Great news for those planning to upgrade to fit the requirements of Snow Leopard and wanted to save a buck in the process - Apple has secretly beefed up its low end notebook, the White 13-inch MacBook with a 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo (1066MHz frontside bus) processor, double the original memory and better graphics, keeping the ports intact, as well as the price: $999!

Is this the sweetest offer Apple has made this year, or what? The processor has been updated from 800MHz frontside bus to the 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo model with a 1066MHz frontside bus. Old MacBook models used to ship with 1GB of memory; the same money can now nab the customer 2 gigs of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory standard on the polycarbonate MacBook. Apple has also updated the graphics to NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, the standard on the 13-inch unibody MacBook (Late 2008). A smaller update,but worth mentioning nonetheless, is Bluetooth 2.1.Undoubtedly the upgrades are in anticipation of Apple releasing Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard, the newest version of OS X that Apple is actively working on, as far as we know. The changes were first spotted by the eagle-eyed folks over at Engadget. However, although quiet, Apple does mention the upgrades on the Apple Store page, where customers can order a 13-inch aluminum or polycarbonate MacBook (pictured left).

“Starting at just $999, MacBook has everything you need to do everything you need. Advanced NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics, a fast Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and more memory standard deliver power and performance,” Apple says. “And MacBook offers a slew of innovative features, including a built-in iSight camera for video chatting on the go, fast Wi-Fi so you can work from anywhere, and a glossy 13-inch widescreen display that makes graphics and video come alive,” the description ends.

For a closer look at the new white MacBook, visit Apple here.