HI,
I bought a mid 2011 iMac 21" 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM and
1TB HD earlier this year, along with a 13" MacBook Air 128 GB SSD with 1.7 GHz
i5 processor.
Basically, I absolutely love my iMac and don't regret buying it. I only
slightly regret missing out on the new fusion drives, but not much I can do
about that now.
I will offer a few observations though.
1. I Originally got my iMac with the standard BT keyboard. However, I found
that only having the VO keys on one side of the keyboard makes keystrokes like
VO-Shift-D and VO-Command-~ really difficult and life pretty sucky in general.
So, I bought a full Apple USB keyboard and this has made the whole Mac
experience so much easier and more pleasant. I really miss it now when I'm
using my MacBook Air. So my advice to you, if you get an iMac choose the USB
keyboard instead of the BT keyboard.
2. Despite having 4GB of RAM and a quad core processor, my iMac would become
"busy" surprisingly easy. This would happen most in iTunes and Safari. I've
since upgraded to 16GB of RAM and everything works so much more smoothly. I'd
really recommend upgrading your RAM. If price is an issue, you can buy RAM
online for fairly cheap.
3. For some things, e.g. loading ML and rebooting etc, my iMac is much slower
than my MacBook Air, despite it's much greater power. This is obviously due to
the MacBook Air's SSD. So, the iMac is great, but if you can get one with an
SSD or fusion drive I'd really recommend it, as an HD is the one thing that
will really noticeably slow it down. Although, I think a RAM upgrade is
probably better value for money.
4. Despite the super sexiness of my MacBook Air, I rarely use it in comparison
to my iMac. I only use it when I really need to, e.g. when I'm in class or on
holidays or away for business etc. The reasons I prefer my iMac are:
• I love having huge amounts of storage for all my audiobooks, TV
shows, podcasts, music etc. My iTunes library definitely takes up the vast
majority of my space.
• The internal speakers and microphone are great for listening to
music, watching movies and making Facetime or Skype calls. However, I do have
external speakers when I really want to get the party started.
• I love the full USB keyboard with VO keys on both the left and
the right, proper home and end keys, and a number pad which I use for the
calculator.
• It's huge amount of RAM is great for iTunes and Safari and
GarageBand etc.
• It's a lovely feeling (and apparently looking) machine, and is
super easy to set up etc as it's all in one piece. It's also great to have so
many available ports, and the optical drive is great for importing old CDs into
iTunes and watching DVDs etc.
• I have some sight, though very little. I kinda hoped that with
the big bright iMac screen I may be able to see something of movies. But
unfortunately those days seem to be beyond me. I can't really see much on the
screen and tend to use the screen curtain much of the time. However, It is nice
to be able to get some feedback from the screen. Importantly, the screen has
been useful a couple of times when I've needed to get some sighted assistance,
either when VoiceOver has been misbehaving, or where there's something
inaccessible in an app or webpage. Also, the big screen means my girlfriend and
I can watch movies together straight from iTunes on my iMac.
Hope these observations help you in your decision.
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