Technical Details
- 2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor
- 500 GB hard drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive, 4 GB DDR3 RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics, 13.3 inch LED Display
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard Operating System
Product Description
MacBook Pro brings high performance and precision design to everyone. Every new MacBook Pro features a breakthrough, long-lasting battery that delivers up to 7 hours of wireless productivity on a single charge and can be recharged up to 1000 times—nearly three times the lifespan of typical notebook batteries. The new LED-backlit display has a 60 percent greater color gamut than that of previous generations, giving you richer, more vibrant colors. Every MacBook Pro features the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor, which provides an outstanding graphics experience for everyday tasks. Power your way through the latest 3D games—including Call of Duty and Quake—and enjoy improved graphics performance with iWork, iLife, and everything you do in Mac OS X. And with the latest 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, it’s the most powerful Mac notebook ever. All in a precision aluminum unibody enclosure that’s less than an inch thin.Amazon.com Product Description
Amazon.com has certified this product is Frustration Free. A Frustration-Free Package is easy-to-open and comes without hard plastic "clamshell" casings, plastic bindings, and wire ties. It's designed to be opened without the use of a box cutter or knife and will protect your product just as well as traditional packaging during shipping. Products with Frustration-Free Packaging can frequently be shipped in their own boxes, without the need for an additional shipping box. Learn more about Frustration-Free Packaging.Featuring a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, the MacBook Pro is thinner and lighter than its predecessor as well as stronger and more durable. But Apple didn't stop innovating with the body's design. The MacBook Pro also includes a new 13-inch, LED-backlit glass display (instead of an LCD panel) as well as a glass trackpad that doesn't include a button (for larger tracking area) that features Apple's Multi-Touch technology.
 The 13-inch unibody MacBook Pro (see larger version). |
Other hardware features include a 250 GB hard drive, 4 GB of installed RAM (which can be upgraded to 8 GB), an 8x combo Superdrive (for burning dual-layer DVDs as well as CDs), built-in Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), FireWire 800 port, Mini DisplayPort video output (for DVI and VGA connections), and a Secure Digital card slot for easy access to digital photos and audio stored on SD and MMC memory cards.
It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system--an operating system custom-designed for the advanced technology inside--and it also comes with the iLife '09 suite of applications, including iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, and iTunes.
The Unibody MacBook Pro Design
Traditionally notebooks are made from multiple parts. With the MacBook Pro all of those parts with just one part--the breakthrough unibody enclosure. Every MacBook Pro starts its life as a single block of aluminum, which is precisely machined into the basic unibody design. Another pass and the unibody takes shape. Another, and the integrated keyboard emerges. When you pick up a new MacBook Pro, you immediately notice the entire enclosure is thinner and lighter. And it feels strong and durable--perfect for life inside (and outside) your briefcase or backpack.
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 Off-the-shelf lithium-ion cells come in fixed, cylindrical shapes. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is powered by custom-made, ultrathin lithium-polymer batteries. |
The 13-inch display is made of edge-to-edge, uninterrupted glass for a smooth, seamless surface and features LED backlighting for brilliant instant-on performance that uses up to 30 percent less energy than its predecessor. The ultra-thin displays provide crisp images and vivid colors which are ideal for viewing photos and movies
Long-Lasting Battery
The 13-inch MacBook Pro now includes a newly engineered lithium-polymer battery that that lasts up to 7 hours on a single charge thanks to advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and Adaptive Charging technology. The battery is built right into the computer, eliminating the space-consuming mechanisms and housings that standard removable batteries require. This non-removable battery also provides a longer battery lifespan of up to 1000 recharges--meaning fewer depleted batteries and less waste, which is better for the environment.
