Benjamin is clear on this point: Black is cool, and the black-as-coal version is aimed at MacBook fans who want something a little exclusive (and who might miss the now-discontinued diminuitive PowerBook).

"We looked at the user who was buying our 12-in. PowerBook, who wants the smallest laptop Apple makes and wants a professional look," he said. "It is black throughout. There is not one grey accent that got left on there. It's a subtle approach that'll appeal to the professional user. It's kind of the ultimate MacBook."

The matte black finish has a bit of a rubbery feel, and it looks like rubber at first glance. It's not. Like its lesser white brothers, the black MacBook shell is made of polycarbonate plastic. And while black is all too common in the Windows laptop world, Apple hasn't had a black laptop since the days of the PowerBook G3 more than five years ago.

As is usually the case with Apple hardware, looks matter -- and they cost. The black MacBook is $200 more than the midrange model and offers the same hardware specs except for an extra 20GB of hard drive space. (The standard hard drive in the MacBook range is 60GB; the black model gets an 80GB drive, though you can spend $200 more and get a 120GB model if you want).

So is an extra 20GB -- and a dose of exclusivity -- worth the extra money?