Apple has introduced a $499 Macintosh. But closer examination reveals it’s not quite as good a deal as it sounds:

The Mac Mini is a complete Macintosh system not much longer or wider than a compact disc, and shorter than an iPod Mini at only two inches. It features two versions of Apple’s G4 processor, a generation behind the G5 processor currently shipping in Power Macs and iMacs.

Apple will release two versions of the Mac Mini on Jan. 22. The least expensive model will cost $499 and offers a 1.25GHz G4 processor, 256MB of PC2700 (333MHz) DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM), a 40GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive and a Radeon 9200 graphics processor from ATI Technologies Inc. The other model costs $599 and offers a 1.42GHz processor and an 80GB hard drive.

Nor does it come with a monitor, keyboard or mouse.