[PB PM]

Well new 15" Macbook Pro, with built in battery, and SD card slot rather than express card slot! Who used the card slot anyway?

[Capella]

Nice price! $1,699.

EDIT: but they knocked off the 9600 graphics chip option.

[709]

Originally Posted by PB PM Who used the card slot anyway?

Um, Pros? Goddamn it Apple.

Although FW800 on the 13." That's awesome.

[PB PM]

The $1699 model only has integrated graphics, lame, some "Pro" machine.

The card slot is still on the 17" model, which is a lot cheaper now.

[torifile]

I thought you were making a prediction. Damn you and your European ways of writing dates!

[PB PM]

Umm, I'm not European...

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by torifile I thought you were making a prediction. Damn you and your European ways of writing dates!

Actually, just non-US, kinda like English vs. Metric.

[709]

Originally Posted by PB PM The card slot is still on the 17" model, which is a lot cheaper now.

Wait, what? Is that right?

*PHEW*

I about had a major hissy-fit only 15 minutes into WWDC.

[thegelding]

gah, guess i could have waited to get my daughter a new macbook...that 13" macbook pro is a sweet little machine...good price too

still she should be fine with the updated white macbook she just got....which had an even nicer price...

g

[PB PM]

Yup, the 17" still has it, starting at $2499

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by 709 *PHEW* I about had a major hissy-fit only 15 minutes into WWDC.

What about the rest of us? Exchanging a hugely versatile ExpressCard slot for a friggin' SD card slot that literally nobody needs and only some slightly want?

However, the new 15-inch display sounds brilliant! And FireWire 800 on the 13-inch MacBook, and those prices finally coming down to irresistible levels. Great stuff.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by thegelding gah, guess i could have waited to get my daughter a new macbook...that 13" macbook pro is a sweet little machine...good price too still she should be fine with the updated white macbook she just got....which had an even nicer price... g

My Plasti-MacBook is the main machine in my household, and has been for about a year now. It's a great machine.

Still, now that Apple added the FW800 port to the aluminium MB, I can take it off my embargoed list.

[Jerman]

Oh, come on Apple!? Getting rid of the express card slot on the 15"? I was so excited 'till I saw this. How else will I run my future Apogee Rosetta? Of course the 17" is cheaper now and retains the express card slot, but I think I would prefer the form factor of the 15. Otherwise I think the updates are great, and firewire 800 on the 13" is wonderful.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray What about the rest of us? Exchanging a hugely versatile ExpressCard slot for a friggin' SD card slot that literally nobody needs and only some slightly want? However, the new 15-inch display sounds brilliant! And FireWire 800 on the 13-inch MacBook, and those prices finally coming down to irresistible levels. Great stuff.

I don't get this either. I understand SD is an important memory standard, but it isn't like you can't buy one of a hundred different Express Card solutions if you need it. I'm not sure what to think of the $1700 15" MBP with the decontenting of the 9600 GPU and Express Card slot.

[PB PM]

The card slot is clearly a minor issue, Apple stated that from their checks, a grand total 1% of users even use the card slot.

[Robo]

Originally Posted by Dorian Gray What about the rest of us? Exchanging a hugely versatile ExpressCard slot for a friggin' SD card slot that literally nobody needs and only some slightly want? However, the new 15-inch display sounds brilliant! And FireWire 800 on the 13-inch MacBook, and those prices finally coming down to irresistible levels. Great stuff.

I've actually heard tons of people complaining about the lack of a built-in SD card slot. I don't know why - you can just get a USB reader for those - but it's something people are used to on their Windows laptops I guess.

[bassplayinMacFiend]

Originally Posted by Jerman Oh, come on Apple!? Getting rid of the express card slot on the 15"? I was so excited 'till I saw this. How else will I run my future Apogee Rosetta? Of course the 17" is cheaper now and retains the express card slot, but I think I would prefer the form factor of the 15. Otherwise I think the updates are great, and firewire 800 on the 13" is wonderful.

Apple's refurb store has had 15" MBPs for $1699 for months. I wonder if they'll now blow out last Fall's 15" MBPs with Express Card and removable battery for an even lower price now. If they drop last Fall's 15" model to $1499 I'll probably get one before they're gone.

[kieran]

I'm just glad they went and brought the Pro level back down to the 13" level.

My next computer will definitely be either a 13" or 15" MBP when i decide to upgrade from my MBA in about a year.

