Apple Releases Aluminum Unibody 17" MacBook Pro

[QCassidy352]

I don't really see anything to complain about here, but since we have to have something here at MR, let's go with the cost.

No, seriously, I think this looks like one of the best laptops apple has ever made. I'm curious to see if the GPU is clocked higher than on the 15", as has been the case in the past.

 

[Zw42a]

Click on the thumbnails provided on the Apple website just below the "Graphics in Full Force" blurb about NVIDA.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-17inch.html

The second image of the anti-glare MacBook Pro is a thing of beauty with no black bezel. Still unclear whether surface is glass or plastic.

Best news I heared today. If the keyboard will be silver again too my next Apple purchase will not be desktop but a laptop. NICE!

 

[GQB]

Physical media will be dead very soon. Thus it doesn't surprise me that Apple hasn't yet included Blue Ray drives in their systems. Who knows, they may never do it.

Apple (seemingly alone) seems to understand that for the general market, watching Blu-Ray on your laptop is a stupid idea.
1080p is simply indistinguishable from lower res (some would say as low as 480p) on a screen as small as even 17". Its pretty much useless on any monitor under 40" frankly.
Blu-Ray on a laptop is just ego stroking. Its also antithetical to the direction Apple is moving, which is streaming or downloaded media. Why in the world would they support what they consider to be the competition?

Finally, Blu-Ray belongs (if anywhere) in the living room as part of a home entertainment system, on a large screen.

Apple (really really try to get this) isn't shooting to satisfy the fringes... the 1 or 2 percent who are going to rent HD discs to watch on a lousy laptop.

As an AAPL long-holder, I thank god Apple is ignoring the uber-geek fringes.

 

[msb65]

Watched this site for a year, and am done.
Will buy Dell, possibly Sony though that's unlikely.

Optical drives will disappear in the future, but not NOW. Blu-ray is NOW.
Upset about all the other stuff people mentioned too, but blu-less "new" Macbook pro is the dealbreaker for me and I'm tired of waiting. It's been a year and EVERYBODY else has it.

I agree completely.

 

[SleepyHead157]

man these macbooks look amazing but I could never carry around another 17". I'm perfectly fine with the 13" aluminum macbook I have, but those look great.

 

[pointycollars]

All images of the new 17" I've seen do indeed have a black bezel. Also, the store calls it an "anti-glare coating".

anti-glare coating =/= matte screen

I can't seem to find any pictures of the anti-glare model. Are you guys seeing something I haven't?

One of the live feeds of the keynote showed a slide that had a pic of the antiglare model - it has a silver bezel like the old PB/MBP model. So it is indeed a matte screen.

 

[sal]

Reason why i'm saying this is because the price. 2799. I could see if it was 2199, but 27?

if priced that low, they would make the people who bought the top model 15" for 2500 a few months ago very angry. getting a bigger screen, better battery and better processor for $300 less after a few months, would really piss people off.

 

[mrfaithful]

I think you missed the whole point about having an intelligent charging system that detects how much each individual cell needs to be recharged and then stops charging it when it is full. There is no reason to take the battery out since it doesn't keep trying to charge a full battery. Even with current MBs I would guess this is the same with the only difference that it now happens on a cell by cell basis instead of the whole battery.

Nearly, but not quite. You're right that it's not going to keep trying to charge a full battery, Li batteries are basically bombs with a bit of electronics to convince them they are power storage mediums. Overcharge an Li ion battery and it WILL explode. Hence the "intelligent charging system."

What the poster meant though was that Li batteries DO NOT like to be fully charged for extended periods of time, nor do they like being nearly depleted. It damages the cells, reducing the capacity over time much faster than someone who uses it on battery more often. The sweet spot is a bit more than half full. Apple themselves tell you to run the battery down to about halfway if you plan to keep it in storage for any length of time.

 

[cyberwolf777]

My take on today's keynote:

- Apple showed Macworld the middle finger by not announcing anything major or unexpected. The reason why nothing about SnowLeopard or Desktop Macs was announced is because Apple didn't wanna give Macworld this kind of importance since it's it last one. Apple's message: We don't need expos anymore. We will have to think different now when it comes to product announcements since the traditional system of big-bang keynotes twice a year has now officially come to an end.
Therefore, I expect at least two major seperate events in the next two or three months, one on Desktops (iMac refresh, new mini, Pro with i7 xeons, xServe) and one on Snow Leopard

- no blu-ray: foreseeable. Whenever Apple will introduce blu-ray, it will do it a) when slim blu-ray drives are reasonably priced and performing reasonably and b) with a bang and fully integrated support and other features

- high-res 15" MBP and Anti-Glare 15" MBP: I don't think this is gonna happen anytime soon. It would cannibalize he 17" model. I can only speak for myself but the display is the ONLY and MAIN incentive to invest the extra money and going for the 17" MBP

- battery: If it is really that advanced and lasts 1000+ cycles and if it really lasts for 8 hours then I think for a majority of people who use more than one battery or have replaced it (or have had to replace it) there will be no more need to do so.

- the only major disappointment for me regarding the 17" model is the harddrive options: 2nd HDD i think is not necessary but 7200RPM not standard for a pro-machine is scandalous and not offering a 500GB option although it is already availablte is so as well. I doubt that the 256GB SSD will sell at that price point but SSD is only beginning to take off so we will hopefully get it for a third a year from now.

