Apple Releases New Sandy Bridge Mac Minis and Thunderbolt Display

 Today's  Following announcements of a new MacBook Air and Mac Mini, the white MacBook was no longer available on Apple's online store. That notebook, which boasted a 13-inch screen and came in at just $999, is, however, on sale in Apple's online refurbished marketplace for $849.

The new Mac mini lineup consists of two standard stock configurations alongside a "server" model. Notably, all models drop the optical disc in favor of an optional external SuperDrive.

Standard models
- 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5, 500 GB hard drive, 2 GB RAM: $599
- 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM: $799

Server model
- 2.0 GHz, dual 500 GB hard drives, 4 GB RAM: $999


All Mac mini models ship with OS X Lion pre-installed.

The upgrade to Thunderbolt also allows Apple to turn the display into an "ultimate docking station", with the new display now offering a built-in FaceTime HD camera, 2.1 speaker system, three USB ports, one Firewire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port, and a second Thunderbolt port to enable daisy chaining. An integrated MagSafe cable for powering connected notebook computers also continues to be offered.