[Updated with iMac, Mac Mini] Apple set to introduce redesigned, low-cost MacBooks?

Posted on 30-09-2009

Update: Further speculation of the imminent launch of the new products has been stoked as AppleInsider is reporting that Apple Retail has issued advisories to its shops that further orders for many of its existing iMacs and Mac Minis would go unhonored and that stores should not expect those models to be restocked.

It seems that Apple has finally woken up to the burden of the recession affecting its high-priced MacBook range of laptops, as AppleInsider has learnt that the company is set to come out with a series of low-cost notebooks.

The new MacBooks would be made out of the polycarbonate material that is used in the current MacBook, and not go in for the higher-end aluminium unibody casing of the MacBook Pro series. The company currently has just a single MacBook offering, a white polycarbonate model that retails for $999 but sticks out like a sore thumb when positioned alongside its peers.

“Still, sales of the sub-$1000 system have remained surprisingly brisk amid the economic crunch, leaving management little choice but to allocate R&D expenses in its favor,” AppleInsider reports. “Apple's online store indicates that the white MacBook is outselling all other Macs with the exception of the iMac, while similar rankings from high-volume resellers like MacMall also consistently place it in the top 10 best selling Apple-related products overall, ahead of all desktop-based Macs.”

Very little is known about the revamped MacBooks, apart from the fact that they would probably have a thinner and sleeker enclosure that will embrace Apple's cutting-edge internal battery technology.

So if you were on the lookout for a new laptop and found the MacBooks too pricey, it might be worth your while to wait out a few months and see what Cupertino has to offer…

Source: Apple Insider (1), Apple Insider (2), Apple Insider (3)

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