The new Mckbook Air

While a laptop has become a ubiquitous accessory for modern life, the actual process of choosing the right model can take some serious time and research.

In this guide, we'll outline the different categories of laptops and which types are best for different users. We'll also take a look at CPU, hard-drive, and networking options.

Below are a handful of typical user experiences that should help outline what type of laptop is right for you. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new laptop for.

Apple today unveiled an all new MacBook Air. “Available in 11-inch and 13-inch models and weighing as little as 2.3 pounds, the new MacBook Air is Apple’s lightest and most portable notebook ever. MacBook Air uses the same solid state storage technology as iPad™ to deliver instant-on responsiveness, up to seven hours of battery life and up to 30 days of standby time.* Starting at $999, the affordable MacBook Air defines the next generation of MacBooks.” Now available here.

As the global economy hurtles towards a recession, Apple has introduced a new line of faster, slicker Macintosh laptop computers that are more expensive than their predecessors.

And in a double-whammy blow to Australians, local prices are higher than the US prices converted into Australian dollars, a move likely made by Apple so it can hedge against any fluctuations in the volatile currency.

For the updated MacBook and MacBook Pro machines, Apple gave them some of the high-end features that had been in the MacBook Air, including thinner laptop casings and a "multitouch" track pad, which, like the iPhone, understands gestures for spinning and zooming.

The laptop took a new meaning with the newest invention of Apple. It is so thin it fits in a regular manila envelope.

In a speech in front of about 4000 attendees to MacWorld conference (San Francisco), Steve Jobs showed the latest model of laptops: MacBook Air.

With the theatrical style that characterizes him, Steve Jobs took out a regular manila envelope, legal size, and removed a real live Macbook Air. Jobs claimed he have made a comparison with all the current thinnest laptops.