Despite a raft load of nifty new features, Apple's new Mac notebooks will have a hard time moving off store shelves during the economic crisis, industry analysts say.

"There will be a lot of people looking at a lot of stuff at the Apple Store, and they'll probably come out with [iPod] nanos or shuffles," said Roger Kay, an analyst with Endpoint Technologies. "That's what people are going to feel like they're going to afford this year."

At its special notebook event Tuesday, Apple refreshed its entire notebook line, adding faster processors, multitouch trackpads, aluminum enclosures and NVidia graphics chipsets. In addition to adding new features, Apple is also making moderate price cuts for the MacBook and MacBook Air. However, analysts say Apple's price cuts are not enough for the company to remain competitive in the face of a broad financial collapse.

"Out of all the [companies] who will be under pressure, it will be Apple because the price points are still significantly higher," ThinkPanmure analyst Vijay Rakesh said in a phone interview.

The entry-point MacBook dropped from $1,100 to $999; the high-end MacBook Air equipped with a solid state drive dropped from $2,600 to $2,500, but its standard configuration offering remained at the same $1,800 price point. The

MacBook Pro prices remained static — with a $2,000 starting point.

Early in the event,

Apple boasted grabbing 39 percent of the notebook market in education, surpassing Dell, one of its major competitors. Despite the significance of this figure, it's unlikely

Apple's notebook refresh will enable Apple to retain its grip on this market segment, Rakesh said.

"If you look at the educational side, the question is, do public school budgets suffice for next year?" he said.

Just days before Apple's notebook event, Rakesh and other analysts — including

Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster and RBC Capitalist's Michael Abramsky — said they were anticipating a sub-$1,000 notebook from Apple in order for the corporation to hit its gross margin guidance for the fourth quarter.

Rakesh said Apple's $999 MacBook was a disappointing entry into the sub-$1,000 category: Most analysts were hoping for Apple to announce an $800 or $900 notebook.

Rakesh added that Apple still has yet to set foot in the netbook market — cheap, low-powered devices designed for internet use that are soaring in popularity. However, in a Q&A session, Steve Jobs said the netbook category is too immature for Apple to enter.

"That's a nascent market that's just getting started, and we'll see how it goes," Jobs said.

Meanwhile in trading, while Apple had gained a record-breaking 13 percent in share prices Monday and Tuesday, the stock deflated 5 percent by the end of the notebook event. However, stock drops have historically been the case during Apple keynotes, and some are viewing selling stock during product announcements as a trading strategy for investors.

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Photo: Apple