Apple offers iMac for school purchases

Apple has announced a new version of its iMac computer with scaled-down specifications and a lowered price, aimed at educational institutions. It has the same 21.5-inch display as the consumer version but runs a less-expensive dual-core Intel i3 processor instead of a quad-core Intel Core i5, comes with 4 gigabytes of RAM instead of 8 gigabytes and features a 500 gigabyte hard drive instead of 1 terabyte unit, PC Magazine reported Wednesday. The price of $1,099 is $200 less than that of the entry-level consumer iMac. Apple first offered less expensive iMac models to budget-constrained schools a year ago, and the new version, like its predecessor, can only be purchased by learning institutions. Apple said it would not be available to individual students or faculty through Apple's existing educational discount program.