Today the 17 inch MacBook Pro joined its younger siblings with a unibody construction. While many of the improvements were expected — based on the existing unibody models — and there are some worthwhile performance enhancements, Apple also had a couple of nice surprises in store. Let’s take a look…

Expected Unibody Improvements

First and foremost, for the same base price of $2,799 as yesterday, the new 17 inch model provides the following:

• Solid unibody construction. We’ve learned the unibodies are indeed very solid and seem like tanks. The 17 inch takes that even a step further, as we’ll see below.
• Dual core processor at 2.66GHz (up from 2.5) on a 1066 MHz bus (up from 800MHz)
• Utilizes fast DDR3 memory at 1066MHz.
• It is actually about a tenth of an inch smaller in width and depth, and also two-tenth of an inch thinner. Yes, these are pretty small improvements, but for a device so big any relief is better than none. (Recall that the 15 inch model actually got slightly bigger in unibody trim.)
• The wonderful glass track pad with gesture support.
• The improved 9600M mobile graphics with 512 MB video memory (same as the high-end 15 inch model).
• 9400M mobile chipset and graphics for very good performance while saving an hour of battery life.

On the down side, the new model loses the separate FireWire 400 port, getting by with just the one 800 port (which supports 400).

Further, the new model uses the mini Display Port, which means to use it with your existing screen you’ll need to by a new adaptor.

Newer Improvements

Where Apple deviated from the other unibody models is in two important areas. How well these are received remain to be seen (I can already hear the complaints), but I ultimately think these are good:

• There is a matte screen option. You read that right. While the same glossy screen as the rest of the MacBook line is the default, a matte BTO option is available. That’s the good news, the bad news is it’s $50.
• New battery technology. This new technology increases battery size by 40 percent, and battery life by a whopping 60 percent! You get eight hours of life with the integrated graphics, and even seven hours with the discrete graphics. That’s the good news, the bad news is the battery is non-replaceable.

I’m sure the matte option will be greatly appreciated by those who need it, but since the option was free on the previous model there may some complaints about it costing extra. It seems in order to do it the most professional way, however, Apple isn’t just placing a matte cover on the glass screen, but rather removing the screen and applying the matte to the LCD. This does make the most sense, and it seems to me that for their flagship model Apple wanted to do it right. Besides, for all the howling over the glossy screens, matte screen aficionados shouldn’t complain about the price, right?

As for the new battery, it makes sense when you think about it. By using new technology and a battery essentially custom-made for this model to cram into all available space, they got much more battery in the slightly smaller case and increased battery life accordingly. And they did this without increasing weight! That amazes me the most. All this extra battery and the model weighs the same as before? Batteries are heavy. Clearly, the new model shed weight which they countered by adding more battery. Yet it’s still the lightest 17 inch laptop on the market.

I foresee Apple bashers having a field day with the non-replaceable battery. Heck, most of them still want a replaceable battery in the iPod! I do not have an extra battery, and prefer to avoid the expense and extra weight and clumsiness in carrying one around anyway.

I wonder if the reason the MacBook and 15 inch MacBook Pro models do not use this same battery approach is that, with their smaller case sizes, it may not have made enough improvement. In other words, there was less space to put the battery in anyway, so the improvement would not have been enough to make a big deal out of. With the 17 inch model, a 60 percent increase with no weight or size gain is a very big deal. I might also add that I like the fact that Apple is innovating with batteries, because I assume this technology can trickle down to their other mobile devices in the future.

Other Items

In terms of build quality, the unibodies are like tanks, yet the door on the bottom seemed to be almost flimsy by comparison. Without that weak spot I imagine the new 17 inch model to be even more rugged and sturdy. One issue, however, is that I’m not clear on how memory or the hard drive is upgraded.

Other available items are a maximum RAM of 8GB (nice), a 2.93 GB processor, and an option for a 256GB SSD. I’m surprised, however, that the max HDD is 320GB, when 400GB models are readily available elsewhere.

