Behold The New Macbook Air

January 16, 2008 · Filed Under Business News, Macbook, Macbook Air, Technology

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off a super-slim new laptop at Macworld Tuesday, unveiling a personal computer less than an inch thick that turns on the moment it’s opened.

At its beefiest, the new computer is .76 inches thick; at its thinnest, it’s .16 inches, he said. It comes standard with an 80- gigabyte hard drive, with the option of a 64GB flash-based solid state drive as an upgrade.

The machine doesn’t come with a built-in optical drive for reading CDs and DVDs, a feature Jobs says consumers won’t miss because they can download movies and music over the Internet and access the optical drives on other PCs and Macs to install new software. They can buy an external drive, however, that will retail for $99.

The new laptop, which has a 13.3-inch screen and full-sized laptop keyboard, will cost $1,799 when it goes on sale in two weeks, though Apple is taking orders now. The company’s Web site is already touting the machine. The price is competitive with other laptops in its market segment.