’ll ship with 2 GB of RAM, expandable to 4 GB — up from the current 1 GB, expandable to 2 GB. (The aluminum case should make expanding RAM easier than in the original Mini.)
• It’ll ship with at least a 160-GB hard drive.
• The Mac Mini will come in two options with different processor speeds: a 2.0-GHz Core 2 Duo and a 2.3-GHz Core 2 Duo (up from 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz).
• Like the higher-end MacBook and MacBook Pro, the 2.3-GHz Mac Mini will ship with an Nvidia video card, making this higher-end model a decent gaming device.
• The 2.0G-Hz Mac Mini will ship with an Intel video card, perhaps the GMA X3100 graphics card found in the low-end, white MacBook.
• The slower model will cost $500 and the faster model will cost $700 ($100 less than the current Mac Minis) in light of the recession.