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Apple spruces up MacBook Pro series
During this year’s WWDC Apple announced a significant breath of life to their MacBook laptop series. The changes bring a completely revamped 15” MacBook Pro, and upgrades to the 13” and 17” models. Also, undergoing a name-change, the 13” MacBook is now officially a member of the MacBook Pro family.
All of the models now include a built-in battery, which provides up to 7 hours of battery life – a dramatic 40% increase. Other mutual features include an LED-backlit display with improved color intensity, an illuminated keyboard, an SD card or ExpressCard slot, a FireWire 800 port and Nvidia graphics.
The 13” model kicks things off with base components including a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 9400M and a 160GB HDD. Pressing forward, the stock 15” MacBook packs a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a GeForce 9400M/9600M and a 250GB HDD. At the head of the pack, the 17” features a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 9400M and 9600M with 512MB VRAM, and a 500GB HDD.
Prices have come down across the board. The 13” starts at $1,200, the 15” at $1,700, the 17” at $2,500 and the MacBook Air at $1,500 – all of which are available now.
All of the models now include a built-in battery, which provides up to 7 hours of battery life – a dramatic 40% increase. Other mutual features include an LED-backlit display with improved color intensity, an illuminated keyboard, an SD card or ExpressCard slot, a FireWire 800 port and Nvidia graphics.
The 13” model kicks things off with base components including a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 9400M and a 160GB HDD. Pressing forward, the stock 15” MacBook packs a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a GeForce 9400M/9600M and a 250GB HDD. At the head of the pack, the 17” features a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 9400M and 9600M with 512MB VRAM, and a 500GB HDD.
Prices have come down across the board. The 13” starts at $1,200, the 15” at $1,700, the 17” at $2,500 and the MacBook Air at $1,500 – all of which are available now.
User Comments (6)
Post a comment| SNGX1275 on June 8, 2009 2:52 PM | I missed the keynote, but I did read some updates on macrumors.com, the prices are still higher than I'd like to see (aren't they always?). But I could get a 15" MB for less than I spent on my Powerbook several years ago, and I don't think I'm missing out too much compared to the Pro line. Back when I got my Powerbook there was a huge difference in the specs compared to an iBook, but now I don't think that gap is quite as significant (Pro vs nonpro). |
| Julio on June 8, 2009 3:08 PM | The 13-inch MacBooks are now also Pro models as a result, since the differentiation based on specs was too small to make it work. I just hope the new smaller Pros can now match the screen quality of the 15-inch models... http://www.techspot.com/blog/204/why-i-wouldnt-buy-the-new-macbook-and-probably-you-shouldnt-either/ Comparing prices I guess is fair if you are looking at your personal finances and want to compare the impact of buying a laptop then and now, but you could as well say Apple was forced to cut prices to remain competitive with other players in the market. |
| SNGX1275 on June 8, 2009 3:11 PM | I think that they upgraded the screens a week or 2 ago, silently. So its likely they didn't downgrade them again. I believe the unibody MBs were getting the same screen as the MBA. |
| captain828 on June 8, 2009 5:02 PM | Finally, some more competitive prices! |
| tengeta on June 8, 2009 10:00 PM | LOL at built in batteries, period. They do look sexy though... |
| Guest on June 9, 2009 6:45 AM | Why not a Compact Flash card reader ? or better still, a multi-card reader like many Windows computers ? |
