As expected, Apple has announced its 17″ MacBook Pro that has had the intertubez all abuzz prior to Macworld. It is 0.98″ thin and tips the scales at just 6.6 pounds. Now that’s not the lightest ever, but it is a 17-inch laptop. But it is the lightest and thinnest 17″ notebook in the world though.

Some features include: 17″ LED backlit display 1,920 × 1,200 resolution 700:1 contrast ratio 60% greater color gamut compared to its predecessor, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 GHz Dual Core processor, 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM and a 320GB hard drive. You also have the choice of a $50 anti-glare option if you want. There’s a trio of USB 2.0 ports on the left, a Mini DisplayPort, FireWire 800, digital audio in/out and an ExpressCard slot and all the other features you love.

Have a look at this teaser site and while you’re at it, this site. Looks like Dell has a laptop coming that could be both lighter and thinner than the MacBook Air. A Dell that is sleek? Is that possible? Apparently.

Tatelman, Dell’s VP of consumer sales and marketing seems to have given it away, when asked about whether or not Dell had an Air-like product in store. Tatelman’s reaction? His “mouth gaped open and his eyes darted away from my face”. Tatelman then said:
“I think we need to get some iconic products out there, so people associate Dell’s brand with other things.” That would be goodbye to clunky, and hello to sleek.