by Brian Solis
After much speculation, the new Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro models were officially announced today without a huge event, without Linkin Park, without Steve Jobs (even though the industry went nuts trying to chase down that lead.)
After reading the news, I can see why a press release can simply do the job instead of Mr. Jobs. Even though fanboys and fangirls hoped and prayed for a MacBook Air inspiried design, THEY DIDN’T UPDATE THE LOOK AND FEIL OF EITHER MODEL. Instead, notebooks were buffed-up with the latest and greatest innards and also now feature the Multi-Touch trackpad introduced in the MacBook Air.
I have to say, I do appreciate the functionality of the Multi-Touch interface and playfully pretend that I had swipe, resize, and rotate capability on every remote control and monitor that I use (it’s very Minority Report).
Am I going to run out and update my MBP? Nope…I’ll wait for the redesign – for a bit anyway.
Just as a reminder, Mr. Jobs said the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines would feature this new interface at MacWorld…so why did we drool over the thought of radical new designs potentially inspired by the Air? In fact, I incorrectly assumed they were already shipping.
Nonetheless, here are the new specs…
The 2.1 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,099 (US), includes:
- 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
- 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) optical drive;
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
- Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- 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
- 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch white MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:
- 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
- Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- 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
- 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz, 13-inch black MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US), includes:
- 13.3-inch glossy widescreen 1280 x 800 display;
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;
- Mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
- built-in iSight video camera;
- Gigabit Ethernet port;
- built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
- 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
- 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to up to 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 160GB or 250GB hard drive, Apple USB Modem, Apple Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, Apple Mini-DVI to VGA adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:
- 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 LCD display;
- 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 200GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
- DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video 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 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
- two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port and one FireWire 400 port;
- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
- Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
- 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.5 GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:
- 15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 LCD display;
- 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB 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 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
- two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port and one FireWire 400 port;
- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
- Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
- 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.5 GHz, 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:
- 17-inch widescreen 1680 x 1050 LCD display;
- 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
- 800 MHz front-side bus;
- 2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
- 250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
- a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB 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 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
- three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port and one FireWire 400 port;
- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
- Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
- 85 Watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
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