Apple readying cheaper, faster, lighter MacBook Air

Looks like the guys over at Cult of Mac have received a few interesting tidbits of information as it pertains to a possible MacBook Air refresh at this Wednesday's Back to the Mac Apple event. Here's a look at what they say they've been told:

• The new model is also apparently much snappier than its underpowered predecessor. ”It boots so fast, it’s unbelievable,” our source says. “It’s amazing how fast it boots up.”
• A faster 13-inch model with upgradeable options should appeal to pro users, while a cheaper 11-inch MacBook Air might be more attractive to students and casual users.
• A 50-percent bigger battery, delivering 8-10 hours of battery life. The current MacBook Air has a 5-hour battery.
• The new machine is thinner and lighter, weighing less than the current model’s 3lbs, our source says.
• The new enclosure is also an aluminum unibody design, like the current model — but not as curvy.
• Same black keyboard as current MBA, same single-button Multi-Touch trackpad. [wha? Current MacBook trackpad has separate button, unlike the rendering]
• Upgradable RAM (base 2GB [-boo!], SSD. Also NVidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics
• Two configs: 2.1Ghz (with 2GB of RAM) and 2.4 GHz (with 4GB of RAM).

Of course, we take all this stuff with a grain of salt until Apple actually shows it off, but the MacBook Air is in serious need of a hardware refresh, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it happen on Wednesday. Pricing on these is also rumored to be dropping from the current $1,500 starting price, with the 11.6-inch model starting at $1,100 and the 13.3-inch version going for $1,400.

As always, we will have all the details from this Wednesday's event as they happen.

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