Jobs unveils iTunes movie rentals

SAN FRANCISCO Apple chief Steve Jobs used his opening speech at MacWorld today to unveil a new movie rental service for iTunes featuring all the major studios. Jobs also debuted a new, super-thin notebook computer and iPhone upgrades at the annual gathering of Apple enthusiasts.

The movie rental service will debut on iTunes in February with new releases available for $3.99 and catalog titles for $2.99. Movies will be available 30 days after they come out on DVD and can be watched for 24 hours after they’re opened.  

Jobs also unveiled the MacBook Air notebook computer that’s three-quarters-of-an-inch thick at its thickest point, weighs less than three pounds and sports an 80 GB hard drive. The first units are expected to arrive in stores by the end of January at a price of $1,800. Jobs also announced upgrades to the iPhone, including a new option that allows users to text message multiple people at once. He said Apple has sold 4 million iPhones since it debuted last June.