Ben Margot/AP Steve Jobs introduces four new colors to the iMac line of computers

Apple, which said it had sold 800,000 iMacs since they were introduced in August, also announced it was pricing the new iMacs $100 lower at $1,199 to attract more buyers, and the original models at $1,049, down from $1,299.

Seeking to build on the momentum of its popular turquoise-colored, clam shell-shaped iMac, Apple said it would now make the computer available in colors from blueberry to grape, tangerine, lime and strawberry.

Although these changes were accompanied by a faster processor and other improvements beneath the translucent plastic that has become a trademark of a resurgent Apple, the color itself was promoted as the biggest selling point.

"We would ask our consumers about what they wanted in a disk drive or a processor and they would come back and ask, 'But can I get it in green?"' Steve Jobs, interim chief executive officer of Apple said in an interview after introducing the new product.

"The No. 1 question we got was, 'Can't you make it in more colors?"'

The new iMac launch brought splash of color to the MacWorld show in San Francisco, where crowds of Macintosh faithful crowded the exhibit floor to get a look at the new hues and debate some uncharacteristically low-tech matters, like the merits of mixing a blueberry display with a tangerine mouse.

Jobs confessed that developing multicolored casings had proven to be one of the company's most technically challenging problems, requiring a new expertise in "the organic chemistry of plastic."

Apple also noted the iMac was generating strong sales from first time buyers eager to get on the Internet.

Many of those buyers — some 32 percent — were first time computer owners. Another 13 percent comprised a different coveted consumer group — converts of the so-called Wintel computers, running on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system and Intel Corp. processors.

"That means 45 percent of the people who are buying iMacs are new to the Macintosh platform," Jobs said. "I'd like to see it go even higher."

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple also introduced a new line of its Power Macintosh G3 professional desktop computers, aimed at graphic designers and home users with a thirst for graphics-heavy power.

The new Power Macs come with PowerPC processors using copper technology and running at speeds up to 400 megahertz. The new Power Macs start at a suggested retail price of $1,599 and, echoing the iMac, come housed in a translucent minitower that also feature design enhancements that make it easy to transport and install.

But if design remains a key component of an Apple computer, an increasingly important factor is how easily it connects to the Internet.

As he spouted off a list of impressive statistics about the iMac, Jobs said that 66 percent of iMac buyers went online the very same day they purchased their computers. For 44 percent of the new buyers, setting up an Internet connection took less than 15 minutes. For 74 percent, it was less than an hour.

Jobs, who said he would like for every user to be able to set up in less than 15 minutes, said Apple would continue to focus on ways to simplify the Internet experience.

He said the company's Sherlock search engine, which actually scans through and compiles the results of other search services, was the search engine of choice for 8 percent of iMac users, tied for fourth place with Netscape.

Other launches at the Macworld show included the new Apple operating system for so-called server computers that manage networks, Mac OS X Server, for Internet publishing, Web applications development, print publishing and education customers.