Amidst all the iPhone 4G pre-order hoopla, Apple has quietly snuck in an update to the Mac Mini. And it’s not a spit and polish job, it seems quite a decent update. The two specifications on offer are:

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM
320 GB hard drive
$699

or the “server class” Mac Mini:

2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB RAM
Dual 500 GB hard drive
$999

Both models have been upgraded to the NVIDIA Geforce 320M integrated graphics chips, same as the MacBook  and MacBook Pro.

And it’s not just the Specs that have been upgraded either, the enclosure itself is now a unibody aluminum construction, same as the MacBook Pro. Importantly, the Mac Mini is now the first Mac ever to include a bult-in HDMI port. The Mac Mini will also include an SD card slot at the back of the sleek aluminum enclosure.

Apple has also addressed the well-known difficulty of upgrading the Mac Mini’s RAM. There’s now a removable twist-off panel on the Mac Mini’s bottom that allows for easy access to the Mini’s RAM slots. We’re not sure yet if the hard drive will be as easy to upgrade, but at the very least, a RAM upgrade looks like it’ll take less than a minute with this new model.

The Mac Mini is available now.