SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O on Tuesday unveiled a wide-screen laptop computer, its own Web browser and a faster wireless technology as part of its bid to gain new converts to its line of computers.

The product announcements, made at the Macworld exposition, marked an extension of Apple's strategy of winning over users from Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT.O Windows operating system by offering a "digital hub" of technology linking computers and other electronic gadgets.

But analysts said the high-profile trade show failed to wow as it had in past years, a key consideration for Apple, which has built its following on a reputation for innovative design and splashy product debuts.

Calling 2003 "the year of the notebook," Apple founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs demonstrated a laptop clad in an aircraft-grade aluminum alloy case and featuring a 17-inch screen, which the company touted as the biggest ever for a notebook computer.

Jobs also showed off a smaller companion laptop with a 12-inch screen, which he said was the smallest full-feature notebook PC available, along with a wireless networking technology five times faster than the current standard.

The 17-inch-screen Titanium PowerBook will hit retail shelves next month and cost $3,299. The PowerBook with a 12-inch screen will sell for $1,799, Apple said, and will be available in the next two weeks.

Although Apple machines traditionally demand a price premium, analyst Rob Enderle of Giga Information Group noted that the new Titanium PowerBook was priced some $1,000 more than a 16-inch-screen Toshiba laptop, its nearest competitor.

At the same time, laptops built on Intel Corp INTC.O 's Banias chip, its first processor custom-designed for mobile computing, will be hitting the market soon, he said.

"Apple is about to walk into a buzz saw with all the Banias-related stuff. When Banias launches, manufacturers are going to be doing a total refresh of their notebooks," Enderle said.

Apple's new hardware and updated applications to edit movies and photos, the heart of Apple's campaign to make the computer a hub of digital electronics products, drew whoops of approval from the San Francisco crowd but failed to energize analysts.

"I think these are specialty products," said Roger Kay, an analyst at International Data Corp who called the smaller machine a type of "executive jewelry."

"There is a question of significance," said Kay, questioning whether either laptop would pack much appeal beyond Apple's existing -- and devoted -- user base.

Another analyst also said that the new laptops might not spur vast sales. "We thought the products were interesting but we don't consider anything they introduced today a blockbuster product," said Dan Niles, an analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Apple traditionally sets the tone for its year at the Macworld conference, where it introduces products and cutting edge technology.

Although Apple failed to deliver on hopes for a souped up iPod music player with video or mobile phone capabilities, the more than 3,000 Apple users gathered in San Francisco enthusiastically applauded new hardware and software releases.

"I read some of the rumor sites that said this is going to be the most boring Macworld in history," Jobs told the audience. "I guess you shouldn't believe everything you read."

Apple said that its new operating system, OS X, was running on more than 5 million Macs, a number Jobs said could double over the next year.

Two of the Apple software releases Jobs unveiled took aim at market-dominating products on offer from Microsoft: Safari, a Web browser, which will compete against Internet Explorer, and Keynote, a $99 business presentation program that will run up against PowerPoint.

Shares of Apple closed down 5 cents at $14.85 in Nasdaq trade.