As predicted, Apple announced the iMac G5 this morning. Also as predicted (by the rumor sites), you could easily mistake this sleek computer for a display. Pricing runs from $1,299 for a 17" 1.6GHz version to $1,899 for the 20" 1.8GHz version.

Technical specs are pretty nice (although quite a bit less than its pricey big brother) with the following:

• 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz G5 CPU
• Combo(CD-RW/DVD) or Super (CD/DVD-RW) drive
• SATA storage (80GB-160GB)
• Firewire 400, USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports
• 10/100 Ethernet
• Optional modem
• 256MB of DDR400 RAM (upgradable to 2GB with 1GB DIMMS)
• Built in stereo speakers and microphone
• Support for Airport Extreme and Bluetooth

Apple has inside and outside pictures of it at the iMac G5 site.

If you're upgrading from the most recent iMac, you'll be looking at about a 50% increase in computational speed now, with a bit more to come in the Tiger timeframe when the OS is 64-bit native. Graphics speed (thanks to an upgraded 8X AGP video controller) is about 100% faster.

As a cute bonus, you can use a VESA mounting bracket to mount it on the wall or on a swing-arm.