EMac

Overview

Apple Computer introduced the eMac in April 2002 as a low-cost alternative to the new LCD iMac. It was originally intended exclusively for education buyers, but the demand for it was so great that it was made available to the general public one month later.

The eMac featured a 17-inch flat CRT monitor, a Freescale PowerPC G4 processor running at 700 or 800 MHz, NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics, and built-in 18-watt stereo speakers. The public models were priced at $1,099 and $1,499, filling the price gap between the $799 old iMac and the $1499 new LCD iMac. Apple discontinued the old iMac line in March 2003 but did not fill the "cheap" price point until May 2003, when the eMac line was updated and its price brought down to old-iMac levels. That revision brought the processor speed to 800 MHz and 1 GHz and replaced the GeForce2 with an ATI Technologies Radeon 7500 graphics system.

The eMac was further improved in October 2003, when the 800 MHz model was eliminated and the 1 GHz model brought down to its price. A more expensive 1 GHz model that included the Apple SuperDrive was also made cheaper. This model was notable for being one of the least expensive brand-name computers at the time that could burn DVDs.The next revision to the eMac line came in April 2004, with DDR SDRAM, a faster CPU running at 1.25 GHz, and a better ATI graphics system. The most recent revision came in May 2005, with an even faster CPU running at 1.42 GHz, improved graphics and larger standard hard disks. To Apple's detriment, a number of eMac machines have suffered from what was known as "Raster Shift", a strange phenomenon where the bottom third or half of the screen goes black, with the rest of image shifting upward and out of the top boundary of the display. Serious static also accompanies the problem, rendering the viewable part of the screen virtually useless. In response to the problem, Apple offered a solution which involved the replacement of a video cable inside the eMac's case. In early 2006, users discovered the motherboards of eMac manufactured in early to mid 2004 were alleged to be plagued with bad capacitors.http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=431517&tstart=0 After 6 months of eMacs developing this problem, Apple introduced a [Repair Program] for the model(s) affected.

As of October 12, 2005, Apple once again restricted sales of the eMac to educational institutions and returned to its "E is for Education" marketing scheme that had been attached to the product from the original restriction to education buyers. The company re-implemented this restrictive measure for unspecified reasons. Some analysts believe Apple wanted to force the general public to purchase the higher margin Mac mini or iMac. However, the eMac is still available for sale to the general public through some third-party retailer websites.

On July 5, 2006, an "educational configuration" of the iMac Core Duo was introduced, discontinuing and replacing the eMac. The new iMac has a Combo drive rather than a SuperDrive and a smaller hard disk of 80 GB.

Specifications

Original version (introduced

• Released to consumer market 4 June 2002
• 700 or 800 MHz G4 processor
• 100 MHz system bus
• 128 or 256 MB PC100 SDRAM (can be upgraded to a maximum of 1 GB SDRAM)
• NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 3D AGP 2X graphics
• 17-inch flat CRT display
• Built-in 18-watt stereo speakers
• CD-ROM or Combo drive (CD burner that can read DVDs), later options included SuperDrive
• 40 GB hard disk drive
• AirPort Ready

First revision (introduced

• 800 MHz or 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor
• 133 MHz system bus
• 128 or 256 MB PC133 SDRAM (can be upgraded to a maximum of 1 GB SDRAM)
• ATI Radeon 7500 AGP 4x (32 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM)
• 17-inch flat CRT display
• Built-in 18-watt stereo speakers
• CD-ROM, Combo Drive (CD burner that can read DVDs) or SuperDrive (2x, CD and DVD burner)
• 40, 60 or 80 GB hard disk drives
• AirPort Extreme Ready

Second revision (introduced

• 1.25 GHz G4 processor
• 167 MHz system bus
• 256 MB DDR SDRAM (can be upgraded to a maximum of 2 GB DDR SDRAM)
• ATI Radeon 9200 graphics (32 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM)
• 17-inch flat CRT display
• Built-in 16-watt stereo speakers
• Combo drive (CD burner that can read DVDs) or SuperDrive (4x, CD and DVD burner)
• 40, 80, or 160 GB hard disk drives
• Built-in USB 2.0 and Firewire ports
• AirPort Extreme Ready
• The hard drive on the Combo Drive model can be upgraded to 80 GB, and the hard drive on the SuperDrive model can be upgraded to 160 GB.

Third revision (introduced

• 1.42 GHz G4 processor
• 167 MHz system bus
• 256 MB or 512 MB DDR SDRAM (can be upgraded to a maximum of 2 GB DDR SDRAM)
• ATI Radeon 9600 graphics (64 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM)
• 17-inch flat CRT display
• Built-in 18-watt stereo speakers
• CD-ROM drive, Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW), or SuperDrive (16x,DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• 80 or 160 GB hard disk drives
• Built-in USB 2.0 and Firewire ports
• AirPort Extreme Ready
• Bluetooth
• Built-in microphone
• External Display Port
• Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger

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References

External links

• [eMac Developer Note]
• [Everymac Specs Archive]
• [Apple Introduces low cost Education Configuration for 17-inch iMac]]

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