A hands-on look at the new MacBook Pro

Yuval Kossovsky   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Hardware Stories  

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January 25, 2006 (Computerworld) -- Apple Computer's new MacBook Pro -- the renamed Intel-based successor to the PowerBook unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs two weeks ago -- isn't yet shipping (see "Update: Apple unveils Intel-based laptop, iMac"). But Apple officials are now showing off their newest 15-in. laptop, and I had a chance at a special Apple event last week to get a closer look at it. In fact, I had some real "pick it up and use it" hands-on time.

The good news is that the MacBook Pro, which comes in two models and starts at $1,999, feels and looks just as solid and well built as its aluminum-clad predecessor. The better news is that it outperforms and is better engineered than any G3- or G4-based laptop models Apple has sold.

First, I should say up front that I don't know whether the model I had in my hands was a prototype or an example of the final product, which is due to ship officially next month.

Having said that, I can tell you this laptop is fast. Really fast. I am hesitant to say it's exponentially faster than the G4 version, but subjectively, this baby cooks. Universal binary programs like Safari and Apple's iLife suite -- which have been rewritten by Apple to take advantage of the new dual-core 1.83-GHz Intel processor inside -- launched in one or two icon bounces. And using the Microsoft Office suite, which hasn't yet been rewritten, was seamless using Rosetta.

For those of you who may not have been following Apple's transition to Intel, Rosetta is emulation software built into the latest version of Mac OS X 10.4. It was designed to allow programs written for the G4 processor to run without a hitch on Intel. It works. I did not feel like I was using a translation/emulation environment at all, something that's going to be important in the months ahead as Apple moves more of its hardware to Intel and software developers follow with recoded apps. Although older versions of Mac programs will work on the Intel hardware, they will likely run slower than on a native G3 or G4 chip.

Apple wants to make this transition as seamless and transparent as possible, and if my short time using Rosetta is any benchmark, I'd say they're off to a good start.

The built-in Web cam -- think of it as a smaller iSight camera -- is clearer and offers higher resolution video than was previously available using Apple's iSight Web cam with the G4 PowerBook. And when using iChat A/V, you can now act as the host for a four-way video session -- largely because of the Core Duo chip speed. That's noteworthy because four-way video is processor-intensive and thus was previously available only on G5 computers and some G4 Power Macs.

The LCD screen, which offers a 1,440-by-900-pixel resolution, is much brighter than those on earlier Apple laptops. In fact, there was no discernible difference between the screen brightness on the MacBook Pro and a 20-in. iMac Core Duo sitting next to it. Anyone who's seen how bright those iMac screens are will appreciate how good looking this laptop screen is. No doubt the inclusion of a new video card, the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, helps. The ATI card offers 256MB of video RAM on the top-end MacBook Pro, half that amount on the entry-level version.

One of the innovations offered on both versions of the MacBook Pro is the new "MagSafe" power connector. If you've ever knocked your laptop off a table by inadvertently catching on the power cord, you're going to appreciate this new connector. It uses magnets to stay connected, and no matter how many times I tried to pull on the cable to yank the MacBook off the table, the connector successfully disconnected each time. The MacBook Pro never moved more than a quarter of an inch. This is good news for those of you who would rather your laptop not fall to the floor. In other words, it's good news for all MacBook Pro owners

While Apple has given with the new MagSafe connector, it has taken away by getting rid of the FireWire 800 connector slot and the modem. FireWire 800 was left off the motherboard of the new laptop largely because it has not achieved much a following among users. But for those who need the faster data transfer speeds available with FireWire 800, other offerings are on the way: I saw a prototype Belkin FireWire 800 ExpressCard 34 model that should ship by the time the MacBook Pro does. I've also been in contact with the ExpressCard standards group and am waiting for a list of manufacturers that will have cards in the 34mm flavor for the MacBookPro. I've heard from sources that several manufacturers are readying GPRS/EDGE and CDMA/EVDO cards for road warriors.

The loss of the modem jack may be a sign of things to come. I was told that Apple had found that 90% of PowerBook owners used the 802.11g Airport wireless card, Gigabit Ethernet or a Bluetooth connection to a cell modem to get network access. So for cost and package-size reasons, the modem was left out. A USB modem dongle is easily added for a few dollars, and it is instantly recognized and configured for use as if it had been built in.

Apple has also learned some lessons from the titanium-clad PowerBook G4 that predates its aluminum models. Owners sometimes complained about poor Wi-Fi reception on the titanium books, so Apple has moved the antenna strip for the Airport card to the inner hinge -- and the covering material for that part of the computer is plastic, not metal. The Bluetooth antenna is on the other side of the laptop, to keep those wireless devices from interfering with each other when the Airport card is using the 802.11b standard.

Although I did not have enough time to determine battery life on the new model, Apple has said it will be "as good or better" than current PowerBook offerings.

In summary, except for the wonky name, I can say the MacBook Pro looks like a real winner.

Did I miss something? Do you have an opinion to share? Send your questions, comments and curses to y.kossovsky@ieee.org.

See more Macintosh news and opinions:

• Intel boosts support for Apple developers


• Ken Mingis' Blog: What's in a MacName?


• Ken Mingis' Blog: There's a new iMac on my desk


• Ken Mingis' Blog: Mac users 'unbearably smug' about security?

Alex Scoble: Get ripped off at iTunes store for low-quality 128 bit

• All Macintosh Blogs

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