Real Kato Blog: Apple Watch: MacBook Pro, Now With Core 2 Duo

On Tuesday, Apple rolled out improvements to its MacBook Pro line of notebooks.

As many rumor sites have been predicting, the MacBook Pro line was upgraded to use the Core 2 Duo "Merom" processor, like the iMac. I think the timing of the announcement took some by surprise, though... many didn't expect the announcement to come until next week or later.

The price points of the three standard models remains the same, but the feature list is improved. Essentially, you get a faster processor, twice the RAM, and a larger hard drive. And, appeasing a major complaint, the 15" models now have FireWire 800 and dual-layer SuperDrives, like their 17" big brother. (Nyaah nyaah to certain pundits who have been predicting the death of FireWire on Apple products.)

Here's the complete list of changes to the lineup:

15" MacBook Pro at $1999
- Core 2 Duo at 2.16 GHz (was Core Duo at 2.0 GHz)
- 1GB RAM, 3GB Max (was 512MB RAM, 2GB Max)
- 6x dual-layer SuperDrive (was 4x single-layer SuperDrive)
- 120GB HD (was 80GB HD)
- FireWire 800 and 400 ports (was only FireWire 400)
- Unchanged: screen, graphics, USB, iSight camera, battery, remote control

15" MacBook Pro at $2499
- Core 2 Duo at 2.33 GHz (was Core Duo at 2.16 GHz)
- 2GB RAM, 3GB Max (was 1GB RAM, 2GB Max)
- 6x dual-layer SuperDrive (was 4x single-layer SuperDrive)
- 120GB HD (was 80GB HD)
- FireWire 800 and 400 ports (was only FireWire 400)
- Unchanged: screen, graphics, USB, iSight camera, battery, remote control

17" MacBook Pro at $2799
- Core 2 Duo at 2.33 GHz (was Core Duo at 2.16 GHz)
- 2GB RAM, 3GB max (was 1GB RAM, 2GB Max)
- 160GB HD (was 120GB HD)
- Unchanged: screen, graphics, USB, FireWire, SuperDrive, iSight camera, battery, remote control

No doubt, these are beautiful and powerful machines. As for value? It's hard to get an apples-to-apples comparison with, say, a Dell, but here's some points for comparison: a Dell XPS M1710 with similar specs as the top-end 17" MBP runs $3463. But a slightly under-spec Dell Inspiron E1705 (with a 2.16 GHz processor and 256MB NVIDIA graphics card) runs $2083. I think it's fair to say that you can find cheaper computers at Dell if you're willing to give up some high-end features... and you're willing to run Windows, and buy anti-virus software, and not have iLife, and so on.

One other noteworthy announcement: Apple now has airline adapters for its MacBooks and MacBook Pros with the MagSafe power connector. Note that the Empower ports on most airplanes max out at 75 watts, compared to the 85 watts that a MacBook Pro ordinarily gets. That's probably why the airline adapter only powers the computer, and doesn't charge the battery.

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