Apple drops prices, boosts MacBook Pro lines

Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Adding faster processors, larger memory capacities (up to 8GB), FireWire 800 plus a SD Card Slot, Apple refreshed its MacBook Pro line by formally inviting the unibody 13’ inch MacBook to the fold. More after the break.

Available in Canada this week, the new MacBook Pro 13 starts at $1,399, offers a backlit keyboard, a 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB HD and most surprisingly a built in 7-hour battery (non-user removable). A 2.56GHz model is available for $1,749 and offers a 250GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM.



The entire Macbook Pro line now has improved battery life, thanks to an innovative but non-user replaceable battery that was introduced in last year’s MacBook Air. The addition of a Firewire 800 port on the 13’ inch MacBook is also a welcome addition that many users were clamoring for.

For the 15-inch MacBook Pro, a new 7-hour battery (built-in), a 3.53GHz, 2.66GHz or a 2.8GHz processor with 4GB RAM (upgradeable to 8GB), up to 500GB hard drive capacities. NVDIA GeForce 9400M is standard on the base model. You can still get the white polycarbonate MacBook, which is a great value at $1149.00 and offers a 2.13Ghz processor, 2GB RAM and a 160GB Hard Drive.

Apple also announced the availability of Snow Leopard for a surprising price of $29.00. $100 less than previous OS X updates. Snow Leopard will be available in September. One month before Microsoft’s Windows 7 is released. Snow Leopard is an evolutionary upgrade to the Mac OS and will be faster to install than the previous version and will also reclaim around 6GB of disk space.

Offering reduced prices on its most popular hardware and its operating system shows that Apple Inc. is seriously challenging the perception that they are expensive and out of reach.