By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 07:00 AM EST (04:00 AM PST)

Apple on Tuesday updated its Mac mini desktop computer, adding an HDMI port for easy connectivity to an HDTV, as well as a built-in SD card slot for grabbing photos and videos from a digital camera.

The newly redesigned hardware is just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin. It also has a built-in power supply, which means it lacks a bulky external power brick, which Apple said means the tiny desktop Mac takes up even less space than before, with 20 percent less system volume than the previous model.

"The sleek, aluminum Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini."

The new Mac mini includes the Nvidia GeForce 320M graphics processor, which delivers up to twice the performance of its predecessor. It also comes standard with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 320GB hard drive, and 2GB of RAM at the $699 starting price.

In March, AppleInsider first reported that Apple was building its first Macs with an HDMI port for high definition video and audio output. HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a cabling standard intended for home theater, built on top of the computer-oriented DVI, or Digital Video Interface, specification.

Weeks ago, AppleInsider revealed that supply of the Mac mini was dwindling ahead of the release of new models.

Availability

Shipping today, the Mac mini is available through the Apple store, retail stores, and authorized retailers. The $699 model includes:

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
  
• 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
  
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive® (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
  
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
  
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
  
• AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  
• Gigabit Ethernet;
  
• four USB 2.0 ports;
  
• SD card slot;
  
• one FireWire® 800 port;
  
• one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
  
• HDMI to DVI video adapter;
  
• combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
  
• combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).

Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm, Apple Remote, Aperture 3, Final Cut Express 4, Logic Express, iWork (pre-installed), Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.



The Mac mini with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server, for a suggested retail price of $999 (US), includes:

• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;
  
• 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;
  
• two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm;
  
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics;
  
• AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
  
• Gigabit Ethernet;
  
• four USB 2.0 ports;
  
• SD card slot;
  
• one FireWire 800 port;
  
• one HDMI port and one Mini DisplayPort;
  
• HDMI to DVI video adapter;
  
• combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack); and
  
• combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).

Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 8GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, External SuperDrive, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Apple 24 inch LED Cinema Display and the AppleCare Protection Plan.





Environmental impact

Even with its doubled graphics performance, Apple said the new Mac mini is still the world's most energy efficient desktop, based on products listed within the EPA Energy Star Small Scale Server database as of June 2010.

The new hardware uses 25 percent less power to less than 10W at idle, which is less than half the power used by competing systems. It also meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, achieves EPEAT Gold status, has a highly recyclable aluminum enclosure, and uses PVC-free components and cables with no brominated flame retardants.



Included software

The new Mac mini comes with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system, and iLife, Apple's suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. The $999 high-end model includes Snow Leopard Server, and allows a workgroup or small business to fulfill needs such as e-mail, calendar, file serving, Time Machine backup, Wiki Server, podcast production and more.