MacBook (2.0GHz) review

The MacBook has thrown off the shackles of its iPod-inspired casing and has received a striking visual overhaul.

All but the cheapest model get the aluminium casing previously reserved for Apple's more expensive notebooks, apparently a much-requested feature for the entry-level models. Yet the most important change lies under the hood, with the introduction of a more powerful graphics processor from Nvidia to boost the most popular Mac.

There are still three models in the range, although the cheapest one is almost identical to the one released in February. It even retains the same white case and a low price, although the price has risen by £20 now that a SuperDrive is included. That may aggravate some people, but the move is welcome even if you have modest requirements such as checking email and browsing the web, as it's feasible that you still want to purchase large movie files from the iTunes Store; this way you can back them up without buying anything other than blank discs.

The other two models both sport the new metallic shell, whose benefits are far from just superficial. The top part of the laptop's main body uses a new manufacturing process that produces a single, seamless part, or unibody, from a block of aluminium, eliminating the need for much of the internal structure that reinforced the old casing. It certainly feels sturdy when you lay your hands on the palm rest. Even the housing of the display feels more reassuringly rigid, although you should still take care not to put objects alongside, as the backlight is still close enough to the lid's surface to be pressable.

The screen is just as reflective as it appears in Apple's adverts. There's no longer a matte option on the MacBook, not even on the white model. The glossiness is less noticeable once a picture is shown, which now happens in an instant, thanks to the backlit LED display, so you won't be left straining to read text as it warms up after the MacBook is woken from sleep. The quality of the screen is questionable when working with dark photos or video, though, or when the brightness is lowered, a likely strategy for preserving battery life on the move.

Black and dark colours draw more attention to the reflective surface, although it's masked in areas awash with colour, which appear vivid when viewed head-on. The vertical viewing range is quite shallow and colours change when you slouch or view from just slightly above centre. However, the display's hinge pushes further back to comfortably accommodate lounging away from a flat surface.

The spaced-out black keys are another striking addition, and a backlit keyboard serves as the luxury feature to draw you to the top of the range now that it's no longer distinguished with a unique colour. Unfortunately, the effect is spoiled by the amount of light that leaks around the edges of keys, rather than just through the symbols on top of them. The effect is clear even on Apple's publicity shots, but ultimately it proves quite distracting.

The new trackpad is a more genuinely exciting addition, as it marks the first time that multi-touch gestures beyond two-fingered scrolling have been available at this level. The physical button has been removed and now you can press anywhere on the whole pad, while the bottom-left or bottom-right corner will fill in for Ctrl-click without having to reach for the keyboard. Alternatively, the Trackpad preferences pane maps single and double taps for these actions.

Scrolling, rotating and pinching gestures established by the MacBook Air are joined by new four-fingered swipes. A horizontal swipe calls up the task switcher, but you still have to move the mouse cursor over the icon that you want rather than repeatedly swiping further to select subsequent icons, and you may as well just move the cursor to the Dock. Vertical swipes are more beneficial as they're mapped to Exposé. Pushing upwards shoves all windows out of the way; pulling downwards arranges each one into its own space. We're a little disappointed that you can't re-bind your own choice of actions to each gesture, but we may see third parties add support for this.