We already said that Core Duo upgrade to Apple’s iBook is coming soon. Well, it’s here. Today Apple released new 13″ Apple MacBook laptop and it’s much cheaper the most 13″ WinTel laptops.

Apple MacBook comes in two colors -Black and White and 3 different configurations. The cheapest MacBook costs $1099 and features:

1.83GHz T2400 Intel Core Duo chip
13.3″ 1280×800 widescreen display
Intel GMA 950
521MB of RAM up to 2GB
60GB 5400 RPM SATA HDD
DVR-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive
AirPort

All MacBooks come with built-in iSight camera, iLife 06 software suite, Front Row and other Apple goodies. Apple claims that it’s 5x faster then it’s 12″ predecessor iBook.

We already told you that Intel based high end MacBook Pro’s were very competitive in price with high end Windows based rivals. So we checked the latest 13.3” MacBook with available PC alternatives. And did not come out disappointed:

• Asus W7J with 1.83 GHz chip, 1 GB of memory and 100 GB HDD will cost $1939. MacBook with the same configuration - $1699
• Rock Pegasus 330 with 1.66GHz chip, 512MB of memory, 80GB HDD and TV Tuner - $1343, MacBook with the 1.83GHz chip, same memory and HDD, without TV tuner - $1149
• Fujitsu Lifebook S6310 with 1.66 GHz processor, 512 MB of memory and 80GB HDD - $2033. MacBok with the 2.GHz Intel chip, same memory, HDD and other specs - $1349

If earlier you usually paid premium for Apple’s laptops and desktops compared to WinTel PCs of similar performance, now you can get MacBook cheaper then most of it’s PC rivals.

Apple MacBook is cheaper as a PC even if you have to purchase standalone Windows XP OS and run it on MacBook via Bootcamp.

Any reason not to buy MacBook if yuo want highly portable 13” notebook?