Apple MacBook: a first look
Published: 16 Oct 2008
The latest MacBook refresh sees Apple's mainstream notebook get a complete design overhaul. Replacing the white or black plastic chassis is an aluminium body built from a single piece of metal. Gone is the mouse button, consumed by a large glass trackpad with multi-touch gesture support. The screen stays at 13.3in., but gets LED backlighting and a piece of glass that runs from edge to edge of the notebook. A mini DisplayPort makes an appearance too, but it kicks the system's mini FireWire port into touch in the process.
Apple's new aluminium 'unibody' MacBook starts at £949 (inc. VAT; £807.66 ex. VAT). The old white 13in. MacBook drops in price to £718.99 (inc. VAT; £611.91 ex. VAT).
Less has changed on the inside. The biggest change is the move from the Intel GM965 chipset and integrated GMA X3100 graphics to an Nvidia chipset and integrated GeForce 9400M graphics, which Apple CEO Steve Jobs says is up to five times as fast as the old Intel graphics. The default memory complement stays at 2GB, but you trade 667MHz DDR2 memory for faster 1066MHz DDR3 memory. You can also upgrade to 4GB of RAM for £100.
Moving in the opposite direction, however, is the CPU offering on the low-end model. The £949 (inc. VAT) MacBook features a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, down from the 2.4GHz chip in the previous model. The high-end £1,149 (inc. VAT) MacBook features a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo chip like its older counterpart. Both new models feature a faster 1,066MHz frontside bus, up from 800MHz on the old MacBooks.
The hard-drive offerings stay the same: 160GB on the lower-end model and 250GB on the higher-end model. But new upgrades will give you a 320GB drive for £140 or a 128GB solid-state drive for £490.
Meanwhile, the black MacBook has gone the way of the Newton, while the old entry-level white MacBook is still kicking around, with a price cut down to £718.99 (inc. VAT).
Many may bemoan the absence of the FireWire port, while the step back with the CPU on the £949 model is a strange move, even if the DDR3 memory and Nvidia graphics might make up for it.
Related articles
Apple MacBook Pro: a first look
Preview Apple's 15in. MacBook Pro has received a design overhaul and now includes the unibody chassis built from a single piece of aluminium, a multi-touch glass trackpad, a new black screen bezel and black keys. [16 Oct 2008]
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