Product Description

Intel Core 2 Duo processor powered by the latest generation of Intel's mobile processors plus a larger L2 cache, the MacBook Pro is up to 39% faster than the previous MacBook Pro generation. Setting up a video conference is easy and fast with the included

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77938 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Apple
• Model: MA896*/A
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Dimensions: 5.51 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Powered by the most advanced mobile processors from Intel, the new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro is over 50% faster than the original Core Duo MacBook Pro and now supports up to 4GB of RAM. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT delivers exceptional graphics processing power. Featuring 802.11n wireless technology, the MacBook Pro delivers up to five times the performance and up to twice the range of previous-generation technologies. Quickly set up a videoconference with the built-in iSight camera. Control presentations and media from up to 30 feet away with the included Apple Remote. Connect to high-bandwidth peripherals with FireWire 800 and DVI. Innovations such as a magnetic power connection and an illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor put the MacBook Pro in a class by itself.

Customer Reviews

It just works!
This laptop is my first plunge into the world of Apple, taken after a great deal of thought and a lifetime of being weaned on windows. It was a toss up between this and a high end Vaio and it took a trip to my local John Lewis to compare the two before I decided to jump ship.

Whilst getting it out the box and turning it on was for me, a love at first sight experience, it took me a while to figure out how to use it and be as 'slick' with it as I was with windows. And let me confess now that I had a few doubts, as it isnt as intuitive as I'd have hoped and Apple dont put a manual in - instead, relying on you to logon and go to there 'windows users start here' guide.

But I stuck with it and over the past few month of use have really fallen for it for these simple reasons:

1. It looks lovely. Better than that, it looks cool :-)
2. The screen is bright and clear
3. It's thin and light
4. The bundled software is fantastic
5. Safari is lightening quick!
6. When you press the on button, you're surfing 30 seconds later. Yes! 30 seconds!
7. It has a reasonable built in camera - skypetastic!
8. It's fast
9. Did I mention it looks lovely?
10. - But most of all - it just works! No more crashing/patching problems, you turn it on, you enjoy, you turn it off.

There's a few programmes that I have on my HP laptop that are not mac compatible most irksomely my BT Softphone linked to my home broadband account no longer works (pull your finger out BT - PLEASE!) so I've had to get skype instead - but otherwise, road warriors will be pleased at how well Mac Office works (trial version installed) - and the PowerPoint templates are WAY cooler than they are in the windows version.

Glad I bought it, even gladder I stuck with it!

Love it!
This is my first Mac after many years wanting one. I have been a die-hard Windows user since version 2.0 and I'm a professional software engineer for that platform, but for my home use (including hobbyist photographer) I was fed up with Vista.

I bought my MacBook Pro with the 2.6GHz processor, 4GB of RAM and the 200GB 7200RPM hard drive, which is the best you can have currently and I'm so impressed with its performance and quietness. I also love the "just works" thing in which I took it out of the box, turned it on and there I was: After a few steps I was connected to the internet with my .Mac account activated and everything ready to use. I have uninstalled the trialware they send with it and loaded VMWare Fusion, iWorks, Aperture, Skype and MS Messenger for Mac and I just don't want to use my PC any more.

Battery life is great, ease of use topnotch, it works reasonably cool most of the time (only when using Aperture it gets hot and noisier with all the fans working). It also feels well built, light, tactile and the keyboard is great to type. The trackpad with the gestures is a great feature, meaning that scrolling documents and web pages (or pretty much anything for that matter) is intuitive, natural and fast.

I was going to get the 17" with the upgraded 1920x1200 resolution screen but decided to get the 15.4" because of its size and weight, but I do feel like the resolution is a bit low, even considering that the whole OS is in high-DPI and the size of icons, toolbars and objects on the screen is much bigger than on a normal 96 dpi Windows.

I can't give this laptop any less than 5 stars. The attention to detail is something that only Apple can do and I love it. I can't see myself buying anything other than a Mac for home use in the future.

15in Model
I have to pretty much agree with M Jones review but there's a few points he didn't mention.

I've just got the 15in 2.4ghz model and while I absolutely love this machine there's a couple of things that niggle me. First off is the inclusion of only two USB ports for the 15in model (I believe the 15.4in and 17in models have three). The MacBook Pro was bought for me by my university and I was slightly dismayed to discover only two ports. These days I'd expect no fewer than four USB ports. The second point is the lack of a card reader on my model. This is no problem as I have an external USB powered card reader already but I did find it's lack of inclusion surprising.

Those niggles aside, the thing I really love about this laptop is it's core 2 duo processor (the 2.4ghz core processor being a lot more powerful than a Pentium 4 3.2ghz processor). Using the latest edition of bootcamp you can partition the hard disk drive and install Windows XP (or Vista), and switch between each operating system depending on what software you want to run. There are no compromises or performance sacrifices and the ability to have Mac OSX and Windows XP on the same machine is fantastic. I'm able to run both serious high end Mac software and play the latest PC games (with the Nvidia 8600 graphics card) without any performance penalties associated with Windows 'emulation' software. I love it. The built in firewire 800 port is also incredibly handy as I'm a video editor

If you are going to order this machine there are a few things you should know:

1. You can get it with either a glossy or matte screen, depending on your preference.

2. Get one with a Lithium Polymer (not Lithium-ion) battery if you can. Polymer batteries last longer, have a very low self-discharge rate, and are free of the 'memory' problems that sometimes plague Ion batteries.

By the way, check what type of battery is installed in your laptop by removing it and looking at the lablel on the battery itself. My MacBook came with a lithium-ion unit. When I ordered a lithium polymer battery from Amazon I was sent a battery with 'polymer battery' stated on the receit but there was no indication on the packaging as to what type of battery it was. Only on unpacking it and looking at the label on the battery itself did I find out it was an ion battery (Amazon have sent me a replacement but I wonder how many people have a lithium-ion battery in their MacBooks instead of a polymer battery without knowing it!)

3. The mouse keypad has only one touch button. Not a problem if you use an external two button mouse but a bit annoying if you don't.

I'd have rated this laptop with 5 stars if it had incorporated at least three USB ports.