Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBooks - now firmly believed to ship under the MacBook brand - may see the company once again offer the product in a range of coloured cases not seen now for more than four years.

It's highly likely that the MacBook will debut in shiny white, but sources cited by AppleInsider suggest the machines may come in other hues too.

Apple's flirtation with colour began in May 1998 when it launched the original iMac. At the time it was only available in blue and white, but the following January, Apple launched a range of colours, and subsequent versions of the all-in-one, CRT-equipped computer sported new shades, until Apple introduced the all-white LCD model in January 2002.

So did the original iBook, announced in September 1999 and which originally shipped in curvaceous blue-and-white and orange-and-white cases. The current white-only, angular version was introduced in May 2001.

The time may have come for a return to coloured cases. We'd nominate shiny black, the better to match the current iPod colour scheme. Interestingly, it has been suggested in the past that Apple has considered a black iBook/MacBook, but nothing appears to have come of it until now.

Apple may think it's time for a return to colours as a way of increasing consumer interest, particularly given expectations of slowdown in the PC market later this year. Other reports point to a May debut for the MacBook, so we shall know soon enough. ®