Apple CEO Steve Jobs spoke to members of the press at the company’s headquarters on Tuesday to reveal details on widely expected changes to its Macbook line and lower prices.
Analysts and industry watchers were expecting Apple to announce a $900 notebook, but the “one more thing” moment came when Mr. Jobs said the company was cutting its run-of-the-mill Macbooks to $999 from $1099.
The news failed to buoy Apple shares, which traded $5.35 lower, or 5 percent, at $104.91 in midday trading.
Industry analysts were looking for the company to make significant price cuts that could help it fend off the rise of low-cost notebooks from the likes of Acer, Samsung, Asus, and Hewlett-Packard, among others. The move was also seen as a necessary maneuver to compete for a more cash-strapped consumer facing global economic woes.
The Apple event came as Samsung on Tuesday trumpeted a new line of notebooks that starts at $499 and includes a $1599 ultra-light model with a solid-state memory option to compete with Apple’s Macbook Air.
Before announcing price cuts, the company brought to the stage Jony Ive, senior vice president of design, to announce lightweight aluminum cases for its Macbook Pro notebooks. Mr. Jobs afterward took back the stage to announce the notebooks would be packing new graphics chips from Nvidia. The GeForce 9400M chips are expected to deliver six times the graphics performance of its previous chips, he said.
The entry model Macbook Pro will feature a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo chip, 2GB of RAM, Nvidia 9400 and 9600 chips, and a 15.4-inch display. It will cost $1999. For $2499, Apple offers one with a 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB ofRAM, and a 320GB hard drive.
Mr. Jobs also said that Macbook Air notebooks would get the Nvidia 9400 chips and a bigger 120GB hard drive as well as a mini display port for a starting price of $1799. He also announced a Macbook Air with an1.86GHz chip and 120GB solid state drive that will go on sale in November for $2499.
The Macbook Pros will be available in stores tomorrow, Mr .Jobs said.