An Apple spokesperson has told T3 that the MacBook Air’s multitouch track pad is software, not hardware, based.

This means that rather than having to lash out on a new lappie to have access to all that touch-based goodness, owners of standard MacBooks and MacBook Pros could potentially download an update to give their kit a multitouch makeover.

When put to our man on the inside, he said that this was the whole point of it being software based.

Whether we’ll see an official release later this year, or have to wait for hackers to get to work on some homebrewed alternative, remains to be seen.

The potential for this is huge. Getting multitouch working on a full specced machine, like the Pro, would completely change the way people interact with their computer in a work environment, as well as making the likes of iTunes and iPhoto more user friendly.

If it was seeded to developers, then the opportunities to use it in line with likes of Photoshop and Final Cut are also massive.

But, let’s face it, the real killer here is the fact that you won’t have to fork out on a new high ender just because your laptop doesn’t come with multitouch.