Apple has introduced the long-awaited Intel-based MacBook laptop - in black and white casings. It has also dropped the 1.83GHz 15.4in MacBook Pro and made the high-end 2.16GHz 15.4in machine a standard configuration - and it cut their prices.

The new MacBooks - no red version, alas - are available with either 1.83GHz or 2GHz dual-core Core Duo processors. Like the 15.4in MacBook Pros, they ship with 667MHz DDR 2 SDRAM and either 60GB or 80GB of Serai ATA hard drive storage. As expected they sport a 13.3in 1,280 x 800 resolution display and a built-in webcam.

Incidentally, the memory's supplied as two SO-DIMMs, so upgraders will need to ditch one or both if they want to add more RAM.

Unlike their higher-end siblings, the consumer-oriented machines lack a dedicated graphics chip - they fall back on the Intel chipset's integrated GMA950 graphics engine and use a portion of system memory for the frame buffer. At 1.08in, they're slightly thicker than the MacBook Pro, too.

Both MacBooks ship with a pair of USB ports, one FireWire 400 port and a Mini DVI connector to feed an external display through an adaptor. Bluetooth 2.0 is standard, as 802.11g Wi-Fi. Apple's bundling a remote control too, for use with Mac OS X's Front Row media playback interface. The new machines use Apple's new MagSafe power connector.

The launch was accompanied by the removal of the old PowerPC-based iBooks from the online AppleStore - and of the 12in PowerBook G4, which the new machines are also intended to replace.

Three MacBooks are available: two white and one black model. The whites run at 1.83GHz and 2GHz, both with 60GB HDDs; the black at 2GHz with an 80GB hard drive. All three ship with 512MB of memory. The low-end machine has a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, the others ship with a DVD±R/RW unit. The three MacBooks are priced at £749/$1,099, £899/$1,299 and £1,029/$1,499.

The 2GHz MacBook Pro now costs £1,399/$1,999, £30 less than the old 1.83GHz model. The 2.16GHz machine costs £1,699/$2,499. The 17in MacBook Pro retails for £1,899/$2,799. ®