Apple's 13" MacBook Pro laptop sets new standards for industry design and performance in a mobile PC. IT consultant Erik Eckel explains.
Apple's 13" MacBook Pro laptop sets new standards for industry design and performance in a mobile PC. With integrated gigabit Ethernet, wireless-N networking, potent graphics capability and a highly secure native OS, I think Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro is the best pound-for-pound laptop available.
Apple's MacBook Pro line targets a wide range of professional business users. From technology professionals needing the stability of the UNIX kernel, to business staff requiring dual-booting PCs, to graphics and video editing personnel, the new 13" MacBook Pro features outstanding performance, impressive battery life, brilliant graphics, and industry-leading reliability and customer satisfaction for several hundred dollars less than previous generation models.
Apple provides mobile professionals with a dependable, reliable, high performance laptop computer. Design and functionality meld wondrously in the 13" MacBook Pro to provide a stable, secure, flexible laptop which, due to standard Intel and NVIDIA components, runs Windows as well as Mac OS X. In addition to providing a highly capable mobile computer, Apple has created a dynamic workhorse that can meet the demanding and varied computing needs of everyone from traveling sales executives to graphic artists.
Reliability - Apple Macintosh systems are renowned for their reliability. Because Apple engineers specify hardware components and develop the underlying operating system code, users experience a seamless integration that results in reliable performance that's impervious to most every ubiquitous Windows threat and vulnerability. Further, due to Apple's selection of high-quality components, even business users loading Windows typically find the MacBook Pro's reliability exceeds that of most every other business-class Windows laptop. Simply stated, Apple's hardware reliability, measured by numerous independent customer satisfaction surveys, is unsurpassed.
Performance - Apple systems are engineered to handle the rigors associated with video production and editing. With two gigabytes of DDR3 memory standard, a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo CPU and a 1066MHz front side bus, the 13" MacBook Pro is fast. Most mobile professionals will find the standard Apple configuration, which includes the capacity to power 2560 x 1600-pixel resolution on an external monitor, more than sufficient for daily office productivity, presentation, e-mail, database, video and Internet tasks.
Graphics - Thanks to an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated GPU, the new 13" models boast faster graphics performance, up to five times faster versus older models. The power-conscious graphics chip is still balanced to provide exceptional battery life, however, with up to seven hours use possible. Videos and other presentations are no trouble, and rendering and encoding times are more than respectable.
Design - The 13" MacBook Pro's unibody design gives it more than just good looks. The seamless aluminum case is more sturdy and sleek, making the laptop thin and light, not to mention durable. Design influences functionality, too. The backlit LED display generates crisp, razor-sharp images and requires less space than prior-generation LCDs, thereby contributing to a lighter laptop. Even the trackpad benefits from design details. The new Multi-Touch pad provides more space for controlling the cursor, while incorporating swipe, pinch, rotate, and four-finger swipe motions.
Expansion - Batteries, hard disks and other components are essentially baked in to the new 13" MacBook Pro. While Apple's standard configurations should ensure the units are more than capable of meeting most professional users' needs, upgrades are not simple propositions. For this reason, it's critical to carefully consider computer needs when purchasing a MacBook Pro. Only by carefully reviewing specifications prior to purchase can professional users ensure the laptop is properly and cost-effectively outfitted.
Technology professionals frequently, and often emotionally, debate the merits of Apple versus PC computers. The facts, once divorced from rhetoric, speak clearly. Market data released by ChangeWave Research in February 2009 revealed planned Apple laptop purchases were up, despite a down economy in which ChangeWave noted the lowest ever record of planned PC buying. Further, when measuring customer satisfaction, the same survey data showed Apple's a "Very Satisfied" customer rating level of 81 percent. No other manufacturer was remotely close. Dell, with a rating of 55 percent, wasn't even in the ballpark.
Business laptops are crucial to an organization's success. While technology novices often lament a MacBook Pro's "higher" price, they forget to factor the costs associated with security breaches, hardware failures and other reliability issues that frequently nag users of lesser equipment. Apple's product reliability, designs and performance make the new 13" MacBook Pro an outstanding option for mobile computing needs.
Have you encountered the Apple 13" MacBook Pro laptop? If so, what do you think? Rate the unit and compare the results to what other TechRepublic members think. Give your own personal review of Apple's MacBook Pro in the TechRepublic Community Forums or let us know if you think we left anything out in our review above.