Apple looks set to unveil a new range of laptops next week, following weeks of speculation.
The California-based company is holding a press event in San Francisco next Tuesday, and has sent invitations to media and analysts that shows one of its MacBook range of laptops under the slogan: "The spotlight turns to notebooks".
Speculation is rife that Apple will refresh its MacBook range at the event, giving the entry level MacBook laptops an aluminium make-over similar to that of its MacBook Pro range, and improving the processor speeds and hard disk storage space in all its MacBook machines.
Analysts also expect Apple to introduce a "budget" laptop into the range, costing less than $800 (£400). Opinions are divided as to whether this will simply be a price drop on an existing product, or whether Apple is bringing out a 'netbook' - a cheap ultra-portable machine - to compete with the likes of the Asus Eee PC.
Most computer manufacturers have slashed the price of their laptops in recent months, and many now offer less expensive, more compact entry-level machines that are designed mostly for connecting to the web on the go.
Although Apple has scored recent successes with its iPod range of music players and critically acclaimed iPhone, the computer side of the business is still crucial to Apple's fortunes.
In the financial quarter that ended June 28, Apple's revenue from computer sales was up 43 per cent on the same period the previous year, and laptop sales accounted for almost two-thirds of that. There are also suggestions that Apple is going to announce details of a new manufacturing process, supposedly codenamed "Brick", which involves making products, such as the aluminium casing for its laptops, from a single sheet of metal.
In July, Apple's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, hinted at a "product transition" that would see "new products that initially cost more because they deliver an entirely new level of value to the customer".
