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Yep, they're still pricey, but Apple's updated MacBook Pro laptops now boast Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors, improved cameras capable of HD video chat, and a speedy new interface with a cool-sounding name: Thunderbolt.
It's been almost a year since Apple's MacBook Pro line got a major refresh, and among the biggest changes is the addition of Intel's multi-core "Sandy Bridge" processors, with even the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro now packing a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor.
Meanwhile, the top-of-the-line 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros will come with 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processors, with a built-to-order option for a 2.3GHz processor. Gone are the discrete Nvidia processors for graphics, which have been replaced by AMD chipsets.
Also new: a newly-dubbed FaceTime HD camera that boasts three times the resolution of previous built-in MacBook Pro cameras, good for 720p-quality video chat with other MacBook Pro users with the just-released, 99-cent FaceTime desktop app. The camera also allows for standard-definition FaceTime calls with iPhone and iPod Touch users.
Perhaps the biggest innovation in the latest MacBook Pros can be found in a port sitting along the side of the chassis: we're talking Thunderbolt, a new, blisteringly fast interface developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple.
Thunderbolt will offer transfer speeds up to a sizzling 10 gigabits per second, 12 times faster than FireWire 800 interfaces or a whopping 20 times faster than USB 2.0, Apple promises. It also supports existing FireWire and USB peripherals, not to mention external monitors with DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA adapters.
Thunderbolt could come in handy for those looking to connect a RAID array of hard drives to their systems, or if you simply want to connect your monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and other peripherals to your Mac using a single cord. (CNET has more details on Thunderbolt here.)
While the new MacBook Pros mark the first consumer systems on the market to arrive with Intel's Thunderbolt technology, it remains to be seen whether Thunderbolt becomes an industry standard—or even replace the coming USB 3.0 standard, for that matter.
All very nice, but anyone looking for innovation from Apple in the pricing department will come away disappointed. The cheapest MacBook Pro is still $1,199 for the 13-inch model, with the entry-level 15-inch MBP remaining at $1,799. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which saw a $200 price drop last year to $2.229, ended up giving back the savings with its updated $2,499 price tag.
Yep, they're still pricey, but Apple's updated MacBook Pro laptops now boast Intel's new Sandy Bridge processors, improved cameras capable of HD video chat, and a speedy new interface with a cool-sounding name: Thunderbolt.
It's been almost a year since Apple's MacBook Pro line got a major refresh, and among the biggest changes is the addition of Intel's multi-core "Sandy Bridge" processors, with even the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro now packing a 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor.
Meanwhile, the top-of-the-line 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pros will come with 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processors, with a built-to-order option for a 2.3GHz processor. Gone are the discrete Nvidia processors for graphics, which have been replaced by AMD chipsets.
Also new: a newly-dubbed FaceTime HD camera that boasts three times the resolution of previous built-in MacBook Pro cameras, good for 720p-quality video chat with other MacBook Pro users with the just-released, 99-cent FaceTime desktop app. The camera also allows for standard-definition FaceTime calls with iPhone and iPod Touch users.
Perhaps the biggest innovation in the latest MacBook Pros can be found in a port sitting along the side of the chassis: we're talking Thunderbolt, a new, blisteringly fast interface developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple.
Thunderbolt will offer transfer speeds up to a sizzling 10 gigabits per second, 12 times faster than FireWire 800 interfaces or a whopping 20 times faster than USB 2.0, Apple promises. It also supports existing FireWire and USB peripherals, not to mention external monitors with DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI, and VGA adapters.
Thunderbolt could come in handy for those looking to connect a RAID array of hard drives to their systems, or if you simply want to connect your monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, and other peripherals to your Mac using a single cord. (CNET has more details on Thunderbolt here.)
While the new MacBook Pros mark the first consumer systems on the market to arrive with Intel's Thunderbolt technology, it remains to be seen whether Thunderbolt becomes an industry standard—or even replace the coming USB 3.0 standard, for that matter.
All very nice, but anyone looking for innovation from Apple in the pricing department will come away disappointed. The cheapest MacBook Pro is still $1,199 for the 13-inch model, with the entry-level 15-inch MBP remaining at $1,799. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which saw a $200 price drop last year to $2.229, ended up giving back the savings with its updated $2,499 price tag.