Apple is attempting to make some headway in the education market with a
replacement for its aging eMac and a new promotional offer aimed at college
students. To replace the eMac,
the company has introduced a $899 flavor of its wide-screen 17" iMac for
education customers only. This iMac sports the same 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo
processor and 512 MB of RAM as the $1,299 consumer version, but with an 80 GB
hard drive instead of 160 GB, and Intel GMA 950 graphics instead of the ATI
Radeon X1600. Bluetooth support is also out, and the Apple Remote is only
offered as an option for an extra $26. The new $899 iMac is available to all
qualifying education customers, but Apple has also thrown in a promotional offer
to attract college students in particular. Students who order a MacBook, MacBook
Pro, PowerMac G5, or iMac-including the new $899 version-can sign up (PDF) for a
mail-in rebate of up to $179 on any new iPod.