Okay, the MacBook Pro isn’t strictly a netbook, but at 13-inches it’s right on the cusp. Not since the 12-inch PowerBook, discontinued in 2006, has Apple produced a pro-grade lappie under 15 inches. Until now that is. So, why should you be taking notice of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro and not one of the many other netbooks on the market? Read the full review to find out…
The 13-inch MacBook Pro, at first glance, looks extremely similar to the rest of the line-up. There’s no discernable difference to say the 15-inch offering. That is until you pop the magnetiucally-sealed lid. Lif it up and you enter a world that’s sprightly and speedy.
Apple’s also, somewhat kindly, added a few extras. Firstly there’s an SD card slot in the side - ideal if you, like us, tend to carry around a camera or camcorder all day. Just pop in your SD card and transfer the photos/HD video footage to the 13-inch MacBook Pro in a jiffy. Alternatively, Apple’s also included a Firewire connector for external hard drives or DV cameras.
The goodness doesn’t end there, though. Apple’s fitted the 13-inch MacBook Pro with an all-new battery that can actively manage its own charging and power use. Sounds clever? Well it is. It lasts for almost seven hours off a single charge, and we were using Safari to browse the web, has the brightness blaring out at about 80 per cent and we were using the Wi-Fi. Admittedly it’s not the longest battery we’ve ever seen in a laptop, but for Apple, it’s a marked improvement.
But you know the saying: with great power comes great cost. And that cost comes in the fact that the battery is built in. So there’s no replacing it when it dies. It’s a life of permanent proximity to plug sockets after that.
Onto the power, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor up to 2.53GHz and with 2GB memory as standard. In English, that means applications run as speedily as you like. The HD footage we were editing in iMovie, for instance, was no problem for the Pro, and those files, like our waistlines, were sizeable to say the least.
While we’re talking about software, the 13-inch MacBook Pro offers the latest iLife suite that has the all-new Garageband and iPhoto. And it’s as every bit as simple to get around as we’ve come to expect from Apple. This truly is a prince among laptops, not least for its improved battery and sleek, sexy looks.
Verdict
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is a valid alternative to larger netbooks, and a superb “entry-level” MacBook Pro. It looks fantastic, has tons of power and that battery just goes on and on and on…
Best features
Laptops don’t get more sexy
Useful extras
Great battery life
Not so good
Battery’s built-in
More expensive than a large netbook
Check out the 13-inch MacBook Pro gallery:
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