People have had their chances to put their grubby hands on those "incredible" iMacs that got released a few weeks ago, and the results are in. And they're great, apparently. First up, MacRumors has a collection of a few sets of benchmarks on the new machines, and the Core i7 processor (a $200 upgrade from the still very powerful Core i5) especially kicks up the speed to a place where it's competing with even the Mac Pro. In fact, in the second comparison, when pitted up against the single CPU Mac Pro, the iMac is virtually identical. Not only is it slightly cheaper depending on options, but you get that nice monitor for free.

Electronista has a much more qualitative analysis, but they still love the new machine. Their "biggest" problem (aside from the usual complaints about the glossy screen and a lack of easy-to-reach ports) seems to be just the size of it. The 27" iMac is a big machine no matter how thin it gets. But they agree: with the i7 in there and all of the extra options, the iMac is a monster, matching up to the Mac Pros sitting in the lower atmosphere.

Good stuff. I'm not personally in the market for a new computer, but man -- if I was ready to spend $2000 on a quality machine, it's tough to consider anything else a better purchase than the new iMac.

UPDATE: Chart graphic is from Timon Royer, we regret the omission.

The Associated Press' Jessica Mintz notes that Apple increased its payroll by 48 percent this fiscal year, with most of the new employees starting at Apple retail stores.

The data came from Apple's 10-K filing, an annual financial document required by law for public companies (Apple has not produced a 'glossy' annual report in several years). A direct link to the PDF is available here. Steve noted yesterday morning that Apple reported sales of $3.3 billion via the iTunes store in the filing.

Apple employed 32,000 full-time employees, and 3,100 temps and contractors as of September 27, up from 21,600 and 2,100 (respectively) a year ago. Of the 11,400 new additions, 8,000 went to Apple's retail segment, while the others started elsewhere in the organization.

The filing also said that Apple spent 40 percent more on research and development this year, compared to 2007: $1.1 billion. Electronista also notes that Steve Jobs was paid $189,000 for the use of his personal jet, a gift from Apple several years ago.

Rogers Wireless sold 255,000 iPhones since their introduction in July, and added 191,000 new customers, according to Electronista.

Desjardins Securities analyst Joseph MacKay estimates that Rogers will have to absorb subsidies for all those new customers -- two out of five who bought the iPhone -- adding about C$90 million in costs for the quarter. Over the three-year contract period, however, MacKay figures Rogers will do much better, as the average monthly bill for Rogers customers will be about C$100 (thanks to higher costs for iPhone plans), up from C$74 now.

Since Rogers is the only major GSM carrier in Canada, it said a third of its customers moved from another carrier, or had no mobile service before. Both Bell Canada and Telus had lower new subscriber numbers for the quarter.

Like Verizon in the United States, Bell Canada and Telus are planning on upgrading their networks to LTE, a fourth-generation mobile phone standard that AT&T will also support.

[Via AppleInsider.]

Apple Senior Manager Wei-han Lien let slip that teams acquired with the purchase of PA Semi are working on an ARM-based processor for the iPhone, and possibly other devices, according to The New York Times.

While not a huge surprise, as Steve himself said that's what the former PA Semi staff was working on, the question was still "what kind of processor?"

ARM variants can be customized to meet the needs of very specific devices, including supporting the multi-touch screen, or QuickTime playback. Electronista suggests that this supports earlier hints that Apple licensed the architecture from ARM under a secretive arrangement in late June.

Lien updated a section of his LinkedIn profile to describe what he was working on. (The NYT has a screenshot.) Oops. The profile, as you might expect, has been changed.