The Cheapest Mac, More Expensive.

I'm surprised this isn't the advertising tagline of the newly, quietly redesigned Mac Mini computer.

If you go to the Apple website, you'll see a little insignificant mention of the redesign located below the huge iPhone 4 photo.

Quite frankly, it looks so sleek.

It finally has the pleasure of possessing a sturdy Aluminum unibody enclosure, meaning that the computer is actually carved from a single large block of aluminum. Also, it finally has a feature that major Apple detractors have nagged the company for: an HDMI port. Yes, Apple's been listening to those interested in a computer for a home theater and the HDMI port is major news.

Also packed in the machine is an SD card slot, and unfortunately, the DVI video adapter has gone extinct.

It still doesn't really play Blu-Ray's though, which is probably the large contradiction to the inclusion of an HDMI port.

The discs aren't quite popular internationally, as that debacle can be easily replaced by either iTunes, or for even better quality movies, torrents.

Apple touts the lack of a power brick, as well as a more accessible interior for when you decide to upgrade the internals.

Accessing this somewhat clean looking interior is only a matter of removing a sort of removable panel.

That said, the machine, while attractive aesthetically, is priced expensively at $699, up from $599. It doesn't come with a monitor, nor a mouse and keyboard like the iMac, which kind of makes the iMac an even more compelling product when you look at it another way.

Still, the price hike is somewhat justified in the loosest sense of the word because the base model already comes with even more hard drive space (320GB-500GB), better graphics (NVidia GeForce 320M), and a high amount of RAM (4GB upgradeable to 8GB, DDR3). No Core i5 or i7, just a Core 2 Duo like the Macbook white.