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The new 15.4in and 17in machines retain the 1in-thick chassis used by their predecessors. Despite rumours to the contrary there is, as yet, no super-thin model. Prices range from £1299 for the 15.4in model (1440 x 900 display, 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 120GB Serial ATA hard drive) to £1799 for the top-end 17in machine (1680 x 1050 pixel display, 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of memory and 160GB drive). All prices include VAT.

The 15.4in model is Apple's first machine to feature LED backlighting, which was hinted at in CEO Steve Jobs' 3 May essay on Apple's eco-credentials. 'A Greener Apple' was Jobs' response to criticism from Greenpeace, among others, that the company had set no deadlines for reducing or eliminating harmful substances from its manufacturing processes. Those substances include mercury, which is key to the production of conventional panels, but absent

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from LED displays. The essay, published on Apple's site, was a rare instance of the famously secretive company trailing forthcoming products.

Philip Schiller, Apple's senior VP of worldwide product marketing, today hailed the move, claiming that 'Apple's notebooks have always led the industry in innovation with features like built-in 802.11 and the MagSafe Power Adapter, and now the industry's first 15-inch LED-backlit display is another step toward completely eliminating mercury from our displays.'

The new line-up integrates 802.11n wifi, which although not yet ratified should deliver twice the range and 2.5 times the performance of its predecessor, 802.11g. Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR, Firewire 800 and 400, USB2 and Gigabit Ethernet round out the connectivity features, while various build-to-order options include 7200rpm hard drives (all machines ship with 5400rpm units), airline-safe power adaptors, glossy displays (a standard feature on the lower-end MacBook range), and a higher resolution on the 17in model, to max out at 1900 x 1200 pixels.

Although we have yet to independently verify its results, Apple claims performance hikes of up to 50% over the original MacBook Pro when running creative applications like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro 7.

The new line-up immediately supersedes its predecessors, and is shipping from authorised Apple outlets. Older MacBook Pros are likely to appear for some time on the Apple Refurb Store, available through the Apple site on Wednesday mornings, but will be hard to obtain on the high street.