A few days ago, Apple launched the $899 iMac without much fanfare. While we know that the inexpensive iMac is marketed for the education market, we can't help but think that we're looking at an affordable stripped down version of Apple's 17-inch consumer offering. But before we get too caught up with the idea of a really cheap Mac for consumers, AppleInsider has revealed some of the internal component changes that make the iMac grounded at $899.   

As a backgrounder, the education market-bound iMac replaces the now-defunct eMac line of computers that featured CRT displays. To cut down on costs, Apple had a 17-inch iMac Core duo undergo some internal transplant - substituting with lower cost components. As a result, about $400 were shaved off the $1299 consumer model. So, ATI Radeon X1600 is replaced by Intel's integrated GMA 950 graphics chip. The 160GB hard disk was forced to go on diet to reach the 80GB capacity. The ho-hum 24x Combo drive was also plugged into the system to replace the double layer SuperDrive.

Apple got rid of Bluetooth wireless technology by deciding not to install Bluetooth antennas inside the chassis. This just means that the education market would be forced to get an external USB Bluetooth module should the need arise. That's going to set back the education market a few more grand just to get the technology.

We wouldn't expect the educational iMac to have some sort of edge of the consumer model, but it appears that the former sports at least one I/O-related enhancement. It has a combination of analog/optical analog audio line, which is an added treat, as the consumer model only has analog-only line-in jack. Now, who's turning green with envy?

But then again there are some issues that Apple needs to work on. First off, the first batch of iMacs to roll off Apple's assembly line will "fail to sync properly with a television screen if they are booted from a Windows XP partition." This is because the iMac detects TVs as a VGA display. There's currently no workaround for this. Also, booting from (you guessed it) XP, the iMac registers itself as a portable computer. This means that it uses power settings that are usually reserved for laptops running on battery. As with the first issue, there's no solution to the problem as of yet. On another issue, Boot Camp will fail to install if the Apple Mighty Mouse is plugged into one of the USB ports at the rear of the computer. Better use another mouse to get the Boot Camp started.

And as if those weren't enough trouble, altering the iMac's brightness setting without adjusting other video settings will corrupt the PRAM. This could cause the computer to restart at a later date with a blank video screen. Users are advised to reset the iMac's PRAM, or better yet, don't mess with the brightness setting.