Apple has unveiled its new lineup of MacBook Pro laptop computers. These new laptops feature Intel’s new Sandy Bridge CPUs, improved graphics capability, the newest in I/O interfacing technology, a new Face Time HD camera, a multi-touch trackpad, and longer battery life (up to 7 hours of wireless web surfing).
New MacBook Pro
Processor: The 13″ version comes either with an Intel Core i5 dual core processor, or the fastest dual core processor available – the 2.7GHz Core i7 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.4GHz. The 15″ and 17″ models are available up to a quad core Core i7 at 2.3GHz, with Turbo Speeds up to 3.4 GHz, and includes up to 8MB of shared L3 Cache memory. The result is that the new top-of-the-line MacBook Pros will now run close to twice as fast as their top-of-the-line predecessors.
Graphics: The upgraded on-chip GPU of the Sandy Bridge architecture (Intel HD Graphics 3000), is present across the new line of MacBook Pros and is used to quickly and efficiently encode and decode video, which allows the new HD resolution for Face Time video calls, as well as allows longer playback of DVD and other videos. In addition, the 15″ and 17″ models include a discrete high performance AMD Radeon GPU (up to 3x the performance of predecessors) that handle more intensive tasks such as gaming and HD video editing/processing with greater speed and responsiveness than before.
I/O – Thunderbolt: Perhaps the most interesting feature of the new MacBook Pro lineup is the new I/O interface, which is the first implementation of Intel’s new Thunderbolt technology (for those who remember Intel’s “Light Peak” nomenclature, this is the re-naming of that technology).
Thunderbolt was conceived as a solution that would provide incredibly fast bi-directional data transfers and that just about anything could plug into. Thunderbolt is based on PCI Express and DisplayPort technologies. By connecting RAID arrays or video capture solutions through Thunderbolt, you can for the first time get PCI Express performance. Thunderbolt also provides up to 10W of power to peripherals. And by using simple adapters, you can connect existing USB, FireWire and Gigabit Ethernet to the Thunderbolt port.
In addition, as Thunderbolt is also based on DisplayPort, you can connect any high resolution display with a mini DisplayPort plug directly into the Thunderbolt port, or you can connect a display with HDMI, DVI, or VGA cables using an existing adapter to the Thunderbolt port.
Thunderbolt is capable up to 10Gbps in both directions, and is >12 times faster than FireWire 800, is 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and is even double the speed of the new USB 3.0 standard.
The Feature Set for Thunderbolt includes:
- Dual-channel 10 Gbps per port
- Bi-directional
- Dual-protocol (PCI Express* and DisplayPort*)
- Compatible with existing DisplayPort devices
- Daisy-chained devices
- Electrical or optical cables
- Low latency with highly accurate time synchronization
- Uses native protocol software drivers
- Power over cable for bus-powered devices
Other Features of MacBook Pro :
* Ability to make 720p HD video calls between new MacBook Pros
* Multi-touch trackpad allows gestures such as pinch to zoom in and out, swipe to scroll, clicking and right-clicking
* 802.11n and Bluetooth wireless
I expect this new lineup of MacBook Pro laptops to be successful among the growing base of Apple fans.
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