13-inch Apple MacBook Pro First Look

[Kevin O'Brien]

by Kevin O'Brien

The new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro is a small refresh of the older unibody MacBook, with a brand new title, slightly better specs, and a much better price tag. Starting at $1,199 now instead of $1,299 the 13.3" MacBook Pro now offers larger internal battery, SD-Card slot in place of the ExpressCard, the return of FireWire 800, and a slightly newer processor. Overall a worthy refresh, so check out our first look to find out what we think about it.

13-inch Apple MacBook Pro Specifications:

• Mac OS X v10.5.7 (9J3032)
• Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz frontside bus)
• 2GB 1067MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 160GB 5400rpm SATA hard disk drive
• 13.3" glossy widescreen TFT LED backlit display (1280 x 800)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics (256MB of DDR3 shared memory)
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• iSight webcam
• AirPort Extreme WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports (480Mbps), FireWire 800, Audio out and microphone in, SD-Card reader
• Dimensions : 0.95" x 12.78" x 8.94" (H x W x D)
• Weight: 4.51 pounds
• Integrated 58-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 60W MagSafe power adapter with cable management system

Build and Design
The 13.3" MacBook Pro is very sleek and classy, which is what we have come to expect from Apple. The design is sharp with the unibody chassis showing no panel lines or breaks except on the bottom for the huge panel that covers the internals. Apple gives us a very simple interface with little clutter (and ports) turning what is usually a mindless appliance into a work of art. To further simplify the design they switched to an internal battery for this model, instead of having a cover and release bar like in the previous revision.

Build quality is excellent thanks to the very strong and rigid unibody chassis that is machined out a solid block of aluminum. Unless you were going to clamp the MacBook Pro in a vise and try to bend it, you can't really find any flex anywhere on the main half of the notebook. The screen cover does flex slightly under strong pressure, but with something that thin it was expected. Without any plastic panels, except at the screen hinge, there are no parts to squeak or creak under normal use.

Normally simple upgrades such as swapping in a faster hard drive or upgrading the system memory (or changing the battery) take a few additional steps on the new 13.3" Macbook Pro. To access user-serviceable components you must buy a precision Phillips head screwdriver, and remove 10 screws around the perimeter of the notebook. With the cover off you get access to the battery, hard drive, optical drive, and tightly stacked system memory. Once you overcome the fear of ripping off the bottom of your new shiny MacBook Pro, upgrading the components isn't that bad.

Screen and Speakers
The screen on the MacBook Pro is average compared to other glossy panels, and has the downside of having the highly reflective glass layer over the LCD. This increases the amount of reflection from other objects, including you sitting right in front of the notebook. While you do adjust to it after a while, it can still be annoying. Pictures and movies look great thanks to the glossy surface and a healthy 60% bump in color gamut over the previous generation MacBook, which gives vibrant colors and deep blacks. Overall brightness is excellent for viewing in brightly lit rooms like in an office building or lecture hall. If you were able to find a spot of shade you could also use it outdoors as long as you find a strategic position away from any glare. Viewing angles are average for a TN-panel LCD, with colors starting to show signs of inversion when titled 20-25 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles are much better, with colors staying accurate at steep angles, right up until the point where reflections overpower screen.

The speakers sound weak compared to other notebooks, with little bass or midrange sound. The enclosed position of the speakers doesn't help with stereo separation, so it ends up sounding like one mono speaker. For enjoying some iTunes music or watching a movie headphones are the best option. The MacBook Pro also supports digital audio out through the headphone jack, so hooking it up to a stereo for surround sound is another option you could go with.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The 13" MacBook Pro offers a full-size Chiclet-style keyboard that is fully backlit for typing where overhead light might not be the best. While Sony originally created this style of keyboard, I think Apple really perfected it and made the better version. The keyboard is comfortable to type on and easy to transition to if you are used to typing on a standard notebook keyboard with tighter key spacing. Individual key action is smooth with less than average pressure required to activate each key. Key noise is low, with a smooth almost-muted click when pressed. If you enjoy stealth typing, look no further. The backlight is nice even when your room isn't completely dark. If you are not used to an Apple keyboard, it makes it easier to spot keys since everything is lit up. The backlight is also fully adjustable, to be brighter when the room is brighter, and dimmer when you don't need the keys blindingly-bright in a pitch black room.

