"Eat that, Microsoft!" said Jonathan 'Jony' Ive yesterday at the Apple press conference. Well, perhaps not, but he did talk at enormous length about the manufacturing process he masterminded for the MacBook Air, which he's brought over to this new MacBook.
It enables the keyboard bit of the laptop to be made out of one piece of aluminium (yes, that's right, it's aluminium, not aluminum). Why does this matter? It makes the laptop both thin and strong, apparently. And heavy too, judging by the one we've got in the office at the moment.
Stay tuned for a review of that soon, but until then, here's Michelle Thatcher from our American uber-site to give us a tour of the new laptop. Ignore the US pricing: the rest of the info is good for the UK. -Jason Jenkins
Hi I'm Rory Reid for CNET UK and right now I am lucky enough to be fondling the brand new 2008 version of the Apple MacBook.
The good thing about the new MacBook is that there are so many improvements over the previous model. First of all, this guy has an aluminium casing called a "unibody", which has been fashioned from a single block of aluminium. Not only does it look rally nice, but from the minute you get it out of the box, you'll notice that it feels really sturdy and has none of the flexing you get on some ordinary laptops. And interestingly -- the extra metal doesn't add any weight -- the new MacBook is actually 100g lighter than the old model.
If we take a look around the machine, we can see that -- as on previous models -- there's a slot-loading DVD drive on the right, but all the ports are positioned on the left hand side. There's the familiar MagSafe power connector, which disconnects easily to stop you dragging the entire laptop off the desk, there's an Ethernet port, a couple of USBs, a Mini DisplayPort video output, a couple of audio ports and -- interestingly -- a side-mounted battery-level indicator.
One of the things Apple does best is human-computer interaction, and this new MacBook is a real testament to that. First of all, the keyboard has isolated keys -- that means all the keys are separated, which makes it easier to touch-type and reduces the likelihood of mistakes. It's also backlit so you can see what you're doing in the dark. We also like the fact that the secondary functions found on the F function keys, f1, f2, etc., have been given priority. You no longer have to press a keyboard combination to adjust the screen brightness or volume -- just hit one key and you're done.
Better still, the new mouse trackpad is now 39 per cent bigger than on previous MacBooks. Its surface is also now made from glass, so it feels fantastically smooth when you drag your finger across it. If you have a closer look, you can see there are no selector buttons. Instead, the entire trackpad can be used as a button. It responds to simple taps, but if you press a little harder, you'll see the whole thing moves up and down like a giant mouse button. It takes a bit of getting used to, but we think it's a great touch.
Another great touch is the fact the new MacBook uses an advanced graphis processor. It now uses an Nvidia integrated graphics, which provides much better graphics performance than the Intel integrated graphics you see on most laptops.
Unfortunately, there are a few problems with the MacBook. Firstly, it's pretty expensive, and you don't get very a generous helping of components for your money. Also, the screen is way too reflective, it's almost impossible to use this thing unless you're in perfectly diffuse lighting. Then there's the fact that no-one, but no-one has a cable for the Mini DisplayPort adaptor on the side -- you'll have to buy one from the Apple store -- and they're pretty pricey.
Aside from that, we think it's a pretty stunning machine.
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