(stub)
Apple’s high end laptop, which replaced the venerable PowerBook line when Apple switched to Intel chips in 2006. I use a 15” 2.3GHz C2D MacBook Pro as my main machine (Gestalt MacBookPro2,2)
The device was refreshed in October 2008.
Changes in the Oct2008 version
- Glossy screens only. Previously a customer could choose between matte and glossy.
Right now, would be a dealbreaker for me. While I’m ok with the glossy screen on a monitor or iMac, which doesn’t move, laptops have to deal with changing light conditions. Glossy screens are like mirrors and very bad with light sources reflecting in the screen. The color, though is incredible. I’m not getting a new laptop for at least a year, anyway, so there’s time for me to warm up to the idea (as well as Apple going back to offering a matte finish) - No FW400, with one FW800 port. Older versions had both.
I predicted the death of Firewire. Looks like that’s happening. The refreshed MacBook doesn’t have FW at all. - Easily upgradable hard drive. (previous editions required quite a bit of work)
This is a curious, though very welcome, change. The hard drive is exposed along with the battery via a new latch on the bottom. - Battery indicator on the side. (previous editions had an indicator on the battery itself, which was exposed on the bottom)
This isn’t quite so useful to me, but the row of LEDs that provide battery charge status, as well as the button to activate them, is now on the side. Hopefully there’s an indicator on the battery itself, too, so you don’t have to put the battery in the laptop to see how charged it is, which is way more useful. - Black glass bezel around the screen.
Similar to the iMac, which is gorgeous, the MBP now frames the display in a black bezel. So, the machine is two-toned when open: An aluminum bottom half, and a black top half. - ”Chicklet” keyboard. (old models had a Al finished keyboard where the keys were all together)
Like the MacBook, and like the Apple USB & Bluetooth keyboards, the MBP now has separate keys on its keyboard. Some people won’t like that, but I’ve grown very fond of the USB keyboard, and I suspect this will feel the same. The keyboard is still backlit in low-light conditions. - Tapered bottom.
The machine will feel smaller, even though it’s slightly larger in two dimensions. They’ve tapered the bottom similar to the style of the MacBook Air. - Combo headphone/mic jack.
The line-in jack is still there, but using a four conductor headphone/mic combination (like the iPhone headphones) in the MBP will allow the mic to be active, as well as the ‘clicky’ to play/pause skip to next track, etc. - Magnetic latch. (previous models had a physical latch)
Another welcome change. There’s no button to push to release the clamshell, now, just open it. There’s a “thumb guide” on the front of the laptop to place your thumb so you can separate the two halves. The previous MBP models had a physical latch that was recessed via a magnet, which I always thought was pretty clever (especially when comparing it to other manufacturers). - No-button glass trackpad. (previous models had one button)
Apple’s one-button simplicity gets even simpler with zero buttons. The entire trackpad (which, thanks to no button, is now quite a bit larger) acts as a button. Yes, it’s multitouch like the MacBook Air. In fact, they’ve expanded multitouch to use three- and four-finger gestures. Reviewers say that if you use the trackpad just like the old one (clicking with your thumb), there’s no learning curve. If Apple actually pulled that off, that’s great. The extra gestures are a welcome addition, as is the larger size. - ”Unibody” construction.
Rather than being made of disparate pieces welded or screwed together, the bottom of the new MBP is constructed from one piece of Aluminum. This should give the laptop a rigid strength, and most early reviewers seem to agree. While not quite in the league of “semi-rugged” laptops, the new MBP should be able to easily withstand day-to-day abuse. - Mini DisplayPort. (previous models had a full-sized DVI port)
Sigh. Another Apple innovation that, at least in the short term, exists only to extrude even more money from Apple faithful. While DisplayPort is a VESA standard, and an important one, and probably the future of displays, right now, as the laptop is released, it’s not in wide use at all. That’s forgivable, and even shows the type of future vision we expect from Apple. Remember that there were hardly any USB peripherals until the original iMac was released with only USB ports. Customers complained, and manufacturers scrambled to provide USB. Within a short time, lots of USB devices were available, and we all (even PC users) won. However, the switch to DisplayPort is not that rosy. What Apple is actually using on the new MBP (and the MacBook too), is mini DisplayPort, which, today, seems to be just an Apple port. Adapters (available from Apple for an additional cost) are necessary to hook these laptops to any display (save Apple’s own 24” Cinema Display). That includes projectors, and even top-of-the-line displays from other vendors. Apple could have gone a long way towards easing this if they had only shipped a miniDP-to-standardDP cable with the laptop, as most high end monitors, like the Dell 2408 and 2709 that I use daily, have DisplayPort on them. But Apple requires adapters for everything but their own display (which isn’t even shipping until November 2008). That will probably change, as the miniDP becomes more widely available, but I still think the projector problem is huge (most projectors still use VGA connectors, even today, which is shameful, but a rant for another time). We’ll see if this hubris on Apple’s part is a justified investment in the future, or just a scam to get us to buy overpriced adapter cables.
Reviews (Oct2008 version)
- ArsTechnica review part 1
- ArsTechnica review part 2
- Engadget review of the MacBook and MacBookPro
- AnandTech review
- Scott Kelby generally loves it, but the track-pad-no-button thing makes him want to use it as a clay pigeon.
Resources (Oct2008 version)
- Tear down guide from iFixit. The machine is just as beautiful on the inside.