The touchpad is a large multi-touch surface with no separate touchpad buttons. The clicking action is through a clicker button under the touchpad, which allows the entire surface to "click". If you are used to other touchpads, it takes a while to get used clicking the surface itself, instead of a button below it. In OS X the touchpad sensitivity is excellent, offering no lag on the default sensitivity settings. Contrast this with Windows, where the driver support doesn't give you the same fluid experience.

Ports and Features
The new 13" MacBook Pro offers two USB ports, one mini-DisplayPort, LAN, and the return of FireWire 800. While eSATA is generally the best when it comes to fast external storage, more Mac-targeted storage devices offer FireWire from the long standing Apple support of the standard. The Macbook Pro also offers a headphone jack and a new SD-card slot, bringing it to the same level that most PC's have been at for a number of years.
The most notable feature on the MacBook Pro is a handy battery gauge mounted on the side of the notebook. Pressing the button lights up a number of eight LED's showing the current charge level of the battery. Handy if you are thinking about grabbing the computer before you head out the door without an AC adapter, just in case the battery is actually dead.

Stay tuned for our full review where we take a closer look at the new MacBook Pro, including performance inside BootCamp.

Related Articles:

• Apple MacBook Review (Late 2008 Model)
• Apple MacBook Air Review
• Apple MacBook Pro Review (Late 2008 Model)
• Apple MacBook (Early 2009) Review
• Apple MacBook User Review

[parastie]

Meh
The 14z from dell has the same hardware with a larger, higher resolution screen for nearly half the price. Sure it doesn't have a DVD drive, but I'm okay with that.

Edit:
On a side note that I hadn't thought of until now, I bet that 14z would make a cool hackintosh computer.

[Huskerz85]

Thanks for the preview, will be looking forward to the full thing.

[boypogi]

too expensive and ugly imo

[JDELUNA]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what is the difference between this and the regular 13inch MacBook ??? Are not the specs almost the same ??? Thanks for any info. God Bless

[chris-m]

Originally Posted by parastie

Meh
The 14z from dell has the same hardware with a larger, higher resolution screen for nearly half the price. Sure it doesn't have a DVD drive, but I'm okay with that.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. I agree the 14z is cool. And it starts at $650, which is nearly half the price. Until you spend $175 for a 25w C2D processor. Then there are a ton of little things that add up: screen upgrade, wireless upgrade to N, BT, backlit keyboard, external optical, etc.

Still a good value, but not nearly half the price

[Kevin O'Brien]

Originally Posted by JDELUNA

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what is the difference between this and the regular 13inch MacBook ??? Are not the specs almost the same ??? Thanks for any info. God Bless

Bump in processor, addition of SD-card slot (wow), FireWire 800, better screen, and no access panels on the bottom.

[TexasEx7]

Chris is right, if you are considering comparing the 14z to the MBP, price is going to be on the bottom of your list. Which isnt a bad thing, there are lots of perks to choosing the Dell.

The 14z will get comparable battery life *with a flush 8 cell*, has a higher resolution screen, has HDMI/eSata which makes mini-DisplayPort/Firewire laughable, and the 14z should be about the same weight thanks to its magnesium alloy build.

However, the main drawbacks to the 14z is you would need to buy an optical drive (so add a hundred bucks to your price for it) and if you want more than 3GB of RAM its gonna cost you another $400. You can still get a 'maxed out' 14z, with sale and member discount, for about $1300. I think this configuratioin would have the upper hand versus any MBP.

However, some people will enjoy the MBP aesthetics, with the pretty keyboard, nice aluminum chassis, and the white Apple design.

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Bump in processor, addition of SD-card slot (wow), FireWire 800, better screen, and no access panels on the bottom.

+ higher capacity Lithium Polymer battery.

Originally Posted by TexasEx7

However, the main drawbacks to the 14z is you would need to buy an optical drive

Why? You can install everything with a USB key.

[Kevin O'Brien]

Originally Posted by Phil

+ higher capacity Lithium Polymer battery.

Well yea that too