Macworld - Since its introduction back in May 2006, Apple's low-cost, entry-level MacBook laptop has been tremendously popular. In fact, Apple says the MacBook is the best-selling single Mac model in the company's history. Which is why it makes a lot of sense that Apple has given its $999 white laptop a makeover in time for the holiday shopping season.
On the outside
Placing the new MacBook and the previous model side by side, there are many small physical differences. Because of its unibody construction (in this case, a piece of polycarbonate instead of aluminum), the new MacBook has no grayish surface grafted atop the frame. The result is a consistent white color, and a smoother surface without the sharp edges of the earlier generation. It also means a lot fewer screws -- the older MacBook had two screws on each side, plus four on the back to the sides of the display hinge. This model does away with all of those.
The new MacBook now has a glass multi-touch trackpad with gesture support. The trackpad is larger than the combined pad-and-button area on the old model. The smooth glass feels nicer than the older trackpad, but it does take getting used to if you've been using the previous design.
The new MacBook also has a round iSight hole (as opposed to a rounded square) with only a status light to its right. (The microphone has moved to the upper left corner of the keyboard area.) The power button is smaller. The keyboard keys feel more solid and are a bit quieter than before.
The 13.3-inch display offers the same 1280-by-800-pixel resolution as before, but the new MacBook uses LED backlighting on its display (just like the 13-inch MacBook Pro). The difference is a notably brighter output, although when viewed next to each other, the new MacBook shows a significant yellow color shift when changing your horizontal viewing angle (the previous model simply got more washed out).
The screen back has a slight taper (like the MacBook Air) that gives it a thinner appearance than the constant thickness of yore.
Overall, the new MacBook is slightly wider and deeper than its predecessor, although it shaves 0.3 pounds from the total weight. Oddly, when I first picked it up I thought it was heavier than the older MacBook -- a sensation I attribute to a different distribution of weight because of the thinner display in the new model.
On the front edge, the sleep status indicator is longer and narrower than before, and conspicuously absent is the infrared (IR) port that used to sit to the right of it. Without an IR port, you can't use the new Apple Remote (or the older remote, for that matter). I don't consider this a huge loss, since I never used an Apple Remote to control my MacBook. (In fact, I've been frequently annoyed when I used the remote to control my Apple TV and it threw the MacBook on the couch into Front Row at the same time).
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