 

[THX1139]

so another 17" MBP and that's it ? For what the hell do they organise a whole event ? WTF

Apple doesn't organize the event, although they have been the star purveyor since it's inception. Now they are leaving because they agree with you... it's not worth it. They could have easily announced the 17" on the website or had a simple media event on their campus.

 

[davidbrummy]

Kind of disappointed

I can see why Apple is backing out of Macworld as it does seem the day of the big announcements is over. If was Steve I would have stayed in bed as well.

No surprise to me to see no Mac Mini. I still think Apple see's this as too much as a competitor to the Apple TV and their general media vision. Sure a higher price point but much more freedom to play what you want.

My own hope was a new Mac Pro so I could buy the current model. I need a replacement for my G4 due to VM requirements and do not want to pay mega $$.

Sad about macrumorslive.

 

[Poll Smoker]

Jesus ? Yes, he is good .

He's my favorite fictitious character.

 

[milo]

Once again... NOW do you understand why Apple is decoupling from MW?
Its a no-win for AAPL, either having to
1) suffer the wrath of such as you who want flying cars and cancer cures announced every time, or
2) announce a really killer product, and again suffering the wrath of those who bitch that Apple screwed them by announcing after the Xmas buying season.

This was a fun show 20 years ago... irrelevant and damaging to Apple now.
Pulling out was the right move.

You know, you'd have a point if apple actually updated their products at other times of year.

There wouldn't be this huge backlash if apple hadn't kept most of their products out of date for months and months - this is the fault of apple, not of the public.

 

[bigjohn]

I would love to see Apple announce a new mac mini at CES on Thursday

 

[Lone Deranger]

Bliss!! So much better looking than that nasty black border.
Let's hope it is properly matte and not a thin layer of anti glare over a highly glossy glass surface.

Click on the thumbnails provided on the Apple website just below the "Graphics in Full Force" blurb about NVIDA.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/features-17inch.html

The second image of the anti-glare MacBook Pro is a thing of beauty with no black bezel. Still unclear whether surface is glass or plastic.

 

[motulist]

So it is indeed a matte screen.

A silver bezel is confirmation of nothing. We should not be calling this a matte screen until we get reports of people actually seeing the screen in person. If it were a matte screen, why wouldn't Apple have just called it a matte screen like they always have? Calling it an "anti glare coating" means we should not consider it a matte screen until we get actual first hand reports of people who've seen it with their own eyes.

 

[zorinlynx]

It looks plenty user-serviceable

I just saw more photos of the 17" MBP and it looks like you can just remove a few screws on the bottom and have full, unfettered access to the battery, HD and memory.

Why is everyone whining about the machine being completely non user-serviceable? I'm a bit annoyed that they made it slightly more difficult, but it's not impossible.

Heck there's already plenty of websites selling replacement Macbook Air batteries!

 

[queshy]

this event was a huge waste of money for apple. they could have reached the same audience through apple.com for much less money.

 

[coffey7]

The matte option is great. If the battery life is close to what they say it is then this was a great release. Who wants to be the first to try the new batteries? I will wait a bit to get the reviews from the field.

 

[fat phil]

small mercies...

Hmmm could be time to crack out the credit card.

Anyone know what the difference is between factory matte and anti-glare coating? Is there a difference?

 

[milo]

do you really need to watch high definition films on a 17" screen?

If you have HD at home and buy a movie on bluray, how else would you watch it on the road?

 

[Eidorian]

I just saw more photos of the 17" MBP and it looks like you can just remove a few screws on the bottom and have full, unfettered access to the battery, HD and memory.

Why is everyone whining about the machine being completely non user-serviceable? I'm a bit annoyed that they made it slightly more difficult, but it's not impossible.

Heck there's already plenty of websites selling replacement Macbook Air batteries!

I guess that Apple thinks its users aren't smart enough to follow a step by step take apart and use hand tools.

 

[suede]

Wait a minute... hasn't the MacBook Pro 17" started at $2,799 for years?

With that said, I can't justify not being able to upgrade RAM at your own pace. Coming up with an extra $1,200 off the bat would be the death of a lot of us... not to mention that alone puts the price tag at $3,999. The iMac is looking more appealing by the day.

Oh yeah... hate the black keyboards.

And so begins year three with the 17" Dell Inspiron that I still owe $1600 on. WTF! Gotta love that 30% Dell Preferred Credit.

 

[surferfromuk]

It'll be nice to read through this forum post once all the non-apple owning newbies have finished spewing their anti-apple propaganda carping on about the great Dell they're about to buy - well go then, F*ck off and buy it, and leave us mac users alone...OK!

Talk about trying to p*ss on someone's parade.

 

[toxic]

judging by the pictures on Apple's website, it looks as if the anti-glare is most likely matte. just because it's not explicitly called "matte" doesn't mean it's not; note how other manufacturers use "anti-glare" and "matte" interchangeably. Apple's site also says "antiglare display", so i'm thinking it's not just a coating.

i like the new 17". don't care about blu-ray, Apple wants you to leave the battery in anyway unless you want your processor throttled, non-glossy option without the stupid black bezel, and a new display with a wider color gamut. i'll just be waiting for it to trickle down to the 15".

but i agree that the internals should be easily accessible...