UPDATE: Apple has now updated the plastic MacBook in the UK, albeit with a slight price rise. More details here!
Apple just updated its plastic MacBook with some much better specs, matching the aluminium MacBook and giving it everything needed to run Snow Leopard. Looks like it’s sticking around for a while then, but there’s a problem: the new spec is only available in America.
Available stateside, the plastic MacBook now has a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo processor with a slight increase to its bus speed too. There’s also 2GB of memory, doubling the previous standard of 1GB, and a slight improvement to the MacBook’s built-in Bluetooth too.
The biggest change, however, is the addition of an integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics chipset. That’s important, since it’s required to run applications that will use OpenCL, planed for inclusion in the next generation of OS X, Snow Leopard.
On the side of the pond, the plastic MacBook is still listed as packing Intel GMA X3100 graphics and 1GB of memory, although we do get a slightly speedier processor, running at 2.1GHz.
We’ve put in a query to Apple about the update, and will report back when we have an answer. For the time being though, British MacBook buyers should hold onto their cash.
OpenCL compatibility is important, as it’ll make the MacBook’s processor and graphics card work together to power through complex apps. It will free up the graphics chips to do some of the hard work normally reserved for the processor, and should mean a faster machine all round.
The upshot, however, is Apple’s likely to keep the plastic MacBook around until after Snow Leopard’s release later this year. If you’re planning on buying one, wait for Apple to make the upgrade.
Out now | From £704 | Apple
