New Apple iMac available 30 November, 27-inch in December

Apple's spangly new 21.5-inch iMac will be available later this week in stores or online, the Californian company says. The enormous 27-inch version will "begin shipping in December".

The 21.5-inch model starts at a hefty £1,099, for which you'll get a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce GT 640M graphics card. For £1,249, you'll benefit from a nippier 2.9GHz processor and a GT 650M graphics card.

Apple states it will be available from 30 November, so you'll need to head into one of its official stores to get it on that day. If you order it online, you'll have to deal with delivery times, which tend to be only a couple of days if they're in stock.

The 27-inch model, meanwhile, starts at the princely sum of £1,499, for which you'll get a 2.9GHz Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a more burly Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M graphics card. The top model offers a 3.2GHz chip and a GTX 675MX graphics card, but you'll be shelling out £1,699 for the extra wallop. It'll be ready "in December", although a specific day isn't yet available.

The new models were unveiled in October along with the iPad mini, but there's been an uncharacteristically long wait for them to hit the shelves. That delay is apparently due to the new welding technique Apple has used to create the new super-slim tear-drop style design. It could be worse though; some reports feared they might be delayed until next year.

We'll be tearing deep into the new iMac when we get one in for a full review, so make sure to stay tuned to see just what they're capable of. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on the new iMacs in the comments below, or over on our immaculate Facebook page.