Apple's MacBook Air hits the shelves

But Apple TV update still off the air

Apple has started shipping its super-thin MacBook Air notebook.

The device measures an unprecedented 0.16in at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76in is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.

The MacBook Air boasts a 13.3in LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size backlit keyboard, built-in iSight video camera and a trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so that users can pinch, rotate and swipe.

The unit is powered by a 1.6GHz or 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes 2GB of Ram as standard, an 80GB 1.8in hard drive, 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.

The Air is available now through Apple Stores and resellers at a suggested retail price of $1,799.

However, Apple also announced that the new Apple TV software update, which allows users to rent high-definition movies directly from their widescreen TVs, is not quite finished.

Apple now plans to make the free software download available to existing Apple TV customers in another week or two.

The Apple TV software update will allow users to rent movies on the iTunes Store directly from their TV.

A catalogue of over 1,000 titles will be available by the end of February, including over 100 titles in HD with 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound.

DVD-quality iTunes Movie Rentals are $2.99 for library titles and $3.99 for new releases, and high definition versions are just $1 more.