Today, Steve Jobs and Apple again moved into a new market, one that's potentially more profitable to the company than the iPod, iPhone and iTunes Store combined. The company has introduced a sub-$1,000 notebook -- a "recession laptop" as coined by CNBC's Erin Burnett. Dropping the price of the older, puts the company in a favorable position to sell machines to price-sensitive shoppers going into the all-important holiday season. , with many of the features of the larger MacBook Pro but for $700 cheaper. It's unfortunate that Apple couldn't push the price of the new notebook below $1,000, but the additional price features should appeal to consumers looking for the luxury of a high-end laptop but at a much lower price.

The Mac has always been Apple's bread and butter, providing the vast majority of profits and revenue, while its other businesses like the iPod and iPhone have existed mostly to drive users to the Mac (though any incidental profits are certainly welcomed -- Apple certainly doesn't use them as loss-leaders). Apple cut prices unilaterally on its laptop line and claims that the new "aluminum unibody construction" is economical to produce, allowing the company to drop prices but not take as much of a hit on margins as competitors. This new manufacturing technique is likely what the company referred to during the Q3 earnings call when it warned of a possible margin hit because of unintroduced products the company "couldn't talk about" at the time.

CNBC's Jim Goldman noted today that Apple COO Tim Cook was overheard saying the pricing environment Apple has seen recently was "more favorable" than the company predicted, so the Q3 margin warning may be less of a concern. Apple traditionally plays down earnings guidance significantly.

Most of the new notebooks go on sale Wednesday.