Apple launched the iMac G4 in early 2002 as a replacement to the hugely successful original iMac range. Not only did Apple give the new iMac the more powerful PowerPC G4 chip, which had up until then only been used in its pro range of PowerBooks & PowerMacs, it also introduced a radical new design which was announced to the world on the cover of Time magazine.

The iMac G4’s design comprises of a dome base which houses the circular motherboard and the rest of the computers internals, and an LCD screen which is pivoted onto the base by a steel & chrome neck. This unusual design allows the screen to be moved into whatever position is most comfortable for the user and helped to earn it the nickname iLamp.

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Apple launched the eMac (education Mac) back in 2002 for the education market. It was significantly cheaper and more durable than the iMac of the time which had just been redesigned with a radical new lampshade form, comprising of a flat lcd screen pivoted on a dome base.

In contrast to the new iMac the eMac had a similar design to the original imac, a much bulkier form based around a 17 inch crt screen. Obviously the crt was the main area where Apple was able to produce the eMac much cheaper than the iMac. But although the eMac looked very different to the iMac on the outside, on the inside the eMac had the same G4 processor and graphics as the iMac. Unsurprisingly many consumers caught on to the idea of having a G4 based Mac at a price that simply hadn’t been possible before, and thankfully Apple decided to bow to consumer interest and made the eMac available to everyone.

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