CUPERTINO, US - APPLE on Tuesday cut the price on its entry-level notebook computer to US$999 (S$1,465) and introduced a line of aluminum-clad machines starting at US$1,299 in moves catering to budget-minded buyers at a time when recession fears loom over the global economy.

But shares of Apple, which have risen about 20 per cent since the company last week invited reporters to a notebook event, fell 3 per cent in heavy trade on the Nasdaq to US$106.99 after first falling as much as 5 per cent. Many analysts had expected the entry-level notebook price to fall to US$899.

'Bad for the stock today, good for the stock over the next couple of months,' said Mr Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who said that the new machines looked good even if the new entry-level price was not as low as Wall Street had hoped.

Chief Executive Steve Jobs, looking thin but active, put the focus on the new line of MacBooks, although he took a few moments at the end to joke about his health.

His blood pressure was 110 over 70, he said. 'And that's all we're going to be talking about Steve's health today,' he added lightly, referring to concerns earlier this year that the cancer survivor's health was deteriorating.

He said he would not take questions on the economy or his health.

The new line of metal notebooks, starting at US$1,299, are in what Gartner analyst Van Baker called the sweet spot of Apple's line. Previously a white plastic-body machine held the spot.

'The biggest news is the US$1,299 MacBook,' he said.

The US$999 price will be for an updated model of the white-body notebooks. The new aluminum machines will use Nvidia graphics and Intel processors.

When asked if Apple would get into the market for small 'netbook' notebook computers, Mr Jobs said, 'It's a nascent market,' and that Apple would see how it went.

Apple also rolled out an US$899 24-inch wide display for the new MacBooks. -- REUTERS