Giving it a lifespan of up to 1000 recharges required breakthroughs in battery technology. Apple electro-chemists developed advanced chemistry that maintains the battery's charging capabilities longer than ever. And while most notebooks wear down their batteries by charging them at a constant rate, the 13-inch MacBook Pro takes a different approach. Using an Apple-developed technology called Adaptive Charging, a microchip on the battery constantly communicates with the computer to determine the optimal way to charge its cells, adjusting the current up and down depending on a variety of conditions. Combined, these advancements offer a dramatic improvement in battery lifespan: more than three times the lifespan of typical notebook batteries--up to five years.
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Experience improved energy efficiency, expanded wireless connectivity, and amazing battery life with the 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which has a super-fast 1066 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an large 3 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
The hafnium-infused circuitry--which reduces electrical current leakage in transistors--conserves even more energy, giving you more time away from the wall outlet. With 3 MB of shared L2 cache, data and instructions can be kept close to the two processor cores, greatly increasing performance and allowing the entire system to work more efficiently. And, because the processor cores share the L2 cache, either can use the entire amount if the other happens to be idle.
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The MacBook Pro delivers both powerful graphics performance and long battery life via the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor, which provides an outstanding everyday graphics experience with up to a 5x performance boost. Power your way through the latest 3D games--including Call of Duty and Quake--and enjoy improved graphics performance with iWork '09, iLife '09, and everything you do in Mac OS X. The power-saving NVIDIA integrated graphics processor also keeps you up and running throughout the day, with up to 7 hours of battery life. The MacBook Pro includes a next generation Mini DisplayPort, which delivers a pure digital signal that can drive up to a 30-inch widescreen display. The Mini DisplayPort is ultra-compact at just 10 percent the size of a full DVI connector, and is compatible with Apple's 24-inch Cinema Display. Adapters are also available for using VGA, DVI/HDMI and Dual-Link DVI displays
Hard Drive and Memory
The 250 GB Serial-ATA (SATA) hard drive (5400 RPM) quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to USB 2.0. The 4 GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 1024 MB) has an industry-leading 1066 MHz speed, and the RAM capacity can be increased to 8 GB.
Wireless Connectivity
The built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it's also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the new AirPort Extreme with 802.11n. Use the built-in Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.
Video Conferencing with Built-in iSight
Artfully placed in the glass display is an iSight camera, which enables easy video conferencing as well as allows you to snap pictures of yourself and create video podcasts. Using the iChat AV application, video conferencing is integrated into your iChat buddy list, so initiating a video conference is a breeze. iChat also lets you hold audio chats with up to 10 people and provides high-quality audio compression and full-duplex sound so conversation can flow naturally. For video podcasting, you can record a short clip using the iSight camera, then use iWeb to create a video blog entry or post your GarageBand-recorded podcast.
Other Features
- Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps), one FireWire 800 (up to 800 Mbps), SD card slot
- Mini DisplayPort compatible with DVI, VGA, and dual-link DVI connectors (all optional)
- Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
- 8x slot-loading SuperDrive with the following write speeds: 8x DVD±R; 4x DVD±R DL (double layer); 4x DVD±RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
- Built-in full-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted "T" arrangement)
- Internal omnidirectional microphone and built-in speakers
- Combined optical digital output/headphone out with selectable analog audio line in (minijack)
- Kensington lock slot
- Measures 12.78 x 8.94 x 0.95 inches (WxDxH) and weighs 4.5 pounds (including battery)
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Apple has worked hard to eliminate many of the toxins that are a common part of computer manufacturing. Apple engineers removed the majority of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from circuit boards, internal cables, connectors, insulators, adhesives, and more in the MacBook Pro. Because Apple makes both the hardware and the software for the MacBook, they're designed to work together to produce a smarter product that uses less electricity. For instance, to reduce energy consumption, the hard drive spins down automatically when inactive. MacBook Air also decides which processor--CPU or GPU--is best suited to efficiently perform a task. The LED-backlit display in the MacBook Pro is another feature that plays an important part in conserving energy, consuming 30 percent less power than conventional LCD displays. And the display is designed to dim when you enter a darkened room.
The MacBook Pro meets the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, giving it ENERGY STAR certification. MacBook also meets the latest efficiency requirements of ENERGY STAR Version 5.0 Specification for Computers before its July 2009 effective date.
