White polycarbonate plastic looked as if its days were numbered after the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch emerged with a metallic Unibody enclosure, keeping with the look of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Yet, Apple continued to update the plastic MacBook with new parts under the radar. The rejuvenated Apple MacBook (Unibody) ($999 direct) has had a major overhaul, as it now comes with Unibody enclosure similar to that of MacBook Pro laptops. And like all of Apple's "Unibodies," a sealed-in battery, the gesture-based glass touchpad, and parts from Nvidia and Intel are all part of the package. All this is for less than $1,000, the only Apple laptop available at this price.

Understandably, Apple had to leave out some features, namely the backlit keyboard, Firewire, and an SD card reader, in hopes of enticing you to upgrade to the MacBook Pros. No doubt, it'll continue to sell as well as previous-generation MacBooks, although had Apple lowered the price by another $100, it would have easily topped my holiday shopping list.