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Uncategorized Thursday, February 24th 2011 at 9:49 am

Apple Unveils New MacBook Pros

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Today is Steve Jobs‘ birthday, and as expected, Apple has celebrated the event by rolling out the new generation of MacBook Pro laptops. As is underscored by the fact that Apple introduced these in a relatively low-key way without much fanfare, the new MacBook Pros mark an evolutionary rather than revolutionary change to the MBP lineup: Faster processors are available across the board, yes, and “Thunderbolt” (formerly known as Light Peak) has been unveiled, promising data transfer at speeds of up to 10 GB per second. Apple says that “the Thunderbolt pipeline is more than 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and it offers unprecedented expansion capabilities,” with new peripherals on the way.

But the new MacBook Pros do not bring the rumored operating system on an SSD that we heard about earlier this week: More broadly, they haven’t morphed into the iPad-laptop hybrids that many envisioned with the launch of the MacBook Air, though today Apple released to developers a preview of Mac OS X Lion, which is expected to bridge the gap somewhat between iOS and previous builds of OS X.  This is an incremental upgrade, and while the laptops may be worth getting if you’re in need of a new computer anyway, it may be worth waiting until either this fall’s likely MacBook Air update or next spring’s likely MacBook Pro update to see if Apple whips up something that’s dramatically different from MacBook Pros to date.

Specs and prices below:

13-inch MacBook Pro:

*starts at $1199 (better processor and hard drive for $1499)

*2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor ($1499 option: 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i7)

*320 GB hard drive ($1499: 500 GB hard drive)

15-inch MacBook Pro:

*starts at $1799 (higher-end model: $2199)

*2.0 GHz quad-core Core i7 processor ($2199: 2.2GHz Core i7)

*AMD Radeon HD6490M graphics, 1 GB VRAM ($2199: AMD Radeon 6750M)

*500 GB hard drive ($2199: 750 GB)

*Also available for more money: 128, 256, and 512 GB SSDs.

17-inch MacBook Pro:

*starts at $2499

*2.2 GHz quad-core Core i7

*AMD Radeon 6750M

*750 GB hard drive

*Also available for more: 128, 256, and 512 GB SSDs.

(Apple, Engadget)

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  • http://www.facebook.com/sberkey Scott Berkey

    Who cares? Prices are still too high for people who have to eat.

  • Anonymous

    This is why I opted for the Macbook, not the Pro. Slightly less pricy and has everything I need at least for now. They’re actually not bad at all from an accessibility standpoint. If you need a screen-reader, Windows computers don’t come with that feature right in the box, you have to buy extra software and that costs as much as the computer itself. With a Mac, you get the same stuff for the same price whether you need a screen-reader or not. My Mac laptop cost less than my Windows desktop with extra purchase of screen-reader a decade ago.

  • http://www.facebook.com/sberkey Scott Berkey

    Of course not, Windows doesn’t come with one….

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa939428(v=winembedded.5).aspx

    If that’s what you’re used to, then good for you. But I’m just saying, Windows comes with one – for a fraction of the price. Windows users don’t live in a vacuum like most Mac users think.

  • dvs

    the funked up part is i bought my 13″ two days ago so i got the 2010 model. but i noticed the 2011 doesnt have vram so maybe i got the better deal?

  • Beeblebrox

    Windows are great cheap laptops if you like running an OS from the 90s.