LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Apple Inc. on Tuesday announced an updated line of notebook computers which cost less than the company's current offerings.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the new and greener notebook computers -- including one for 999 U.S. dollars -- was a revamped version of the company's Macbook Pro computer.

New innovations on the machine include new unibody construction, a glass, multi-touch trackpad and a thin, LED-backlit display, according to Jobs.

Apple has also updated the Macbook Air and the Macbook. The new models are shipping today and will be available in stores tomorrow, Jobs said.

Jobs said the revamped laptops are free of several hazardous chemicals, such as arsenic and PVC and come in considerably smaller packaging than previous models.

"The spotlight turns to notebooks," the company said in the announcement, which included the outline of what looked to be an Apple laptop computer.

Apple analysts and rumor sites have been predicting for weeks that the company soon would announce an updated line of notebook computers.

The announcement came amid good and bad news for the company. On the plus side, Apple's computers, particularly its notebook line, have been gradually gaining market share in recent years, outpacing sales of the broader PC industry. Further, the company's iPhone handsets have been a hit with consumers, particularly since the launch of this summer of a second generation model with a faster network connection.

On the flip side, growth in sales of the company's iPods have slowed and even company co-founder Steve Wozniak has warned that the music player's best days may be behind it.

More disconcertingly for shareholders, Apple's stock has plunged amid the general market crash. Apple shares closed Monday at 110.26 dollars, leaving them down 44 percent in the year to date.

Some analysts said introducing lower-cost computers would make sense for Apple.

"Dropping the price seems like a reasonable strategy," said Andy Hargreaves, of Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. "It certainly opens a new portion of the market for them."
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