Product Description

Presenting the world's most advanced 1-inch-thin notebook. MacBook Pro is the first Mac notebook built on the Intel Core Duo processor, which delivers the power of two processors on a single chip--for blistering performance with high-end creative applications.(1) Front Row and the Apple Remote let you summon your photos, movies, music, and presentations from anywhere in the room. The built-in iSight camera gives you effortless, high-quality video conferencing using iChat AV.(2) The spacious 15.4-inch screen is a full 67 percent brighter than the 15-inch PowerBook G4 non-glossy display. Yet with all of its advances, MacBook Pro is just 1 inch thin and weighs only 5.6 pounds.(3) So it's a joy to handle as well as to use. (1)Based on estimated results of industry-standard SPECint and SPECfp rate tests. (2)Requires broadband Internet connection; fees may apply. (3)Weight varies depending on configuration and manufacturing process.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2111 in Personal Computers
• Color: Silver
• Brand: Apple
• Model: MA601LL/A
• Platform: Mac OS X
• Dimensions: 19.50" h x 5.60" w x 19.50" l, 7.00 pounds
• CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.16 GHz
• Memory: 1MB DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard Disk: 100GB
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 256MB
• Processors: 2
• Native resolution: 1440 x 900
• Display size: 15.4

Features

• 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor with 2 MB shared L2 Cache
• 1 GB (single SODIMM) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); 100 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA/100 hard drive; slot-load 4x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot; no FireWire 800 slots
• Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit); built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme (802.11g); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• 15.4-inch TFT non-glossy widescreen display with 1440 x 900 resolution

From the Manufacturer
Note: This product is an older version of the Apple MacBook. Check out the Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Notebook PC for the replacement model.

Powered by a 2.0 or 2.16 GHz dual-core Intel engine. Up to five times the speed of the PowerBook G4. Eight times the graphics bandwidth. With built-in iSight for instant video conferencing on the move. Front Row with Apple Remote to dazzle everyone in the room. Now available in 15- and 17-inch models.

Performance squared
MacBook Pro is built upon the revolutionary Intel Core Duo--which packs the power of two processors (up to 2.16 GHz) inside a single chip. It provides 2MB of Smart Cache, L2 cache that can be shared between both cores as needed. It delivers higher performance in 2-D and 3-D graphics, video editing, and music encoding. And the new engine is only part of the story. MacBook Pro has a frontside bus and memory that, at 667-MHz, runs faster than any previous Mac notebook. It's the first Mac notebook with PCI Express, a Serial ATA hard drive, and the ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 for superfast graphics performance.

iSight to behold
Sit down. Click on someone's iChat icon. And video conference from anywhere in the world. Though you can barely see it, there's an iSight camera built into the thin bezel just above the display. So now you can conference with associates during the day and chat with the kids at night. iChat AV lets you video chat with up to three other people simultaneously. And when you go head to head, you'll see your colleague more clearly, thanks to the VGA resolution made possible by the superfast Intel Core Duo. MacBook Pro also comes with Apple's Photo Booth application, a fun program that lets you take warped and Warholesque snapshots. With the new iLife '06 (included, of course), you can even record movies with iSight right into iMovie, then use the new iLife's newest application, iWeb, to create a video blog entry or podcast in just a few clicks.

Road show
MacBook Pro delivers the Front Row media experience, making it easy (and rather spectacular) to showcase your latest creations. Whether you're at the client's office, on location, or back at your hotel room, you just use the Apple Remote to control your videos, music, movies, and more. Front Row lets you quickly navigate through your work and play from anywhere in the room. You can even use the Apple Remote to navigate through Keynote presentations.

Do something. Say something. Make something. MacBook Pro comes with iLife '06, a suite of easy-to-use applications that make it easy for anyone to make postcards, calendars, DVDs, websites, and podcasts. Even professionals with proficiencies in high-end applications can appreciate the ease of creating initial compositions. Or posting pictures, videos, and commentary of current events almost before they happened. Enjoy the freedom of the press on MacBook Pro.

What's in the box
MacBook Pro, 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug and power cord, lithium-polymer battery, Apple Remote, DVI to VGA adapter, install/restore DVDs, and printed and electronic documentation.

Customer Reviews

Excellent performance / stellar notebook!
I purchased a MacBook Pro after months of shopping around. I read the online reviews, read customer posts on Apple's discussion website, and had the luxury to play around with two work issued MacBook Pros before deciding to take the plunge.

I am very happy with my purchase. The MacBook Pro is a fast machine, and the speed is especially noticeable on Intel compiled applications. I haven't loaded too much software on this machine yet, but in casual, day-to-day use - I find the MacBook Pro a pleasure to work on.

