Apple announced that MacBook Air, the thinnest notebook, is now shipping. MacBook Air measures an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. Apple TV's software update will allow movie fans to rent movies on the iTunes Store directly from their widescreen TV. With iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV, users can just click a button on their remote to effortlessly rent movies from a catalog of over 1,000 titles by the end of February, including over 100 titles in stunning high definition video with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound, with no computer required.
Apple also announced that the new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high definition movies directly from their widescreen TVs, is not quite finished. Apple now plans to make the free software download available to existing Apple TV customers in another week or two. MacBook Air has a stunning 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe.
MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. The new MacBook Air is now shipping and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US). The new Apple TV software will be available as a free automatic download to all Apple TV customers within two weeks. Apple TV, which includes the Apple Remote, is available from the Apple Store, Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $229 (US) for the 40GB model and $329 (US) for the 160GB model (US and Canada).
DVD-quality iTunes Movie Rentals are $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are just one dollar more with library titles at $3.99 and new releases at $4.99. Purchases downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back to iTunes on the user's computer for enjoyment on their computer, all current generation iPods* or iPhone. Apple TV easily connects to a broad range of widescreen TVs and home theater systems and comes standard with HDMI, component video, analog and optical audio ports.
Build-to-order options and accessories for MacBook Air include the ability to upgrade to a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 64GB solid state drive, MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork '08, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 1.5.
MacBook Air includes: - Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
- 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and
- 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280x800 resolution;
- 45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
- 80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
- Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);
- built-in iSight video camera;
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- one USB 2.0 port;
- one headphone port;
