Apple MacBook Pro MB990LL/A 13.3 in. Notebook

Introduction

This will be the second Macbook review I’ve written here, but this time it’s for the “Pro” version, and this time, Apple has done some substantial things to differentiate this model not only from the standard Macbook line, but its original aluminum-bodied predecessor as well. We’ll start with the standard specifications for this model, according to Apple’s website and the unit I own: 

2.26GHz Core 2 Duo (45nm)
2GB DDR3
LED backlit 13.3” display with 1280x800 resolution
160GB SATA hard drive
DVD/RW optical drive
SD card reader
Backlit keyboard
Aluminum unibody with (mostly) permanent battery
Firewire 800 (400 compatible w/adapter – sold separately)
Mini-displayport output
Bluetooth, Wireless N, and gigabit ethernet 

Now, many of you will remember the dramatic refresh when Apple decided to make Macbooks out of a machined piece of aluminum and with a very contrasty LED display. It was a very solid-feeling laptop with an eye-catching screen (at first glance) and top-notch fit and finish. It had, however, one issue: the price. And this was especially true of the base model, carrying a tag of $1299. At such a price it lacked a backlit keyboard, and had notably lesser internals than its $1599-priced sibling. Both models maintained the standard two USB 2.0 ports of the white (and black) forerunner, but now ridiculously lacked firewire. With the latest redesign and the new “Pro” title, however, things have changed substantially, and some of the changes are noted in the specs above. On to the details!! 

1. Performance

With the first aluminum Macbook models, the newe 9400 chipset from nVidia was introduced to Apple’s mobile lineup. Boasting vastly better 3D, graphics, and video performance than anything Intel has ever offered or currently offers, nVidia’s integrated chipset provides enough power to easily handle any high definition video source, photo editing tasks, and even some older 3D games. It provides all of this while still sipping power, which is a winning combination for a notebook that aspires to be fully functional performance-wise, while still maintaining a virtually ultraportable form factor.

The latest 45nm CPU from Intel with a nice boost to 2.26GHz is also included in this base model. This CPU aims to strike a balance between performance, power consumption, and heat output, and for the most part succeeds quite effectively.

The most revolutionary performance enhancement (and I intentionally say revolutionary rather than merely evolutionary, which all the other upgrades are for the most part) deals strictly with battery performance. A new, integrated battery has been designed from the ground up, form-fitting with exactness inside the new aluminum unibody chassis, and Apple makes some bold claims. Previous Macbook batteries yielded their owners from 4.5 to 5 hours typically, with usage levels ranging from light to normal. They also had the typical lithium ion life expectancy of somewhere in the neighborhood of 275-300 recharge cycles, with an estimated lifespan of about 1.5 years. My white Macbook’s first battery completely bit the dust right before the first year was up, which Apple kindly replaced. The second one made it about 1.5 years before serious degradation in performance developed, and now it is completely toast like what happened to the first battery.

The new battery promises vast improvements, including 7 hours of normal usage. Now this may seem like only a marginal improvement over the 5 hours promised by the previous models, but this seven hours is achieved at 70% brightness with wi-fi on the whole time and while doing real work on the notebook. And what’s even more promising is that people (including myself) are actually achieving such results (or even better) quite regularly. With my previous Macbook and Sony Vaio laptops, I could achieve 5 hours of battery life, but this was with the screen at its lowest setting and often with sparing wireless Internet usage to conserve battery. Somehow, with an intelligent battery recharging and monitoring system, and a larger, custom-designed battery, the new Macbook Pro 13” is achieving better and much more reliable and consistent battery performance. 
The second aspect improved in battery performance is the lifespan. Apple claims an approximate life expectancy of around 1000 recharge cycles, which should put battery usability at nearly five years. To accomplish this with lithium ion batteries in a notebook computer that sees daily use is quite a feat, but as they have not been out enough years to test this for certain, the proof will have to be in the pudding. 

Unfortunately, the new unibody design has introduced no increase in standard memory or hard drive speed over the previous model. 2GB and a 5400rpm are standard. In this day and age, a $1000+ notebook with a modern OS that comes with only 2GB of RAM is a tad ridiculous in my opinion (um, “E” pinion, I mean.)

2. Display

The first aluminum Macbooks sported a shiny new glass display with very even LED backlighting that certainly drew crowds at first, but upon closer examination, many artistic and design-oriented folk discovered that the 13” aluminum Macbook only produced about 60% of the color gamut produced by the larger 15” and 17” Macbook Pro models. This was quite a disappointment for many who wanted to take some excellent color reproduction capabilities on the road with them in an ultra-portable form factor. 
This has all changed now, with the new 13” unibody Macbook Pro. Now the entire Macbook Pro lineup, from the 13” to the 17”, sport some of the best color reproduction and viewing angles of any notebook computer on the market today. And they have efficient, even, and very capable LED backlighting to both enhance the viewing experience and remain power-efficient. The new displays are a joy to work on, and even though the glass does produce some glare, the exceeding brightness that these new displays are capable of putting out does better at counteracting the inevitable glare than ANY other glossy-screened laptop I’ve ever worked with.

