Apple Discontinues the $999 White MacBook

Though everyone seems to be talking about Lion and the new Sandy Bridge MacBook Pros, it seems there was something missing when the Apple store came back online this morning. While it was present prior to the site going down, the regular MacBook was not listed when the Apple store came back online earlier today. Engagdet also noticed the omission and reports that it received confirmation from Apple that the white notebook has been discontinued. 

With the white MacBook out, the 11.6-inch MacBook Air now serves as the entry level MacBook, priced at the same $999 as the white MacBook. As far as processing power is concerned, the 11.6-inch MacBook Air just got bumped to the 1.6Ghz Core i5, so if you were saving for a white MacBook with a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, you're likely not too upset with the change. However, if you were looking for a 13-inch notebook instead of an 11-inch, your only option now is the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which retails for $1,299.

Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.