The MacBook Pro has also earned the highest rating of EPEAT Gold. The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT, evaluates the environmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it's designed and manufactured.
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Every Mac comes with Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife, Apple's innovative suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. Snow Leopard builds on a decade of OS X innovation and success with hundreds of refinements, new core technologies and out of the box support for Microsoft Exchange. iLife features iPhoto, to easily organize and manage photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilization and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Installed software
- Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools)
- iLife '09 (includes iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iWeb, iDVD)
MacBook Pro, display cleaning cloth, 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, install/restore DVDs, printed and electronic documentation
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Customer Reviews
By J. Cihak (Red Lion, PA)
I have been a user of Windows since 2.1 and OSX since 2005. When I purchased this MB Pro I expected a premium experience.
The Good:
- The construction is certainly solid, but the performance is poor.
- The multitouch trackpad is outstanding and a pleasure to use. It makes navigating very easy - I have not had to use a mouse with the MB.
- The backlit keyboard has a good feel and is easy to use day or night
The Bad:
- The Macbook pro stutters when playing back HD through iTunes! That's on par with my $300 netbook's performance. It plays HD video fine using other software, unfortunately it is crippled by iTunes and Quicktime.
- The glossy screen is very reflective to the point of seriously hampering visibility unless precisely aimed.
- 160GB hard drive in a $1200 machine??!!
- Compared to Windows 7, OSX Snow Leopard is a poor experience. It is difficult to find applications (Spotlight does not index reliably). I have had to manually re-index the drive several times.
- Battery life is not as good as advertised. It is only about 4 hours in normal use. The battery drains much faster than a Windows notebook is "sleep" mode.
- I tried using iWorks '09 with Excel spreadsheets. Not only is the iWorks software difficult to use compared to MS Office (even my 17-year old daughter agrees), it also corrupts Office files. I switched to MS Office for Mac - much better.
- I tried using iPhoto with my photos - they are all stored on the LAN. The stupid software tried to copy 20,000 pictures to my MB. I had to switch to Google Picasa to view photos.
I would have given the MB Pro 3 stars for great hardware (despite the poor screen, and small hard drive), but the horrible OS and software coupled with the high price makes it a 2-star. Money is better spent elsewhere.
By Nanrek L (Nova Scotia, CA)
If you're thinking of making the jump from PC to Mac, do it! This is an awesome machine. Lighting fast web browsing and quick to respond all around... startup, shutdown, program launching, plugging in USB hardware, etc. You start an action and you're there. I timed how long it took to do a re-start... 40 seconds (that's to shut down and reboot, ready to go!!) And then there's the beauty of the beast. A work of art. Sleek and silent. Light and sturdy. Gorgeous screen, beautiful backlit chiclet keys, smooth and silky trackpad action. Plus ridiculously long battery life and quality power cord system with magnetic connection. For me it was like trading in a Ford for a Lexus, or that feeling you had when you went from dial-up to high-speed. If you're not already a Mac user it'll take a bit of time to get comfy with the different operating system and key functions, but it's well worth the effort. I've had mine since the Monday before Christmas and we've settled in quite nicely. I've had to boot up my old HP Pavilion notebook a few times to access some things I had left behind on it. I had forgotten what a revolving hourglass looked like. I felt like kicking it across the living room...LOL. WooHoo!!!
By Bill
I purchase computer products based on lots of research, good support and the functionality I want/need. I ahve extensive experience in Windows, unix and Cisco products and mild experience with Apple
My first look at a MAC was in 1996 when I was a tech support person for a major ISP at the time (NOT AOL). We were the only ones that supported MAC up to OS9 which was current when I left. Once I left that job I had totally forgotten about MAC and buried myself into Windows, unix and Cisco products.
Once the iphone was released I headed to my closest Apple store, which was 112 miles away at that time to get a look at it. Now I have a store 18 miles away. While in there I took at look at the iMAC. I ended up walking out of the store with both.
