Some of us out there still feeling full from last Thursday's Thanksgiving turkey frenzy are likely not in the mood to hear about anything skinny, but even among that crowd, we can all make an exception for the ultra-thin iMac, which Apple (News - Alert) will be putting on store shelves this Friday. Indeed, Apple promised a November release date for the revamped iMac line, and with just one day to spare, they will deliver.

The new iMac computer offers up a 21.5 inch display showing at 1920 x 1080 resolution, backed up by an Intel Core i5 processor running at 2.7 GHz and eight gigabytes of RAM (News - Alert). Additionally, it will come with a new Apple Fusion Drive (essentially a hybrid drive consisting of a part hard drive with a bit of solid state memory in the same package) in the one terabyte size, all for $1299.

The best news is that's just the base model. There's a more powerful version of the 21.5 inch model that will step the price up slightly—from $1299 to $1499—and over the course of December, two more versions will make appearances with 27 inch displays, available at $1799 and $1999.

Apple being Apple, the new iMac has plenty of cachet just for the sake of being an Apple release. But it's really not hard to look askance at this particular model and wonder just what Apple's thinking here. While there's no denying that the new iMacs have some solid style to their credit, in terms of specs, they would be roundly beaten by most any PC offering and for a significantly lower price as well.

So where's Apple looking to compete? The design itself doesn't suggest any serious improvements—sure, it's thin, and sure, it's small, but a lot of all-in-one PCs can say the same thing, and even the bigger desktop PCs don't take up much room as it stands—so it's not hard to wonder where the competitive edge here is that commands that kind of price tag (News - Alert). The style and experience is certainly uniquely Mac, but for those looking for value above all, it would seem the PC market has it sewn up on this front.

Still though, for those who love that unique Apple styling and experience, the new iMac will likely prove a welcome addition to computer desks everywhere.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.