RSS
Home
New MacBook Pro 13-inch Explored
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch
July 9, 2009 – I was curious about all the fuss over Apple’s new MacBook Pro 13-inch laptop so I went and check it out for myself.
The first thing I noticed was that there was no left or right click button. It has been replaced by a big, single, clickable, smooth, glass trackpad that does all kinds of tricks, many that mimic the iPhone. You can click anywhere on the Multi-Touch Trackpad or mouse pad with one finger.
But the real magic comes in what Apple terms gesturing.
One reason the trackpad is as big as it is, Apple says, is so you can use your fingers to gesture commands: use your thumb to select and your index finger to drag an item to the desired location; two fingers swept up opens the shortcut menu; two fingers swept right or left scrolls through coverflow (the side-by-side image icons of album covers in iTunes, etc.); a thumb and index finger rotates photos or zooms in or out. Use three fingers to gesture left to advance Safari pages as if you were turning book pages; four fingers swept up gets you a clean desktop, swept down shows you all of your open windows. Cool, huh?
It takes some getting used to, but, overall, gesturing appears to be a handy (pun intended) way to shortcut key commands. You can also customize the Multi-Touch Trackpad to right click by tapping the lower left or lower right corner of the trackpad or to perform other tasks. Watch the video here.
What other tricks does the new MacBook Pro 13-inch do?
What's apparent from first sight is the more vibrant display. Showing 60 percent more colors than its predecessor, the improved display makes colors pop. But I don’t know why Apple eliminated the matt finish option. Right now, the new MacBook Pro 13-inch only comes with a glossy screen, which can be a problem for people who use their laptops outside because what’s displayed has to compete against the sun’s glare.
Speaking of what’s displayed, Apple tricked out the Macbook Pro 13-inch with a power-saving NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor. As an occasional gamer, I can really appreciate this long-overdue improvement.
Going on looks alone, the smooth, aluminum unibody chassis gives the new MacBook Pro 13-inch a sleek, clean, minimalist but futuristic appearance. The backlit keyboard also adds a nice touch. But, there’s no battery door! You can no longer swap out the battery on road trips.
Battery power to spare?
The internal battery is supposed to deliver a longer life than before, a whole 7 hours depending upon how you use or set up your machine. That's reportedly 40 percent better than the current model. Hummmm! I’m still feeling a little insecure, though, about this feature as I have been on the road away from an electrical outlet for eight hours or more and hate being without a backup. On the flip side, the battery reportedly will last three years or for 1,000 charges – a new record for the industry.
There’s still only two USB ports (I'd love to have one more). But Apple at least had the wherewithall to bring back the popular FireWire port. The CD/DVD player/writer and iSight camera are also there. What’s new, though, is the SD card slot, a much anticipated feature for photographers and people with Secure Digital cards in their MP3 players or ebook readers.
Overall, I like the look and feel of the new MacBook Pro 13-inch. It’s lighter, classier, more powerful and fun. The most basic model comes with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB upgradable memory, 160 GB hard drive and all the features mentioned above for $1,199.00, which is $300 cheaper than the out-of-the-store price of its predecessor.
Is it a necessary upgrade? It depends on your needs and your budget. The new features make it more advance and fun than many other laptops on the market. But, with many consumers downgrading to cheaper netbooks, a $1,000 plus fun-to-run replacement laptop may seem more like a splurge than a necessity.
For more info: on Apple's unibody constrtuction technique watch the video here.
Related Articles:
Comments
Dec. 23, 2009 – If you’ve resolved to ditch your cell phone in 2010 for a newer model, there are cell phone developments on the horizon …
Dec. 8, 2009 – Expect t to see a lot more black earphones as you commute to work or school after the holidays. That’s because more people …