It took me a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of the MAC OS and almost immediately I found it to be much more intuitive than OS9 and Windows. I still own that iMAC and still use it daily. I do have a copy of Windows XP Pro still around for one thing and that is to run a simulator that is not made for the MAC. I do everything else on the iMAC and this laptop.
OK, fast forward to today. I now own this laptop that we are all reading about here. I have found that so far the only thing I needed to do was install a MAC version of MS Office even though I could just as easily run iWork since it is completely compatible with Office and easily half the cost. I found that some of the keyboard shortcuts did not exist that I had grown accustomed to but also discovered that with a little searching, I found how to setup keyboard shortcuts for just about everything I do on a daily basis. Some were built into the software and others I learned to use the Automator. remember, that when you add third party software to an Aplle, what happens to that software is not a concern of Apple. Try telling Microsoft that you bought some software not built by them and that they are are at fault for some functionality that no longer exists.
I do a lot of traveling for a competitve sport I am part of and it takes me into areas that I have no wifi connectivity at all and I spend loads of time in hotels as well. For the remote location access I have a 3G USB device that the Apple just configured on it's own, no drivers needed. I gave it the phone number and my password and with one minute I was connected. I placed this same device into my Dell XPS laptop and it took me an hour to get it working because of driver issues. As far as Hotels go, this laptop just finds and connects to the best network it can, the Windows wifi has me go through many steps before I even get to the login prompt to join the wifi
I will say this, if you are on the fence about this laptop, go to an Apple store and grab one of the sales people, talk to the Genius', look at the free training sessions (you do not need to own an Apple product to take part in these)offered in every Apple store. You can play with this laptop or any other Apple device to your hearts desire. They are setup that you cannot hurt them and if you somehow manage to, then a simple reboot is all that is needed to restore them.
I will continue to use this laptop more than anyting else I own, except for the iMAC. I plan to give away the Dell laptop to a friend of mine that cannot afford a computer of her own.
By Stephen E. Turner
To me, carrying around a laptop is like carrying around a file cabinet, encyclopedia, music library, entertainment center, and personal secretary. Being a college student/small business owner I need to be able to have this flexibility. I've owned about 4 laptops which have all helped to feed my workaholic lifestyle. I rely on my laptop so much that I don't have an entertainment center, my cd's are boxed up, my encyclopedias are never used, my file cabinet rarely gets used, and I don't have a personal secretary.
Typically I go and buy a cheap/mid range computer which usually works just fine for me, but they usually wear out very quickly. So this time around I decided to buy a higher quality computer because I wanted more battery life and something that might last a little longer while I'm on the go. I've had several friends who have been very pleased with their macbooks and macs because of the organization/computing power. So I decided to finally jump the gap and buy a macbook.
I'm pleased... The computer is great, battery life is good and the operating system makes perfect sense for someone who needs organization help. To me it's as if I'm not even using a computer at all, it's more of just a real world experience. The experience is extremely personal and I feel like I'm in control all the time whereas sometimes it seemed like the PC was controlling me. Yes, you might say that the computer is simple and boring, and that would be true if you were expecting the computer to alleviate boredom. However, if you use your computer like I do, then you will be pleased that the computer seems to only do what you want it to do and nothing more.
So if you use your computer as a tool to simplify and organize your life, buy the macbook. However, if you are a computer nerd who loves gaming and loves computers because they are computers, then a PC would probably be the way to go.
By Kwang C. Son (US)
I got my macbook pro 13" that I bought basic spec(2.26 core 2 duo, 2G ddr3 and 160G hdd). I did upgrade 4G ddr3 with 500Gb hdd. I used to be PC not a mac however, she is amazing notebook. I used to use many Notebook(PC) I didn't know about mac. Fast, light and pretty girl. I love she I would recommend this for everyone who considering buy a new laptop. Also I bought parallel desktop software I am using with Windows7 64bit. I am very happy I put 4 stars because sometime little hot but doesn't matter it is great notebook ever.
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