Apple updates MacBook with faster processor, longer battery life, better graphics; still $999

Apple today quietly updated their MacBook which starts at US$999.

Apple’s MacBook remains a mere 1.08 inches thin and only 4.7 pounds and features a seamless, durable unibody enclosure with rounded contours that make it easy to pick up and slide into and out of your bag. It’s made of rugged polycarbonate that withstands the rough and tumble of everyday life at school, at work, or while traveling. And since the bottom of the MacBook is covered in a nonslip material, it always stays right where you put it — whether it’s on a desk, table, or airplane tray. MacBook features an LED-backlit 13.3-inch glossy widescreen display with a 1280-by-800-pixel resolution.

MacBook offers users a spacious glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad that has “no button” because it is the button. That means there’s plenty of room to move your fingers around, and you can click anywhere — left, right, center, and everywhere in between. The trackpad features a silky smooth glass surface that feels great to the fingertips. Use it to perform familiar functions such as right-clicking, as well as Multi-Touch gestures: pinch to increase font size in a document, rotate your fingers to reorient photos, swipe to navigate through web pages, and more. And now with inertial scrolling, moving up and down documents and web pages feels completely smooth and natural.

What’s new?
• Intel Core 2 Duo CPU bumped from 2.26GHz to 2.4GHz
• Battery life rating goes up to 10 hours from 7 hours
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics replaces NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

What’s unchanged?
• Base 2GB RAM
• 250GB hard drive
• 8X SuperDrive

The newly-updated unibody MacBook is now available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Build-to-order options for the MacBook include include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 5400 rpm 320GB Serial ATA Drive or 5400 rpm 500GB Serial ATA Drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

More info here.