Apple revamps MacBook as 13in MacBook Pro
Same design, smaller case, shorter name
Apple today unveiled a new-look MacBook that ditches the familiar white and black plastic styling and becomes just a small-screen MacBook Pro.
The 13.3in MacBook has the same look and basic specs as the 15.4in MacBook Pro, also announced today.
That means an aluminium body, LED-backlit display set under a glossy black bezel, multi-touch glass trackpad, new mini-DisplayPort connector, side-mounted slot-loading multi-format DVD burner and Nvidia GeForce 9400M integrated chipset.
As expected, there are two models: one with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU with 3MB of L2 and 160GB hard drive. The second bumps the processor to 2.4GHz, ups the HDD to a 250GB model and adds - clearly a luxury item, this - a backlit keyboard, which really should be standard across the line.
Why? We've seen more people go 'wow' over MacBook Pro and Air backlit keyboards than any other Mac feature - it's a great marketing tool, and Apple's not using it as effectively as it could.
Back to the MacBooks: both have 2GB of 1066MHz DDR 3 memory. The two models are priced at $1299/£949 and $1599/£1149, respectively. Keen buyers can upgrade the memory to 4GB, the HDD to either a 320GB model or a 128GB SSD.
Apple described DVI, dual-DVI and VGA adaptors as optional accessories, so they're definitely no longer in the box.
Not keen on the new look? Apple also updated its old-style white MacBook with a faster processor today, too, for $999/£719.
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COMMENTS
@Sharp Edge
I like my MacBook a lot. My wife recently got one also for music composition. That sharp edge bugged me too though. I fixed it with a de-burring tool in about 10 seconds. If you don't have one of those, a fine file or some sand paper would work just fine too.
Still, I'm not sure why they put it there in the first place.
Rip-off Britain
The low-end white plastic MacBooks went down in price by $100, but up in price by £20. When did the exchange rate reach -5?
I could forgive the "no Firewire"...
...if the MacBook had a card slot that let us plug in new ports.
The backlit option is appealing, but given its price, it would make far more sense to steup up to a 15.4-inch MacBook Pro.
No blu ray
Blu ray is not just a video format. 50g of data isn't to be sniffed at.
Crikey, how the world has changed.
It wasn't that long ago that no serious techie would admit to using a Mac. Now we've got apparently normal people happily admitting to driving BMWs!
A line needs to be drawn somewhere people. This way lies a world in which drinking shandy and shagging fat, sweaty lasses is socially acceptable.
