As claimed by Steve Jobs during the "One More Thing Conference", this iMac is "even thinner" than the iMac RevB
Connectors are now disposed horizontally instead of vertically and the power switch is now on the left side of the machine. The Apple Remote Control can be magnetically sticked to the right side (only) of the machine. Not easy for left-handers!
The remote control really looks like an Ipod Shuffle; a bit larger but half thinner. An USB modem is available on option: it is very compact but the USB cable is very short and the phone cable is not provided anymore :(
Good news, the iMac RevC is much more quieter than the RevB. The fan is less time in action, its pitch is lower and therefore less annoying.
The quality of the screen monitor has been improved. As you can notice on the picture below, the screen of the iMac RevB (on the left side of the picture) is washed-out comparing to the RevC where the colours are bright and contrasted. The whites are more white than on the RevB where they seemed to be a bit yellowish.
Concerning the performances, the two machines are quite comparable and there is no significant improvement on the new generation, as expected considering the very small speedboost on the frequency (see Cinebench measurements below). Both machines are equipped with 1Gb RAM.
On this kind of machine, the usage of DDR2 memory as well as the PCI-express bus is not giving any improvement; the video card of the iMac 17" RevC is a X600 Pro - however, the video card of the 20" (X600 XT) should offer better results.
The scores, measured using BenchUT2003, are very similar (see the table below - in high settings)
Using Front Row with the Apple Remote is very pleasant. The range of the remote control is good but you need to aim the machine (in fact, the apple logo) to make it work. Photobooth is quite fun... five minutes! You kickly get tired of it but the kids love it!
The integrated iSight is as good as the "regular" version, maybe even better on low luminosity. The fact that it is part of the main machine forces to paly with the entire screen to be correctly aligned: it is a bit painful. But the risk to break it by misusage (e.g. let the camera fall) is reduced. For a "family machine", it is really a good point.
To sum up, it is a very good machine, well placed in terms of price, and which allows to wait with serenity until the first MacTel will be out. The evolution between the previous generation is mainly made by the addition of accessories and extra softwares instead of a performance boost: this fits perfectly with the marketing target.
[UPDATE]
After further tests, it appeares that the Apple Remote is working in any direction. Surprise, as the "Menu" button on the remote control launches Front Row, the other buttons are working directly with the applications drived by Front Row. The buttons are controlling the application in front (if compatible, e.g. iTunes, iPhoto, DVD Player or QuickTime). If no compatible application is in front, the Apple Remote controls iTunes, even if iTunes is not in front! Very convenient to control iTunes while surfing with Safari :)