3. Design and Other Features

Performance and display quality are paramount in my book, but there are other things that will matter to prospective buyers as well. Those things will be discussed here. 

The aluminum design feels very sturdy and somehow manages to come out both thinner and lighter than the original white Macbooks. In daily use, the aluminum body and glass screen seem much more resistant to scuffs and scratches than the plastic white and black bodies and plastic glossy LCD screen of the previous models. Weighing a mere 4.5 lbs and being less than 1” thick, this laptop is going to easily follow its owner around wherever it’s needed without adding hardly any bulk to the average briefcase or backpack. With the unibody model we also see the first time Apple has included a card reader in their notebook computers. It’s ridiculous that a company that has long touted how wonderful their products are for photographic arts has taken SO LONG to include something as basic as a card reader in their computers. It’s exceptionally late to the party compared to the competition, but the SD card slot has officially arrived to the Macbook Pro. FINALLY. 

I muttered several complaints and made some very mean faces when Apple removed firewire from the Macbook. Had they replaced it with a third USB it would’ve been more excusable. I mean firewire is considered more of a “pro” feature, and the Macbook has always been more on Apple’s basic and less costly side of things. But to remove firewire and replace it with NOTHING?? I can’t begin to express how ridiculous that was. There are myriad external devices such as hard drives and camcorders that utilize firewire, and for Apple to remove it without replacing it with anything else was a big mistake, but a mistake they have now corrected in the new 13” Macbook Pro. Not only is firewire back, but it also has 800 capability. MUCH better.

Bluetooth and wireless N continue to provide the two main wireless connection mediums used for Internet and data synchronization with mobile devices, and now even Apple’s base model aluminum notebook comes with an excellent backlit keyboard. Most of the keys are quiet, but the spacebar regularly makes a noticeable click, much louder than the other keys.

The Macbook Pro lineup now includes arguable the world’s most advanced trackpad. I have heard people complain about it, but given a proper opportunity, it easily outpaces any trackpad I’ve ever used both in productivity and intuitiveness. Some ask, “Where is the button??” I respond, “It IS the button.” Once you get used to it, you realize how inferior other trackpads are. Gestures abound (and the computer can teach you how to use them) for editing, navigating, and multitasking. Scrolling and zooming are natural and smooth. Editing photos (basic) is much more intuitive when you can instantly switch between one and two finger actions. More advanced editing, however, is still best served by a mouse.

The webcam and microphone are still present, of course, as is Apple’s latest iteration of iLife, which includes basic software for editing music, photos, videos, and web pages. The built in speakers seem a little bit louder and clearer than the white and black model Macbook, but they are still very much laptop speakers.

4. Upgradeability 

This is another important factor if you’re not satisfied with the meager 2GB of RAM provided, or if you’re afraid you’ll soon fill up the 160GB hard drive with all those family photos. I have made a picture guide detailing how I went about doing this here:

http://www.myzander.net/MBPro/Macbook_Pro_Hard_Drive_Swap/Welcome.html

It’s actually not very hard to do, but with everything packed in so tightly, extreme care is recommended so you don’t damage or disconnect anything unintentionally. I was easily able to upgrade the RAM to 4GB and the hard drive to a 320GB 7200rpm Fujitsu. Upgrading the RAM actually yielded a slight increase in battery life. I believe it’s because it was able to use the RAM more and needed to spin up the optical and hard drives less often. However, after installing the new hard disk, battery levels dropped back down. I would assume it’s because the new hard drive is a faster 7200rpm unit. I still regularly achieve 6.5 to 7 hours of usage with this notebook, which is what I need for work. 

5. Conclusion and Value

The bottom line is this: For $1200 (or less if you watch the sales) you get a fairly speedy 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo, a very well-built aluminum unibody chassis, a backlight keyboard, one of the best LED backlit displays out there, class leading battery life for a laptop that doesn’t have crippled performance (or a bulky, unsightly extended battery), and all the amenities you’d expect on a modern, upper midrange laptop such as the card reader, Bluetooth, and wireless N. You will see a noticeable improvement upgrading to 4GB. It’s worth it. Modern operating systems flourish with more system memory and are much more efficient at using it to boost performance, battery life, and responsiveness than operating systems of the past.

Overall my experience has been outstanding with this computer, now that I’ve owned it for a while. There are often electronics purchases that one regrets after making them, only to find out later that the product is not as advertised, or simply ends up not being a good fit. 
This notebook strikes a remarkable balance between portability, performance, battery life, and design – and in my opinion price as well. I have seen competing products that actually cost more when they cram all the same specs into a package this small and attractive. HP and Dell have made competing models. Some of the competition is working hard, improving, and getting better and closer, but Apple has definitely raised the bar when it comes to these new Macbook Pro 13” models.

I am most certainly loving mine.