Cheaper iMac For Educational Institutions Skimps On Specs, Offers $200 Discount

Apple has released their new iMac for educational institutions the first of their iMac desktop devices to be sold for under$1000 ($999).

The desktop is only available to educational facilities (you have to prove it before you can buy the units) and while they are slightly cheaper than other Apple iMac models, the technology offered is also downgraded.

For example, the education-only iMac features a 3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor, while the standard $1199 iMac offers a 2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor.

Apple also pushed down the amount of memory on the educational device from 4GB (two 2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM on the standard device to 2GB (one 2GB) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM. Educational facilities will also see hard drive space cut in half from 500GB to 250GB.

Graphic memory was also cut in half with the education-only device offering the same AMD Radeon HD 6750M but with only 256MB (instead of 512MB)

The educational version of the iMac is also missing bluetooth support and the company’s new Thunderbolt port, although at this time very few devices actually support Thunderbolt which makes that option a less important selling point.

While the iMac for educational facilities may not be on par with even the company’s standard retail units, a savings of $200 per unit could mean huge savings for educational facilities that require hundreds of desktops for their schools and other facilities.

Would you be willing to purchase the iMac educational version if it were made available to the general buying public or do you require more from your Apple devices?