this is the personal blog of brandon quintana.

Apple updated its website today to include its new 17-inch MacBook Pro. It has very similar specs as the 15-inch Mac Book Pro, but adds the top end 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo Processor as a standard option as well as Firewire 800 and an 8x Superdrive. Other features include 1GB of RAM expandable to 2GB, built-in iSight Camera, MagSafe Power Adapter, 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, Firewire 400, Bluetooth, and Airport Extreme all for the starting price of $2799.

It is good to see that Apple was able to keep the machine under 3 grand. I had read rumors leading up to the NAB Conference that it may cost over that amount. Having the extra features is nice, but paying that much for a laptop just seems too much for me.

I like that Front Row software is being included in all the new Intel Macs. I use it quite a lot with my Intel Core Solo Mac Mini. It’s more of a luxury than a necessity, but it’s a nice feature to have.

I’m not sure if the previous 17-inch G4 PowerBook had a screen resolution of 1680×1050 but it caught my attention. It’s the same resolution as most 20-inch desktop LCD monitors and its quite nice they can fit that sort of resolution in a laptop. I have seen some laptops at 1080p resolution(1920×1200) and that’s just insane.

Overall size and weight of the new machine seem to be about the same as the machine it replaces. In any case, I’m sticking with my 12-inch Powerbook G4 for now. I really like the convenience of a small machine when I’m on the go. I’ll probably hold out for the MacBook or whatever they call the iBook replacement. It should be enough power for me to use when I’m traveling. The wait for a new laptop continues.