Apple has announced the new 17″ MacBook Pro today at the 2009 MacWorld Keynote. This was the only interesting news from them.
The new laptop will feature the same unibody aluminum construction as the current line of MacBooks. The biggest differences from the 15″ little brother are the availability of an anti-glare option available for $50 and the new built-in, non-replaceable battery that supposedly can take up to 1000 charge cycles as well as last 8 hours on a single charge. Apple also claims that it supports up to 8 Gigabytes of RAM.
The non-replaceable part is a bit disappointing, but Apple states that the battery will last for 5 years. And I suspect that in that time, most people will want a new and better laptop. Five years is a long time in the fast moving world of technology.
If I had to buy my MacBook Pro all over again, I would probably go for this one over the 15″ MacBook Pro. Though if I were you, I would go into the Apple store and play around with both to see if the extra size and weight aren’t a deal breaker. The long battery life will be very convenient, and I sometimes wish I had more memory when I run Windows in emulation. Remember to read my MacBook Pro review because it’s still very relevant for the new 17″ model as well.
don’t you think the larger size is a big turnoff? it is more of a desktop replacement than a laptop at this size. i think the 15″ offers the best package in terms of size, portability, performance and price. if you really need more screen space, then use an external monitor maybe?
Maybe. But the laptops still feels slim compared to other 17″ out there. Another selling point would be the longer battery life and the support for up to 8 Gigs of RAM. I run mine off of battery all the time. And I often find myself wishing it would last longer.