Apple refreshes its MacBook series

By: Raghav Kapoor

Apple launches a 15-inch MacBook Pro and cools down the prices of other models

15-inch MacBook Pro

17-inch MacBook Pro

13-inch MacBook Pro

13-inch MacBook Air

The WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference) held by Apple set the stage for the launch of a new 15-inch MacBook Pro. The new MacBook Pro has the same unibody structure, which means that the battery is built-in and is non-removable. The battery is made up of Li-Polymer which allows the MacBook to run for 7 hours which is a 40% increase from the previous models that used to run for just 5 hours. Moreover, this battery allows approximately a 1000 recharges rather than the usual 300 recharges. Apple has also managed to replace the Express card slot with a SD card slot. Users have an option to choose from three different configurations i.e.:

·         $1,699: 2.53GHz Core2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

·         $1,999: 2.66GHz Core2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 320GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

·         $2,299: 2.8GHz Core2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT graphics, 500GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

The important thing to be noted here is that the base model costs almost $300 lesser than the prior lineups. There is also an option for a 3.06GHz CPU, which is available for an extra $300 on top of the $2,299 configuration. This would be Apple's fastest laptop ever.

The 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro will have the same specifications as the prior version but the price has been lowered to $2,499.

The 13-inch unibody MacBook has been refreshed and it now has an aluminum body, therefore it has been moved up the ladder and has been renamed the MacBook Pro. The battery is the same as the 15-inch version which the company claims offers 7 hours of computing. This model ships with a SD card slot, a FireWire 800 port, up to 8GB of RAM, upwards of 500GB of storage and a backlit keyboard as standard. It will be available in the following two configurations:

• $1,199: 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 160GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard
• $1,499: 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 250GB HDD, SD card slot, no ExpressCard

There is also a new MacBook Air in the offering which is almost $700 cheaper than the earlier version. It comes in two configurations with different price tags as given below:

• $1,499: 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 120GB HDD
• $1,799: 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, GeForce 9400M graphics, 128GB SSD