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CNET Editors' Take
June 13, 2006 10:38 PM PDT
Replacing the iBook, Apple's MacBook, the little sibling to the more powerful, feature-rich, and expensive MacBook Pro, features a 13.3-inch wide-screen and a new color choice. It corrects a handful of the iBook's shortcomings, hits a reasonable price point, and makes a great compromise between size and portability.
It's available in three models and, in a new twist, a color other than white. Borrowing a line from the iPod Nano, the MacBook now offers a black version in addition to the traditional glossy white. It'll cost you, though; the black MacBook is $200 more expensive than the white version. Aside from color, the only difference between the two models is the black MacBook's slightly larger 80GB hard drive--only a $50 upgrade from the white model's 60GB drive.
The entry-level MacBook costs $1,099 and comes with a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 512MB of memory, a 60GB hard drive, and a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive. For $1,299 you can upgrade to a 2.0GHz Core Duo chip and a SuperDrive DVD burner (read our review here). The black model costs $1,499.
Like the MacBook Pros, introduced back in February, the new MacBooks come with Apple's MagSafe quick-release power adapter to prevent fatal cord snags. All three new models also come with a built-in iSight camera and Apple's now ubiquitous Apple Remote and Front Row media management software. It's also worth noting that the new 13.3-inch display is wide screen, making these midrange laptops as movie-friendly as their MacBook Pro counterparts.
For those of you keeping track, the MacBook's introduction leaves the Power Mac G5 desktop as the only remaining Apple computer that hasn't been updated to an Intel CPU.
