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Apple beefs up MacBook laptops, trims prices
Apple has unveiled a revamped line of Macintosh laptop computers made leaner, slicker, faster and a bit more affordable. Along with showing off new MacBook models heading for store shelves, Apple cut the price of the original version to 999 dollars. The price drop marked the first time Apple is selling a laptop computer for less than a thousand dollars. "We sell a ton of these MacBooks and people love it," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday as he announced that 100 dollars is being trimmed from the model's price tag. Enhanced MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models boasted improved features in Apple's historic price range of 1,200 to 2,500 dollars. Key upgrades to Macintosh laptop models included custom-designed graphics processors by NVIDIA to enhance computer game play and video viewing, as well as glass touch-pads that allow finger gesture controls. Before fielding questions from reporters gathered for the event at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, Jobs flashed "110/70" on a screen behind the stage. "This is Steve's blood pressure," Jobs said in a joking reference to a bogus blogger report that wrongly claimed he had suffered a heart attack. "This is all we are going to talk about Steve's health today. If you want to see that number go higher, just ask some more questions." A gaunt looking Jobs turned portions of the presentation over to other Apple executives in what may have been an effort to show the company's fortunes don't rise or fall with him alone. "After the heart attack scare the market is still nervous there is no heir apparent at Apple," Enderle said, adding that he suspects Jobs, who was treated for pancreatic cancer in 2004, is undergoing chemo-therapy. Among the most compelling new offerings is a MacBook built with an aluminium casing, a corner-to-corner glass LED screen, and a glass trackpad with multi-touch control priced at 1,200 dollars.
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