Conclusion

In short, for the same price as before you get a smaller, thinner, faster, more durable, and more expandable machine. On top of that it weights the same and yet has a battery life of up to eight hours!

To me, the best way to judge the worth of new features is if I wish I had them. Frankly, if they could have crammed more battery in my unibody MacBook for significantly more battery life, without gaining weight, even while removing the ability to swap it, I’d be thrilled. I’d also appreciate that it was even more solid. And, while I love the glossy and would not change it, the matte option is a nice touch for those who feel they need it.

I wrote about the unibody upgrades for the other MacBook here. Personally, I’d rate the unibody 17 inch model upgrade as right between the MacBook upgrade (which got the most improvement) and the 15 inch model (which got the least).

[Theappleblog]

Apple’s last Macworld Keynote Address is now available to view online.

It was announced last month that today’s keynote would be Apple’s last at the Macworld Expo. It was also announced that Steve Jobs would not be delivering the address but that Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, would be instead.

The keynote went off without a hitch and Phil seemed well received by the crowd.

The video taps in right around an hour and half and is a great way to check out the new iLife and iWork ‘09 features.

[Theappleblog]

The Mac maker’s final booth at Macworld mirrors those of years past, though the highlights are undoubtedly new versions of iWork and iLife. Mac Pros, Mac minis and Apple TV are amongst the no-shows at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, while an army of iMacs serve only as portals for show goes interested in taking the latest iApps for a spin.

A sprawling banner suspended from the ceiling of Apple’s booth states the arrival of iLife ‘09 and iWork ‘09, as do two larger and more vertical adverts that flank the front-most perimeter. Buried towards the back left-hand side of the centralized Apple theater are a couple of circular tables holding iPhones and iPod touches.

Meanwhile, an array of colored nanos can be seen affixed to the left wall of the theater, almost as a decorative afterthought. MacBooks aren’t getting much play either, where the entire family of top-selling notebooks — including the MacBook Air and four 17-inch MacBook Pros — are confined to a single table on the far right end of the booth.

The sentiment at this year’s show is noticeably subdued. There are fewer attendees and the resounding sentiment is that the Cupertino-based firm has left much to be desired from a more personal event that will arrive at a place and time of its own choosing.

[Appleinsider]

The new high end notebook uses a 95 watt-hour Lithium-Polymer battery, which the company hailed as a physically compact breakthrough over the batteries used in competing laptops. It’s true that many PC laptops continue to use Lithium-Ion batteries, which package cylindrical cells inside a case, a practice that wastes a lot of internal space around the cells with dead air. Some of the cheaper PC laptops even still use relatively ancient Nickel Metal Hydride battery technology, which is even less space efficient.

However, Apple has been using Lithium-Polymer battery technology for years, both in iPods and in its notebook line. Rather than packaging cylindrical cells inside a battery module, Li-Poly batteries use sheets of polymer plastic that can be shaped as needed, resulting in a more compact and dense battery unit. In the images below, from Apple’s video on battery technology shown in the Macworld keynote, Li-Poly sheets are spooled into bundles (below top) and then pressed into a thin unit (below middle graphics). The result is a thin package (below bottom).

Apple uses Li-Poly batteries in the MacBook Air, and they’re also used in iPods and iPhone models to deliver a slim profile. One notable difference in the 17″ MacBook Pro is that while thinness is a top consideration, physical size isn’t. That allowed Apple to install a relatively huge battery, affording the laptop a very long lifespan relative to industry norms.

The replacement battery rebels

Another aspect that allowed Apple to use a larger than typical battery is the company’s fearless ability to buck convention. In this case, the prevailing consensus that a full size notebook must have a replaceable battery so that it can be swapped out with a spare. The company’s track record for using non-replacable batteries in its iPod and iPhone models has long been ridiculed by pundits who have insisted that the company made that engineering decision primarily to force users to pay hefty fees to replace the batteries once they reached the end of their useful lifespan.

