As managing editor of Apple Inc.'s newest MacBook has a polycarbonate shell, and it's getting pretty good reviews. Considering that the company has been using aluminum for everything else, retaining PC for the entry-point laptop is worth noting.
Engadget's Joshua Topolsky said:
We had a chance to play around with the laptop, and it's pretty snazzy for a hunk of plastic. The surface is super slick (AKA super fingerprint friendly), though the base of the laptop utilizes a soft-touch, non-slip surface that's nice to handle.
TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) and PCmag.com note that the new iBook features a unibody design similar to the more expensive MacBook Pro (which are aluminum).
Apple claims the unibody makes the MacBook lighter and more durable.
Apple also notes that the new laptops are PVC-free.
The energy-efficient MacBook joins the industry's greenest lineup of notebooks, with every Mac notebook achieving EPEAT Gold status and meeting Energy Star 5.0 requirements. The entire Mac notebook line now comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, use internal cables and components that are PVC-free and are constructed of recyclable materials.
Blog readers will remember that BusinessWeek wrote a feature back in September about Apple's efforts to eliminate PVC.