Apple has refreshed its ultraportable laptop range – the MacBook Air. The refresh brings up-to-date technology to the MacBook Air, with the latest Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge ultra-low voltage processors, Thunderbolt I/O data transfer technology, and the all new OS X 10.7 Lion operating system onboard. The laptops come in two display sizes, 11-inch and 13-inch, and feature a backlit keyboard.

For now, Apple has not released the exact details of the dual-core processors on offer, apart the clock speeds – two options of Core i5 1.6GHz and 1.7GHz, and a built to order option of a Core i7 1.8GHz. Looking at Intel’s latest ULV offerings however, we think the Core i5 processors onboard are the Core i5 2467M processor (1.6GHz, 2 cores, 4 threads, 3MB cache, Turbo up to 2.3GHz), and the Core i5-2557M processor (1.7GHz, 2 cores, 4 threads, 3MB cache, Turbo up to 2.7GHz). Both these processors have a TDP of just 17W, perfect to deliver the large battery life Apple promises – 5 hours for the 11-inch MacBook Air, and 7 hours for the 13-inch MacBook Air.

Other specifications include Intel HD 3000 graphics (no dedicated graphics chip option); 3 storage options - 64GB, 128GB and 256GB flash drives; up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, FaceTime support, 2xUSB2.0 ports, multi-touch glass-trackpad, and an aluminium unibody design.

Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, spoke about the MacBook Air range: “Portable, affordable and powerful, MacBook Air is the ultimate everyday notebook. MacBook Air features our most advanced technology and is an ideal match for Lion, especially with its new Multi-Touch gestures, full-screen apps, Mission Control and Mac App Store.”

Listed prices in India:
11-inch (Intel Core i5 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 64GB flash storage): Rs. 56,900
11-inch (Intel Core i5 1.6GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB flash storage): Rs. 67,900
13-inch (Intel Core i5 1.6GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB flash storage): Rs. 73,900
13-inch (Intel Core i5 1.6GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 256GB flash storage): Rs. 89,900