Apple Unveils MacBook

Apple Computers MacBook is back in black.

The Cupertino, Calif., computer maker launched the MacBook, a widely expected replacement for its iBook G4 portable computer and a lower-priced companion to its MacBook Pro, on May 16.

The MacBook, which appears to take design cues from Apples iPod music player, is the latest Mac to adopt Intel processors. Apple CEO Steve Jobs surprised many by revealing in June 2005 that the company would migrate its Macintosh lines from Power PC processors to Intel chips, starting in 2006. It announced its first Intel-based machines, the MacBook Pro portable and the iMac, in January 2006.

/zimages/4/28571.gifClick hereto read more about Apples January introduction of Intel-based Macs.

Apple will offer three MacBooks models, starting at $1,099, at first. They will combine a 13.3-inch, 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution screen with Intels dual-core Core Duo processor. Only one of the three—the top-of-the-line model—will be available in black.

A white-colored MacBook, priced at $1,099, will come with a 1.83GHz Core Duo, 512MB of RAM, a 60GB hard drive and a slot-load CD-RW/DVD-ROM combination drive.

Choosing a white-colored $1,299 model versus the $1,099 model allows a buyer to gain a 2GHz Core Duo chip and a slot-load drive that can read and write both DVD and CD discs.

Apples $1,499 MacBook model will come in a black case, which looks similar to its black iPod Nano music player. The black MacBook will offer a 2GHz Core Duo, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive and the slot-load DVD/CD burner drive.

Buyers can upgrade each of the three models, using Apples online store, adding extra memory or larger hard drives, for example.

Apple fitted all of the MacBooks with its iSight camera, which is built in along with its wireless Airport Extreme, based on the 802.11g standard. The company also included its Front Row multimedia interface and a remote control and Mac OS X 10.4.6, otherwise known as Tiger, with the machines.

The new MacBooks will rely on Intels Media Accelerator 950, a graphics engine built into their chip sets, Apple said in a statement. The chip set, a key piece of a computer, handles the movement of data internally.

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