You would have thought that Apple would be content with dominating the day's tech news with the iPhone 4 pre-orders. Not so it seems, as it has chosen today to also announce the launch of a brand spanking new Mac mini.

The updated mini is, according to Apple, "the world’s most energy efficient desktop".. It features, deep breath...Mac OS X Snow Leopard, an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, a slot-load 8X optical DVD drive, an Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics card, AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking, Bluetooth 2.1, four USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, a FireWire 800 port and a HDMI port...exhale.

There's also a server version running Snow Leopard Server which has a bit more oomph. This one's got a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache, 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB and two 500GB Serial ATA hard drives running at 7200 rpm.

The Mac Mini measures 7.7 inches square and is just 1.4 inches high. There's also an integrated power supply meaning you don't need an external power adaptor and you won't have an extra cable to worry about.

“The sleek, aluminium Mac mini packs great features, versatility and value into an elegant, amazingly compact design,” said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. "With twice the graphics performance, HDMI support and industry-leading energy efficiency, customers are going to love the new Mac mini.”

The Mac mini is available now on the Apple Store online (if you can get it to load) and will cost you £649. The Snow Leopard Server edition is £929.

Are you a Mac mini user? Will you be upgrading to the new edition? Or, if you're a PC user, will the new Mac mini tempt you over to the dark side? Let us know the usual way.