By Prince McLean

Published: 01:00 PM EST

Apple on Tuesday unveiled its next-generation 13-inch MacBook, which includes a new unibody construction, more powerful NVIDIA graphics, Display Port output, a new glass touchpad with multitouch gestures, and a revised appearance nearly identical to the new MacBook Pro.

Construction

Apple detailed a new "unibody" construction method for the MacBook that improves upon the current model's plastic shell, reinforced with an internal frame. The new design is patterned after the MacBook Air released in January and is extremely similar to that of the new MacBook Pro.

The new construction provides a case that is stronger, torsionally rigid, 4.5 pounds light, and 0.95 inches thin. It features a MacBook Air-style keyboard recessed into the frame. All I/O ports are located on left side, including: MagSafe, Gigabit Ethernet, Dual USB 2.0, Mini Display Port, Analog/digital audio in and out, and a side-mounted battery indicator light.

Graphics

The new MacBook line features the powerful new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, a revolutionary new 3D integrated graphics processor that features 16 parallel processing cores and delivers up to five times the 3D graphics performance as previous MacBook and MacBook Air designs. Apple has worked together with NVIDIA on this groundbreaking graphics processor and is the first to bring it to market in the new MacBook family.

Multitouch Glass Trackpad

The new MacBook also features a new 39 percent larger multitouch trackpad that supports additional gestures and acts as a single button. The glass surface of the trackpad promises less friction for "silky-smooth travel." The new trackpad supports virtual software buttons, as well as one- to four-fingered multitouch gestures:

• two finger pinch and rotate
• three finger slides
• four fingers bring up Exposé and app switching

Optical Drive, Latch, and More

The optical drive is located on right edge. It provides a DVD burner but does not support Blu-ray. Jobs said "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt. I don’t mean from the consumer point of view. It’s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We’re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing."



The new notebooks continue to supply a backlit keyboard, sudden motion sensor, stereo speakers, iSight camera, mic, and magnetic latch.

New Battery Cover and Easy Access

The new battery cover provides easy access to the hard drive bay, which supports both a standard mechanical hard drive and a new solid state drive option. Locking the system with a security cable also locks the cover on the battery and drive.



Side-mounted Battery Indicator Light

The MacBook's new side-mounted battery indicator light means users won't have to turn the machine upside down to see the status of their notebook's battery if the machine is not powered on.



MacBook Configurations

The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch aluminum MacBook will sell for $1,299 and include:

• 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 160GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• two USB 2.0 ports;
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad; and
• 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

The 2.4 GHz aluminum MacBook is priced at $1,599 and includes:

• 13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1066 MHz front-side bus;
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
• a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• two USB 2.0 ports;
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
• glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
• 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 250GB 5400 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

In addition, Apple said the existing white plastic MacBook will continue to be sold for $999.