Like the rest of Apple's laptops, the new MacBooks offer an integrated iSight webcam, Gigabit Ethernet networking, a dual-finger scrolling TrackPad, sudden motion protection for the hard drive, and dual-screen video support. They all come with 512MB of 667 DDR2 SDRAM, which can be expanded to 2GB. But the stock memory is supplied on two chips that take up both RAM slots, meaning one or both RAM sticks would have to be removed to add more memory.

As for the decision to offer the top-end MacBook in black, Schiller said that move stems in part from the fact that the 12-in. PowerBook has been discontinued. "In designing the MacBook Intel line, we asked, 'What does the 12-in. [PowerBook] customer want?' They want a thin and light machine, and another thing they told us they like is the exclusivity of the product. So we decided to create something a little more businesslike something a little more at the cool end of the spectrum. The designers went over the top making this beautiful."

The MacBooks unveiled Tuesday are available immediately, he said.