17-inch unibody MacBook Pro begins shipping
updated 09:15 am EST, Fri January 30, 2009
17-inch unibody MBP ships
The new unibody version of the 17-inch MacBook Pro has started shipping, its Apple Store product page reveals. Shipping information has quietly switched over from pre-order status, to an estimated delivery time of seven to 10 business days. The timeframe is still significantly longer than that for other MacBook Pros, which are shipping within 24 hours.
Aside from a new construction, the upgraded 17-inch Pro includes new integrated and dedicated NVIDIA graphics processors, standard LED backlighting, and a proprietary (but not user-replaceable) eight-hour battery. Up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM is supported, along with a Core 2 Duo processor running up to 2.93GHz. Apple is charging a base price of $2,799.










Way too much
01/30, 09:53am reply
I love Apple and their products, but this one is WAAAAAY overpriced. I have one of the first models of the 17" macbook pro, and at the time, it was about $200 more than equivalent pc's. That is a premium that was well worth it. That was June 2007.
This is early 2009, and I can buy an equivalent PC for about $1200-$1600. Plus, from what I understand, I can only update the memory using Apple (which is 30% higher than Crucial...where I usually get my memory).
Hopefully the price will drop to $2100 sooon
dynsight
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2005
Check these prices
01/30, 09:59am reply
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid##-1##-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000##0##11a~~cabcat0502000##0##o~~nf534||31372671756f743b20616e64205570&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=+brand skuid&usc=abcat0500000
dynsight
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2005
Yes and no ...
01/30, 10:41am reply
Yes you can buy a PC for about $1200-1600. No it is not an equivalent PC, it is a second tier machine. Go to Dell and check some prices. An equivalent PC runs about $2869 AFTER discount.
XPSM1730
2.8GHZ (only speed available, fits between the choices offered by Apple)
Vista Ultimate
RAM maxed out at 4GB
No LED screen
Bluetooth
ff11
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2004
Memory is..
01/30, 12:10pm reply
Memory. Apple has been using standard RAM for more than a decade now. You don't have to purchase it from Apple. Go to Newegg.com or Ramseeker.com and find some significantly less expensive RAM. Same goes for the HDD.
wymer100
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2003
Re: Yes and no
01/30, 12:36pm reply
And yet, if you have the desire for a 17" computer, you can only get Apple's at $2700. Wow, check out how many you can get at Dell. And for less than a $1000 as well.
It might not be 'equivalent', but the MBP might be overkill for what you need as well.
It's too bad Apple can't figure out how to take the three shells, and mix and match them with three or four different motherboards to allow, say, a MacBook innards in a 17", or a MBP's innards in a 13".
But, no, only Dell, HP, Acer, etc, have that capability.
I guess if Apple could get the market share of these companies, they'd be able to make their product lines more flexible.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
Testudo
01/30, 12:45pm reply
I agree with you that you that there are fewer options available at Apple (more than anything, with all that real estate, I would REALLY like a numeric keypad on the 17"!), as long as we realize that apples to apples, Apples and Dells cost about the same, Dell just carries bananas and oranges too.
ff11
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2004
Unibody
01/30, 02:45pm reply
Wymer,
I believe with the unibody construction, the user cannot access the memory, thus the only way to upgrade memory is via Apple.
dynsight
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2005
Num Pad
01/31, 08:23pm reply
The problem with including a dedicated number pad are two-fold: the trackpad would have to be repositioned to be off center, and the market is probably 1% of miniscule. USB num pads are available, and make a lot more sense.
dimmer
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2006
memory
02/01, 09:32am reply
dynsight,
Not true. The hard disk and memory slots are accessible once you remove the bottom cover, just as with the 15" MacBook Pro models.
Le Flaneur
Dedicated MacNNer
Joined: Oct 1999