[Robo]

To get a summary of specs on (hopefully) the first page:

13" MBP (replaces unibody MB)

2.26 GHz C2D
2 GB RAM
9400M GPU
160GB HDD
SD card slot
new battery
illuminated keyboard standard
$1199

2.53 GHz
4GB RAM
9400M GPU
250GB HDD
SD card slot
new battery
$1,499

15-inch MBP

All models: 4GB RAM, new battery, new screen, SD card slot

2.53 GHz
250 GB HDD
9400M GPU
$1,699

2.66 GHz
320 GB HDD
9400M + 9600M GT GPUs
$1,999

2.8 GHz
500 GB HDD
9400M + 9600M GT GPUs
$2,299

17" MBP

2.8 GHz
500GB HDD
9400M +9600M GT GPUs
Keeps ExpressCard slot
$2,499

[Jerman]

Originally Posted by bassplayinMacFiend Apple's refurb store has had 15" MBPs for $1699 for months. I wonder if they'll now blow out last Fall's 15" MBPs with Express Card and removable battery for an even lower price now. If they drop last Fall's 15" model to $1499 I'll probably get one before they're gone.

Definitely a good point. But then I would miss out on the better battery.

[rampancy]

Originally Posted by Capella Nice price! $1,699. EDIT: but they knocked off the 9600 graphics chip option.

The live blog on MacRumors wasn't so clear on this, but there appears to be now two different lines of the 15" MacBook Pro - the $1699 with the 9400M-only (2.53GHz, 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD), and the $2299 with the 9400M/9600M (2.8 Ghz, 4 GB RAM, 500GB HDD). Looks like Apple pretty much just made that 15" MacBook I've seen some people calling for.

I'm somewhat mixed on the loss of the ExpressCard slot, but I guess I was one of the 99% of people who don't use or it, or even know or remember it's there. I was actually seriously considering getting an ExpressssCard SSD to put in that, or a card reader - bassplayinMacFiend noted, there are lots of ExpressCard card readers out there; many of them are designed to fit flush with the edge of the 'Book so you'd hardly notice it was there.

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by Roboman I've actually heard tons of people complaining about the lack of a built-in SD card slot. I don't know why - you can just get a USB reader for those - but it's something people are used to on their Windows laptops I guess.

No doubt some people want it, maybe even lots. And it's standard on Windows machines including netbooks. But would people not buy a Mac if it didn't have it?

Pro photographers use CompactFlash and have high-speed FireWire readers for multiple cards, etc. Most casual photographers just plug the camera into a USB port with a cable, leaving the card in the camera. And half the SD cards on the market seem to come with a USB reader anyway.

Anyway, I personally didn't need ExpressCard, though that's also pretty standard on Windows laptops other than the cheapest ones. What I needed was a high-speed port of one kind or another, and FireWire 800 satisfies that nicely. The 13-inch MacBook (Pro!) now looks very appealing to me. Let's see what the display is like. (I thought I read that was new too, but you didn't mention it in your specs, Roboman?)

The 9400M graphics are great. Fast enough for most things except the latest games, and very power-efficient. A good choice for any laptop, Pro or otherwise, in my opinion.

[PB PM]

Looks good, might go for one of those 13" models, it is about time to retired the old 15" 2nd Gen MBP. I hook my MBP up to a screen most of the time anyway, so screen size doesn't matter, and I play games on my PC so the GPU doesn't matter.

[Wrao]

All of them apparently use new displays. E-IPS maybe? Could go along with the $300 price drops?

[cosus]

Is 13" enough for those that wanted 12"? Will the 13" pro use better screens than non pros?

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by Wrao All of them apparently use new displays. E-IPS maybe? Could go along with the $300 price drops?

E-IPS isn't cheaper than TN, which is used in laptops; it's only cheaper than previous IPS panels, which were insanely expensive (hence their relatively scarcity). The new screens definitely aren't E-IPS or Apple would have made a hell of a fuss about it (seeing as only one or two notebooks on the entire market have IPS panels, and they sell for a king's ransom).

[Wrao]

I was under the impression that the 15 and 17" MBPs used IPS(or PMVA?) panels before?

[Dorian Gray]

Originally Posted by cosus Is 13" enough for those that wanted 12"? Will the 13" pro use better screens than non pros?

I'd rather have a 12-incher, but they'll not make one of those as long as they plan a netbook-like machine, which I'm sure they do. I'm guessing the new panel is the same as the existing MacBook Air's panel, i.e. close to the old 15-inch MBP in terms of quality.

Originally Posted by Wrao I was under the impression that the 15 and 17" MBPs used IPS(or PVA?) panels before?

Nah, they were TN like everything else on the market. Half-decent TN, but TN nevertheless. The last mainstream notebook with an IPS panel was a 14-inch ThinkPad from like five years ago, if I recall correctly.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by Wrao I was under the impression that the 15 and 17" MBPs used IPS(or PMVA?) panels before?

Nope, never have.

[Bryson]

Guess what I have in my Expresscard slot? An SD card reader.