Apple rolls out 17-inch MacBook Pro
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Apr 24, 2006 at 4:11am
Apple has announced a new 17-inch MacBook Pro that the company claims has an all new system architecture that delivers up to five times the performance of the PowerBook G4.
The laptop comes in an aluminum enclosure like its 15-inch sibling, is and inch thick and weighs 6.8 pounds. It includes a built-in iSight video camera and the Front Row media software with Apple Remote. And like its smaller siblings, the 17-inch MacBook Pro also features a MagSafe power adapter that’s held in place magnetically and which easily disconnects if tugged or yanked.
The 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, has a 667 MHz front-side bus tand 667 MHz of DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB. Every MacBook Pro also includes Apple’s Sudden Motion Sensor that is designed to protect the hard drive in case of a fall.
Apple says it sports a display that’s 36 percent brighter than its PowerBook predecessor and an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 PCI Express graphics with 256MB of dedicated GDDR3 graphics memorys, and a Scrolling TrackPad. It includes a FireWire 800 port, a FireWire 400 port, three USB 2.0 ports, optical and digital audio input and output, built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), and integrated AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g WiFi wireless networking.
Every MacBook Pro includes iLife ‘06 and Mac OS X 10.4.6. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro will begin shipping next week through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. With a suggested retail price of US$2,799, it includes:
° 17-inch widescreen 1680×1050 LCD display with 300 cd/m2 brightness;
° 2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
° 1GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable to 2GB;
° 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
° A slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
° PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory;
° DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately);
° Built-in Dual Link support for driving an Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display;
° Built-in iSight video camera;
° Gigabit Ethernet port;
° Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
° ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
° Three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, and one FireWire 400 port;
° One audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
° Scrolling TrackPad and illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor;
° The infrared Apple Remote;
° 68 watt hour lithium polymer battery;
° 85 watt Apple MagSafe Power Adapter.
Additional build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include 100GB (7200 rpm) hard drive, up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple USB Modem, and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Leave a comment ⇒
Please post the article topic & comment in our forums. No registration required.
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 10,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
Recent Articles