The real reason of course was to make a device that was easy to build and lacked a battery cover and the latches and connectors required to support user-swappable battery modules. Apple traded those features for the space to install a larger battery, giving its devices longer battery life in a more compact profile. The market solved the battery replacement cost itself, with companies offering third party, do-it-yourself kits for battery replacement in the price range of $10 to $20.

Last year, Apple took an even bolder step in releasing the thin MacBook Air without a replaceable battery module. That unleashed a new wave of bitter complaint from pundits, but resulted in a very thin enclosure that prompted healthy sales of the thin new notebook. While the company’s mid-range 13″ and 15″ notebooks were sold with replaceable battery units, the new high end 17″ model does away with all the covers, latches, and battery module packaging to make room for a larger battery pack that can’t be swapped out without a screwdriver.

The result will likely be more complaint from the defenders of the status quo, but also a real breakthrough in usability. The 40% larger battery used in the 17″ MacBook Pro gives it up to 8 hours of life, making it far more practically useful than a conventional 5 hour replaceable battery that requires also carrying a separate spare battery, and probably also an external charger.

3X longer life

Enhancing the battery’s lifespan is an improved recharging system Apple calls Adaptive Charging, which more precisely monitors the charge level of the battery’s individual cells, and delivers the optimal current required to recharge them. The company says this helps prolong the lifespan of the battery from the typical span of 300 charging cycles to up to 1000. That also means fewer battery packs will end up in landfills, putting a greener shine on the new notebook’s environmental credentials.

With notebooks now accounting for more than half of the computers Apple sells, battery technology is a key area of research, one that the company is addressing with advanced research into battery chemistry and packaging design. This enables the company to produce differentiated products that stand out against the sea of commodity PC notebooks that are fighting primarily only to be cheaper, resulting in a need to use older technology that doesn’t demand any investment in innovative research.

Apple has been routinely criticized for not scrambling to jump on the bandwagon of $400 netbook mini-laptops, but while that market of razor thin profit margins receives a lot of press hype, sustainable profitability lies with higher-end notebook models, a market Apple is increasingly dominating. Just as it did a decade ago, Apple intends to innovate its way out of the current recession, setting itself up for a strong position once the global economy recovers. Until then, sales of Apple notebooks appear to be stronger than ever, thanks to the company’s relentless efforts to improve and differentiate its MacBooks from commodity PC alternatives.

[Appleinsider]

At MacWorld San Francisco today, Apple announced a major update to its iLife suite of applications. iLife ‘09 will be available by late January 2009. Upgrade costs are $79, with a family pack at $99. It is shipping on all new macs. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the standout features of the new apps:

iPhoto ‘09
- Faces: Addition of facial recognition to events. Photos can be tagged to recognize faces, as in Facebook.
- Places: Uses geotagging to find information about the latitude and longitude of a photo. This information can be supplied either by a newer camera with built-in gps capabilities, or manually by user input.
- Slideshow Themes: Uses facial detection to properly position pictures in a slideshow. There’s also support for Facebook and Flickr, with built-in geotagging.

iMovie ‘09
- Dynamic Themes: Context-sensitive menus for clips, along with animated travel maps
- Automatic Image Stabilization: Helps reduce motion in shaky video
- Precision Editor: Video and audio
- Advanced Drag and Drop: For placing video wherever you want it in the timeline
- Video Effects: Brings back special effects to iMovie

GarageBand ‘09
- Learn to Play: Teaches how to play an instrument with video instruction from professionals/celebrities. Nine basic lessons included, with additional downloads available at $4.99 each from within the app.

Since OS X 10.5.x is required to run the new iLife, Apple is also offering a package of OS X 10.5, iLife ‘09 and iWork ‘09 for $169. This “Mac Box Set” will ship in late January when iLife ‘09 ships.

[Macrumors]