Following a round of MacBook Pro updates last month, Apple has quietly snuck in a few hardware updates to the basic white polycarbonate MacBook this morning. The new model has a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up from 2.26GHz, and the old Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chip was replaced by the latest GeForce 320M part.
You'll get a hard drive bump as well, with storage capacity now starting at 250GB (upgradeable to 500GB), and a bigger battery (63.5WH from 58WH) which Apple claims it can last up to ten hours on a single charge. Other specs include a 13.3-inch 1280 x 800 display, 2GB of DDR 3 memory, 8x dual-layer DVD burner, 802.11n Wi-Fi, two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet and a Mini DisplayPort monitor connection.
Despite the improvements, the same $999 price point is maintained. The update further narrows the $200 gap between the 13-inch MacBook Pro and white MacBook, with the main differences remaining the unibody aluminum chassis, more RAM (the MacBook Pro starts at 4GB), and an SD card slot.