Apple are launching today the Macbook Pro, a brand new laptop powered by a dual-core Intel chip. The Macbok Pro solves the heat issue that Apple had trying to get a G5 chip into a Powerbook. Slightly thinner than an existing Powerbook, the Macbook Pro will feature 15.4″ screen („as bright as the Cinema Display units), an iSight camera, and will run 4-5x faster than the Powerbook. It also features a IR sensor for the recently released remote control units. A rather novel magnetic power cord (in terms of the attachment mechanism) called MagSafe is also included, perhaps meaning an end to yanking laptops off tables. The Macbook Pro will ship in February, but Apple will be taking orders from today. Priced at $1999 and $2499 for 1.67GHz and 1.83GHz respectivly, they come with an ATi Radeon X1600, Airport Extreme and Bluetooth, 4x Superdrive, 512MB/ 1Gb RAM and 80Gb / 100Gb Harddrives. It weighs 5.6 pounds and comes with features previously seen on the Powerbook, like the backlight sensor, and DVI out for 30“ displays.
The 1.67 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
- 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
- 1.67 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
- 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
- 80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load SuperDrive™ (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;
- DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
- built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- built-in AirPort® Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
- two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire® 400 port;
- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
- scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
- the infrared Apple Remote;
- 60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery; and
- 85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector.
The 1.83 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
- 15.4-inch widescreen 1440 x 900 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
- 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
- 1GB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
- 100GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
- DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
- built-in Dual Link support for driving Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- built-in Airport Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
- two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port;
- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
- scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard;
- the infrared Apple Remote;
- 60 Watt hour lithium polymer battery; and
- 85W AC power adapter with MagSafe magnetic power connector
More information here and also here.