Other people have brought up points about the excessive heat generated. True, the machine does run noticeably warm, but not so blistering hot that I cannot place it on my lap for an extended period of time.

Wireless connectivity via Airport Extreme was smooth - it was my first experience using a wireless-card equipped notebook and setup was simple and straightforward.

Build quality on my laptop is top-notch as well. The button under the track pad appears to be slightly raised, but I've checked a few other MacBook Pros out and this seems to be normal.

I am able to get a consistent 3 hours of battery usage on my MacBook Pro. It's important to follow the included directions to first calibrate the battery in order to optimize battery life.

For me, the MacBook Pro is an excellent day-to-day machine. I moved up from a PowerBook G3 (400MHz) and the speed is, in a word, stunning.

The MacBook Pro is best suited for folks who plan to run taxing apps such as Final Cut Pro. I plan on using my laptop for programs like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Maya. Bearing in mind that Photoshop and Maya are not optimized for running on Intel Macs, I can always install Windows and run the apps natively using Boot Camp. I also anticipate running 3D Studio Max (which alas, is Windows only). Such programs take advantage of the beefier GPU that resides within the MacBook Pro.

Would I buy a MacBook Pro again? Absolutely.

Best of All Worlds and Then Some
This MacBook comes ready to serve and includes all the amenities. Including, but not limited to, a built-in video camera (which has amazing quality, btw), multi-language support (with easy regional keyboard switching), bluetooth, light AND motion sensors, and multimedia remote control, not to mention an Intel-based processor that allows you to do so much more.

After a few steps, this machine can become the ultimate machine.

First off, if anyone else plans to do something like this in its entirety, you may want to upgrade your RAM from the 1gb to 2gb (mine came with 1 1gb stick in it already so all I had to do was add another one). The following are important pieces of extra software:

VirtueDesktops: a free utility that allows you to configure your own virtual desktops to run other programs in many virtual desktops. The current version of VirtueDesktops already supports the light and motion sensors to switch between virtual desktops.

Adium: a free IM aggregator that lets you log into all your IM services (currently except Skype) in one program. This utility automatically sorts and creates meta-contacts from the entries in your mac address book. It does not automatically synchronize in both directions, but there are add-in that help you do that.

Parallels: unfortunately Parallels is not free. It is a virtual machine handler that allows you to run other operating systems at close-to-native speeds simultaneously, any other equivalent is your option, but this is what I use.

Subsequently, I have a machine that has 4 virtual desktops, which run Mac OSX, Windows XP, and Fedora Core 5 and switching between them is as easy as a hotkey or even waving my hand IN FRONT of my screen.

SMACKBOOK: the motion sensors allow new areas for ingenuity and new types of applications. One of the more useful is what has been affectionately termed "smackbook" -- the configuration that allows you to switch between virtual desktops by literally hitting your macbook (please be gentle, don't hit it too hard). The current version of VirtueDesktops also comes with support for this configuration. Many interesting games have also been developed that take advantage of those motion sensors, such as a pinball game, and even the old Labyrinth game! You should be able to find several online, and more are coming out all the time.

For me, as a developer, I have a found a way to very seamlessly do work across all the platforms I employ from a single machine.

Other helpful tools:
1. A bluetooth mouse with a scroll wheel and right mouse button: Keep in mind that like other macs, you can scroll by dragging 2 fingers over the track pad. Parallels and other virtual machine hosts support key combinations to emulate right and middle clicks, but I find it easier to just get a bluetooth mouse that has them already.

2. TextMate: A very reasonably priced and useful text-based editor that recognized syntax in quite a few languages. Packages can also be downloaded for free that recognize even more languages.

3. MS Remote Desktop Connection: This program will allow you to bring up remote desktops of Windows machines on your network.

Anything else that you might want would depend on what you plan to do with your system.

The only bad thing: the display goes back just as much as any other MacBook or iBook, but not as far back as its IBM counterparts that flip all the way back into a straight line.

This can be your only computer
I am the proud owner of a new MacBook Pro and have been using it heavily for the last couple of months. I have owned Macs previously and also regularly use Windows PCs since there is some software that I like that only runs on the Windows machines. With this new machine, I can quit juggling between the two boxes. I can now use the wonderful Mac OSX most of the time, but boot up in Windows on the Macbook Pro when I have to run a Windows only program. Wonderful.
Problems so far: Zero!! The wireless card is very sensitive and works great. Programs running under Rosetta have been just fine, but I do not do video editing...just lots and lots of Office, Devonthink, Tinderbox, etc.
The heat problem is not a problem for me. The machine is not too warm with the applications that I use.
This is an excellent do it all machine.