Socket set
Snapping out of my dreamworld, I was disappointed by only having two USB ports and especially that neither of them support USB 3.0. Ah well, my super-fast USB 3.0 portable hard drive remains a PC-only peripheral for a while longer.
The one-piece trackpad supports a range of gestures that have been extended in Mac OS X Lion
I grabbed the chance to try out the MacBook Pro’s Thunderbolt port with Apple’s 27in Thunderbolt Display, and it was impressive to say the least. That is, it was impressive how well an entry-level 13in MacBook Pro could drive its own 1280 x 800-pixel display plus another at 2560 x 1440 pixels from its diminutive Intel HD Graphics 3000 chipset, without a hint of slowdown.
This recess is needed to help you separate the magnetically closed lid from the body
I plugged two USB hard drives and a Firewire drive into the Thunderbolt Display’s hub, and still the MacBook Pro - driving them all through its Thunderbolt port - carried on without a blip. Yes, this is how Thunderbolt is supposed to work, but I didn’t expect it to run so perfectly on an entry-level notebook... unless, of course, Apple’s entry level is a damn sight higher than everyone else’s.
Benchmark Tests
PCMark 7 Results
Longer bars are better
Outwardly, there’s little evidence of entry-level compromise. You still get the controllable keyboard backlight and 74 x 103mm MultiTouch trackpad of the other MacBook Pros. The only defining factor is the 13.3in display which, although I hate small screens, was absolutely first rate in visibility.
Next page: Affordable luxury?
COMMENTS
looks nice...
but so does a super model. the super model also has the same problem: I can't (or better won't )afford her.
just last week I bought an asus laptop (6GB, I5 2430m, 750GB, Gforce 520mx) including an USB 3.0 port.
for... HALF THE PRICE. HALF. one time again: HALF. did I already say it? Half. the. price.
I could literally buy 2 K53Sc's for one macbook pro. 2.
same cpu. more memory. more Hdd space. usb 3. bigger screen. better graphics. 2 hours work time? also check.
but...No apple logo. is that logo really worth 500 pounds?
your end conclusion is very, very correct: "it’s so very, very expensive."
I understand why this is not cheaper, that just not Apples market, let Dell and lenovo etc fight it out down there,
At a thousand quid i dont understand why its not better specified.
It is indeed a very fine looking piece of kit but.....................
........................" I can forgive the shared-memory graphics and the lack of USB ports, perhaps also the fairly average processor performance..................."
At £1000, no I most certainly could not. At that price I expect the full works with regard to connectivity and storage and nothing but the full works - end of. All the styling and the build quality in the world is let down by those kinds of omissions. That, IMHO makes it about 15 - 20% overpriced. Without getting into a discussion of the os the most I would pay for that machine would be £850 - max.
Expensive?
I've run Powerbooks, Powerbook Pros, Macbook Pros for the past 12 years. They are only expensive if you only look a raw specs. If you look at the whole package they aren't.
I recently challenged our IT department to find me a laptop with the same specification for less money. I wanted the same battery life, the same screen resolution and quality, the same graphics chipset. They couldn't. The killer was battery life and screen quality.
Its all about horses for courses. I run a Macbook Pro because I can and I like what they offer. I could buy a cheaper PC laptop but I would be compromising in some form or other. Of course the rabid anti-Apple zealots will just call me a fanboi or worse. Shame that.
