Apple Computer Inc returned to its core in a powerful way by marketing a pricey, powerful laptop geared for photographers and graphics professionals.
The Cupertino, California, company with a cult following among visual artists unveiled a MacBook Pro with a 17-inch screen, a speedy Intel Core Duo processor and a price tag of US$2,799.
Apple announced it will begin shipping the sleek laptops to retail outlets next week.
The move came as the maker of red-hot iPod digital media players continued a campaign to improve sales of its Macintosh computers in a market dominated by Windows-based PCs.
"The 17-inch MacBook Pro delivers the speed and screen area of a professional desktop system in the worlds best notebook design," Apple vice president Philip Schiller said in a statement.
The 25mm-thick notebook has a dual-core processor, and the company claims it is five times faster than its predecessor, the PowerBook G4.
Designed for "business and creative professionals," the MacBook Pro includes a brighter display and iLife software for creating Web sites, blogs and Podcasts with images, according to the company.
Industry analysts suspected Apple would likely go on to release a lower-priced, less turbo-charged, version of the laptop for the broader market.
Meanwhile, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said on Tuesday that a new generation of mobile phones will outclass today's iPod as devices to play personal music on.
A huge amount of innovation was coming to mobile devices, whether music players, phones or e-mail machines, Ballmer told a Berlin management forum.
"Portable music is not just the iPod," he said, referring to Apple's hugely successful player.
Ballmer said the future of Web searching was still wide open, despite the current dominance of Google, because "on every second search, we don't find what we are looking for."
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