Apple marries iPad with laptops in new MacBook Air By Maggie Shiels

Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley Published duration 20 October 2010

image caption The MacBook Air is 0.11 inches thick at its thinnest point

Apple is cashing in on the popularity of its iPhone and iPad to boost demand for its oldest product, the Macintosh.

The company announced that its popular app store for the iPhone and the iPad would soon be coming to its laptops.

It also launched a revamped MacBook Air at an event at its headquarters.

The computer is seen as a marriage of what Apple has learned from desktop computing and mobile devices. Like the iPad, the Air will have no hard drive and rely on flash memory.

"It's like nothing we've ever created before," said Apple boss Steve Jobs.

"We see these as the next generation of MacBooks. We think all notebooks are going to be like this one day. We've been inspired by some of the work we have done on iOS and want to bring them back to the Mac," said Mr Jobs.

Analysts said the laptop sends out a clear signal to the industry.

"This is a strong reminder to everyone out there that Apple is still in the PC business," said Michael Gartenberg, research director with Gartner.

"They are still making a lot of money in the PC business and if anyone thinks they are getting out of that business given the money they are making they are very mistaken."

On sale

The new MacBook Air is 0.11 inches thick at its thinnest point. Apple said the computer's battery life lets users surf the web for seven hours. In standby mode, the battery can last 30 days.

image caption The first Macintosh made its debut on 24 January 1984

In an overview, Apple said the Macintosh accounted for a third of the company's revenue or $22bn in the fiscal year that has just ended.

They sold 13.7 million Macs last year, which is three times the sales they had in 2005. The firm also cited research figures that showed Apple now controls 20.7% of the US consumer market and accounts for one in every five computers sold.

"The Mac company, if it were a standalone company, and we have no plans to do that, would be 110 on the Fortune 500 list," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief technology officer.

Other features

Apple also unveiled a new version of the Macintosh operating system, called Lion, to be released next summer.

The new OS builds on some of the features used in the firm's iOS, which is currently used to power iPhones and iPads.

"Lion brings many of the best ideas from the iPad back to the Mac, plus some fresh new ones," said Mr Jobs.

The company revealed that Macs will soon have an application store, mirroring the one that exists for its mobile devices.

A feature called launchpad will make it easy to organise and launch apps in the new version of the operating system. The App Store will be added to Macs, as a download, within 90 days.

FaceTime, which debuted on the iPhone 4 this summer, will also bring video-chatting to Macs.

Apple also updated its flagship software suite iLife. The new edition includes updates to iPhotos, iMovie and GarageBand.