San Jose, CA (AHN) - Tech magnate Apple Inc. was served a class-action lawsuit Monday that accused the company of deceptive marketing of its 20-inch iMac computer.

According to the plaintiffs, Apple intentionally exaggerated on the capabilities of the monitor, which it said could display "millions of colors". The lawsuit stated that the monitors could actually only display 262,144 colors.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in California, also accused Apple of intentionally concealing the fact that the 20-inch iMac was actually inferior compared to older models, as well as the 24-inch iMac, which is actually capable of a 16,777,216-color display.

Brian Kabateck, managing partner of the law firm Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP, said that Apple was "duping its customers into thinking they're buying 'new and improved' when in fact they're getting stuck with 'new and inferior'."

"Beneath Apple's 'good guy' image' is a corporation that takes advantage of its customers," said Kabatek, as quoted by Ars Technica. "Our goal is to help those customers who were deceived and make sure Apple tells the truth in the future."

The lawsuit continued to say that despite Apple's claims that the new 20-inch and 24-inch iMacs have almost the same capabilities, the two are actually "radically different technology."

While the wider 24-inch LCD screen boasts of superior features, the 20-inch actually has inferior, and least-expensive technology for LCDs, according to InformationWeek. The smaller screen reportedly has less color accuracy and depth, among other things.

Apple declined to comment, saying that it does not issue statements regarding pending cases.