Apple MacBook - black (Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard)

The good: Upgraded CPU for the same price; same great design; Leopard operating system.

The bad: Still no Express card or SD card slots; only more expensive models are available in black.

The bottom line: Apple has been content to issue minor periodic hardware updates to the 13-inch MacBook, but the modest performance gains and new Leopard OS keep it in our top tier of laptop recommendations.

Read full review

Description: This configuration of the Apple MacBook is a 5.1-pound, consumer level notebook computer. Compared to other mainstream notebooks on the market, it is midpriced at around $1,415. Has Wi-Fi (wireless connectivity) built-in.

Pros: Has only a 5.1-pound weight. This is lighter than the average notebook on the market today, but is to be expected for a notebook of this price. Also, this notebook has a 160GB hard drive, which is larger than some similarly priced notebooks.

Cons: Has only a 13.3-inch screen size, which is smaller than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the Dell Inspiron 1720 , a -pound notebook at around $1, 400, has a 17.0 screen size. Also, this notebook has an integrated housing media bay, which is somewhat less favorable than some similarly priced notebooks. For example, the Lenovo ThinkPad T60 , a 5.1-pound notebook at around $1, 390, has a plug-in module media bay. Graphics-intensive applications (such as texture-rich games, DVD playback, and video editing) will hinder performance on a system that relies on shared video RAM.

Suitability: Suited for those who just need a basic notebook. Preserve favorite home movies for future generations by saving them onto DVD with this computer's DVD recorder. Comes with office-grade word processing software -- fine for most serious business or academic document authors. Develop your digital darkroom technique using the photo editing software bundled with this laptop. If you have a wireless network at home, wirelessly browse the Web from any room in your house with this Wi-Fi enabled laptop.

Value: In general, this notebook's features are in line with its price.

Suggestions: (1) Given this device's Wi-Fi capability, you may want to get a wireless access point for your home, so that you can browse the Web more conveniently from any room. (2) To get the most out of this laptop's Bluetooth capability, you could have a Bluetooth-enabled headset, PDA or other device, and be able to link it wirelessly to your computer within a range of 20-or-so feet inside the same room.