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Apple goes Pro with 13in MacBook, updates 15in MBP
Author: Tim SmalleyPublished: 9th June 2009
Apple updated its MacBook line with several new versions and slashed prices on many existing models at its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote last night.
The new models included new 13in and 15in MacBook Pros, which feature the same lithium polymer battery technology introduced with the 17in MacBook Pro earlier this year, which boasts up to seven hours of battery life.
Moreover, Apple says that the new batteries can be recharged 1,000 times before degradation – more than three times as many as a typical laptop battery, claimed the company.
The 13in model starts at £899, while the new 15in version will set you back £1,299 for its base spec. Both products include an improved LED-backlit display with 60 per cent higher colour gamut, an SD card, up to 8GB of memory, FireWire 800 and 500GB of storage (or a 256GB SSD).
The base spec 13in model comes with a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of memory, GeForce 9400M graphics and a 160GB hard drive. The additional two inches afforded by the new 15in MacBook Pro allows Apple to increase the base spec to a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a GeForce 9400M IGP and a 250GB hard drive.
The 17in MacBook Pro and MacBook Air have had price cuts and are now listed at £1,849 and £1,149 for their base spec models. The 17in MacBook Pro’s specs have been improved as well, as the CPU frequency has been increased to 2.8GHz and storage capacity has been bumped to 500GB.
The MacBook Air still features a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo, a 120GB hard drive and a GeForce 9400M graphics chip at this new price. The flagship model includes a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, a 128GB SSD and GeForce 9400M graphics – both models feature 2GB of memory.
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That seems like a good deal compared to the previous macbook 13" aluminium model to be honest. I dont remember the alu models of the macbook being that cheap.
If you want to look at price disparity to the US.. then yeah sure.. we get stiffed as usual.. but not as much as on the iMac line. Ouch! At nearly 1.60 to the pound, those new iMacs are seriously overpriced.
Or dual boot it as I do. I got a 15" Pro a few years ago, replaced the 120HD with a 320 HD and with Boot Camp (free) I can hardware boot to either OSX or XP (or Vista) just fine. Or with some of the virtual machine apps you can launch one environment from within the other however I prefer the hardware level access as I'm almost always just in one OS. However if you do run Windows on these regularly you'll want to get a mouse as right clicking with only one track pad button is a bit of a kludge IMO.
i hereby invoke godwin's law. YOU LOSE AT THE INTERNET.
See where I am going? You get what you pay for. I have used Apple products for the past 14 years and have very rarely seen them fail of their own accord (the 5300 series notebooks WERE pieces of crap through, I will give you that). There is also a sense of style and design at work, of course. In the end, I think that paying the "Apple Tax" is like buying a Subaru instead of a Ford. You pay more up front, but have good experiences with the thing for a much longer period of time.
EDIT: I decided to configure a system from Lenovo as closely as possible to that of the 15" Macbook Pro specs. A T500 which has the same processor, hard drive, RAM but with the ATI Radeon 3650/256MB and Vista Ultimate is $1452. So $250 more for backlit keyboard, possible better screen and the unibody.
i was hoping they'd release a 12inch Macbook "nano" with ultra-long battery life and unibody case. the only reasons one would consider Apple laptops over others is the strong unibody. (you can install OSX on other machines easily)
Um, not easily, but yes it can be done. I have a vanilla Lenovo based off of the X3100 chipset and it was something of a pain to get everything working correctly.
Actually, the newer 13" macbook pro is cheaper than the unibody macbook 13" it replaces.
nah Apple has always been a ugh for me, they could be soooo much farther a long and take a much larger chunk of the OS market if they were just a bit less controlling, if they opened up the OS so that people could install it on custom built systems Im sure almost over nigh they would probably jump to like 30% or more of the market. It just erks me, one of the few companies I have met that makes you pay to make thier product better ~_~
nVidia is a bit more recent, about oh the last couple of years I have the erk for them but apple has been for many many years. =p
If I want a Macbook with a dedicated graphics card I need to buy the mid range 15" model. So its now more expensive to get a Macbook with dedicated graphics.
If I want a half decent amount of video memory by todays standards (512MB) I need to spend $2599 Canadian to get the top of the line 15".
It amazes me how people find this lineup impressive. The increase in processing power, memory and storage is just taking advantage of continual improvements in yield and decrease in production cost by the manufacturers of those parts. Its simply just keeping up with the times.
Apple has the look, feel and build quality down, but they really could be providing so much more with their specs as always.
Im not looking, their smacking me right in the face. It amuses me that people ignore the obvious flaws in the latest models they covet. That is until a new comes out and they rush out to buy the latest.
I love how adding back Firewire was something to talk about, it should have never left in the first place. I would really like an HDMI eSATA port. You know how great it is to connect a PC to a TV with 1 cable. With the mac I need a mini DVI to DVI cable (Display Port on new ones), a DVI to HDMI cable and a seperate audio cable. Also some TV's have issue with taking audio from a source other than HDMI while using HDMI for video.
Really Im not looking, its just lacking a few key things for me.
this bit isn't true. displayport carries audio so you can use a displayport to hdmi cable.
you seem to be spreading FUD. the bottom of the MBP is fully removable. in fact it's easier to open than any laptop i know, it's just 8 screws and the entire bottom panel comes off.
er, no? you can do what you want inside. break it and they won't fix it, though. but they don't have a 'zomg you touched the inside' clause. i should know - i took mine for repair and they didn't even mention the fact i'd epoxied part of my case together on the inside because i'd accidentally popped a spot weld whilst taking it apart
god, where does all this FUD come from :( - the support apple offers is actually some of the best of any company i've ever dealt with!
I've used the model with DVI and that is the case with that model. I don't know about the display port models, but if thats true thats good. But it still isn't as nice as having HDMI.
Also I was asking about upgrading the hard drive and RAM on the new ones. I know with the models I have seen memory and hard is easy access as is most laptops. But Im not sure about the models with integrated battery. I heard the bottom plate was not removable, I was ASKING not SAYING if its upgradable. No need to be a dick, Im just asking questions and sharing my experience. So does anyone know fore sure about the new models on upgradability?
errr no, hes right, you cant take it to any repair shop, it has to go to a Apple Certified location for any repair or upgrade. I should know I work at a repair place, they turned down apple certification because Apple wanted to much money to be allowed to fix their machines for them lol.
Other than that, I do like the software(even at a basic level, the Video editor in OSX is 100x better than WME), and it does have a good battery life.
And then there's the price tag..
If you or the uncertified technician break something, they wont fix it, but if you say, Swap the HDD of an older MacBook Pro (Sucks typing that on my just under year old 'Classic' MBP) and then the Logic Board dies, they will still exchange the Logic Board, unless they can link it to something you've done.
Apple have the best Aftercare possible (iPhone 3G and MBP Battery swapped in 20 Mins, In Store)
Honestly, you're really not. FFS ring apple and ask them - they had NO issue with me opening my unit up to replace a HDD. Good god, there are even instructions on apple's support site for disassembling the vast majority of their models for the sake of replacing user-replaceable parts! I don't know how much more clearly i can spell this out other than to write a ****ing song.
Anyway, you know what? I can't be bothered with this. You use PCs? Awesome, i have three of those, they're bloody great. you use macs? awesome, i have one of those too, it's great. you like linux? sweet, i use it daily, it's great.
Now please, stop arbitrarily bashing things that you quite obviously have no idea about - it does nobody any good.
Nobody insulted you or Apple or Linux or Windows or Android or any religious group. :|