Apple Refreshes the MacBook Line - Page 2

Page 2 of 2

[cob:Pull_Quote]"As proud as we are of what we've put in these new MacBooks, we're just as proud of the things we left out," Jobs said.

The new MacBooks have been given an EPEAT Gold rating from the Environmental Protection Agency for being environmentally friendly, the company said. In addition, far fewer parts also mean fewer points of failure and less breakage.

"In many ways, I think it is more beautiful internally than externally, and that just shows our care in design," Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of design at Apple, said in a video shown during today's presentation.

Apple's changes are across the board. It has eliminated the mouse button on its trackpad, replacing it with a larger, glass trackpad not unlike the iPhone surface. Users can resize and reshape using multiple fingers, just like they do with Apple's popular mobile phone.

The notebooks' screens are now end-to-end in the case, so the 15.4-inch notebook lid is a full 15.4 inches. Open the lid and it's all screen. Additionally, the LED screen needs no warm-up, unlike the display used on so many notebooks.

After his presentation, Jobs held a question-and-answer session with Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, and Tim Cook, chief operating officer.

Source: Reuters

To kick things off, Jobs, ever the comedian, addressed the false CNN report that he'd suffered a heart attack with a slide that read "110/70 – Steve's blood pressure."

"That's all we're going to say about it," he added, to much laughter from the audience.

The trio address a number of questions about Apple's next steps, although Jobs said that because the company's earnings are next week, Oct. 21, anything financially related could not be discussed.

For example, Jobs was candid about whether Apple would support Blu-Ray DVD.

"Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt," he said.

"I don't mean from a consumer point of view," he added. "It's just that the licensing is so complex. We're waiting for it all to settle down."

As for netbooks, he said the proliferation of the lightweight, low-power and low-cost notebook PC category is "a nascent market -- just getting started."

It doesn't seem Apple will be going into touchscreens anytime soon, either, like HP recently did with its TouchSmart PC.

"We've experimented with a touchscreen, and so far, it hasn't made a lot of sense," Jobs said.