The new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro brings a lot of new features to the table from the previous generation. Users now get a large battery that gives pretty amazing life, a better display, faster processor, FireWire, SD-card slot, and best of all a lower starting price.

Graphics and video support

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3Dualdisplay and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full nativeresolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on anexternal display, both at millions of colorsBuilt-in iSight cameraMini DisplayPort.

Build and Design

The 13.3" MacBook Prois very sleek and classy, which is what we have come to expect fromApple. The design is sharp with the unibody chassis showing no panellines or breaks except on the bottom for the huge panel that covers theinternals. Apple gives us a very simple interface with little clutter(and ports) turning what is usually a mindless appliance into a work ofart. To further simplify the design they switched to an internalbattery for this model, instead of having a cover and release bar likein the previous revision.

Build quality is excellent thanks to the very strong and rigidunibody chassis that is machined out a solid block of aluminum. Unlessyou were going to clamp the MacBook Pro in a vise and try to bend it,you can't really find any flex anywhere on the main half of thenotebook. The screen cover does flex slightly under strong pressure,but with something that thin it was expected. Without any plasticpanels, except at the screen hinge, there are no parts to squeak orcreak under normal use. Outside of a few rugged models I can't think ofa single notebook that has a stronger chassis than the unibody MacBooks.

Normally simple upgrades such as swapping in a faster hard drive orupgrading the system memory (or changing the battery) take a fewadditional steps on the new 13.3" Macbook Pro. To accessuser-serviceable components you must buy a precision Phillips headscrewdriver, and remove 10 screws around the perimeter of the notebook.With the cover off you get access to the battery, hard drive, opticaldrive, and tightly stacked system memory. Once you overcome the fear ofripping off the bottom of your new shiny MacBook Pro, upgrading thecomponents isn't that bad. The only problem that might come up is goingagainst the recommended advice from Apple to not disconnect the mainbattery when swapping out components. Usually you want to unplug AC andthe battery from notebooks before you change the RAM or hard drive toprevent damage.

Screen and Speakers

Thescreen on the MacBook Pro is average compared to other glossy panels,and has the downside of having the highly reflective glass layer overthe LCD. This increases the amount of reflection from other objects,including you sitting right in front of the notebook. While you doadjust to it after a while, it can still be annoying. Pictures andmovies look great thanks to the glossy surface and a healthy 60% bumpin color gamut over the previous generation MacBook, which givesvibrant colors and deep blacks. Overall brightness is excellent forviewing in brightly lit rooms like in an office building or lecturehall. If you were able to find a spot of shade you could also use itoutdoors as long as you find a strategic position away from any glare.Viewing angles are average for a TN-panel LCD, with colors starting toshow signs of inversion when titled 20-25 degrees forward or back.Horizontal viewing angles are much better, with colors staying accurateat steep angles, right up until the point where reflections overpowerscreen.

The speakers sound weak compared to other notebooks, with littlebass or midrange sound. The enclosed position of the speakers doesn'thelp with stereo separation, so it ends up sounding like one monospeaker. For enjoying some iTunes music or watching a movie headphonesare the best option. The MacBook Pro also supports digital audio outthrough the headphone jack, so hooking it up to a stereo for surroundsound is another option you could go with.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The 13" MacBook Pro offers a full-size Chiclet-style Keyboard that is fully backlit for typing where overhead light might not be the best. While Sonyoriginally created this style of keyboard, I think Apple reallyperfected it and made the better version. The keyboard is comfortableto type on and easy to transition to if you are used to typing on astandard notebook Keyboardwith tighter key spacing. Individual key action is smooth with lessthan average pressure required to activate each key. Key noise is low,with a smooth almost-muted click when pressed. If you enjoy stealthtyping, look no further. The backlight is nice even when your roomisn't completely dark. If you are not used to an Apple keyboard, itmakes it easier to spot keys since everything is lit up. The backlightis also fully adjustable, to be brighter when the room is brighter, anddimmer when you don't need the keys blindingly-bright in a pitch blackroom.

One trade-off to the shape of the unibody MacBook Pro is the sharpedges around the perimeter. The palmrest on most notebooks have aslightly rounded or sloped edge for the front of the palmrest, whereasthe MacBook Pro is a perfectly flat surface with a sharp edge. If younormally hang your wrists off the edge like I do, one thing you noticeover time is the edge digging into your wrist. If you have small handsthis might not be a big deal, but for someone like me it gets painfulquick. This is just another example of form having a higher prioritythan function.

The touchpad is a large multi-touch surface with no separatetouchpad buttons. The clicking action is through a clicker button underthe touchpad, which allows the entire surface to "click". If you areused to other touchpads, it takes a while to get used clicking thesurface itself, instead of a button below it. In OS X the touchpadsensitivity is excellent, offering no lag on the default sensitivitysettings. Contrast this with Windows, where the driver support doesn'tgive you the same fluid experience. Movement is choppy andover-sensitive, where the cursor will sometimes release an objectmid-drag or take many tries to double click. Another problem we raninto is the touchpad sometimes detected a slight increase in fingertippressure as a double click, opening applications when moving over alist in the start menu. None of these problems happened within OS X.

Ports and Features

The new 13" MacBook Pro offers two USBports, one mini-DisplayPort, LAN, and the return of FireWire 800. WhileeSATA is generally the best when it comes to fast external storage,more Mac-targeted Storagedevices offer FireWire from the long standing Apple support of thestandard. The Macbook Pro also offers a headphone jack and a newSD-card slot, bringing it to the same level that most PC's have been atfor a number of years.
The most notable feature on the MacBook Prois a handy battery gauge mounted on the side of the notebook. Pressingthe button lights up a number of eight LED's showing the current chargelevel of the battery. This is a handy feature if you are thinking aboutgrabbing the computer before you head out the door without an ACadapter ... just in case the battery is actually dead.