Apple MacBook Pro MA609LL/A 15-inch Laptop (2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)

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Product Details

• Item Weight: 5.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0006HU4OO
• Item model number: MA609LL/A
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,313 in Computer & Accessories (See Bestsellers in Computer & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 24, 2006

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

MacBook Pro is built on the revolutionary Intel Core 2 Duo — which packs the power of two processor cores (up to 2.33GHz) inside a single chip. It provides 4MB of Smart Cache, L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. It delivers higher performance in 2D and 3D graphics, video editing, and music encoding. But the new engine is only part of the story. Ultimate speed, performance, and connectivity. To go. That’s MacBook Pro.

MacBook Pro delivers the Front Row media experience, making it easy (and rather spectacular) to showcase your latest creations.

Packs power, not pounds
What makes MacBook Pro so mobile? Performance in a portable package. MacBook Pros are amongst the thinnest, lightest notebooks in their display class. These computers feature parts engineered to squeeze out every last joule of performance with meticulous placement for minimal size. The result? Ultra performance in a thin, light package.

In addition to superior design, MacBook Pro features a large scrolling trackpad for maximum control and a sudden motion sensor that parks the hard drive head during sudden changes in orientation. Throw in a backlit keyboard with an ambient light sensor and digital sound for music and movies, and you've got a portable workstation/entertainment machine that belongs on business trips and vacations.

Taking pictures of yourself on the road has never been more fun. Add a special image effect and save the image as your iChat buddy picture, email to your friends, put in your iPhoto library, or post to your iWeb photo blog.

iSight to behold
Sit down. Click someone’s iChat icon. Video conference from anywhere in the world. Though you can barely see it, there’s an iSight camera built into the thin bezel just above the display. So now you can conference with associates during the day and chat with the kids at night. iChat AV lets you video chat with up to three other people simultaneously. And when you go head to head, you’ll see your colleagues clearly, at VGA resolution.

Moving Performance
The MacBook Pro sports a killer, high-resolution widescreen display up to 17 inches big, and it's ready for more than Web surfing and word processing. Why? Well, check out the not-so-subtle ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with up to 256MB of dedicated graphics memory. Designed for high-performance portables, this graphics powerhouse packs more punch into a much smaller space. The X1600 can push data through 12 pixel shader pipelines and five vertex processors on the 16-lane PCI Express bus interface. Enjoy sharp videos and photos, smooth video playback, astonishing effects, and vibrant colors — as well as texture-rich 3D performance in next-generation games.

Road Show
Whether you’re at the client’s office, on location, or back at your hotel room, just use the Apple Remote to control your videos, music, movies, and more. Front Row lets you quickly navigate through your work and play from anywhere in the room. You can even use the Apple Remote to navigate through Keynote presentations. MacBook Pros are also road ready with:

• MagSafe Airline Adapter: Out of power in flight? Plug your MacBook Pro into the optional MagSafe Airline Adapter and get back to work (or play).
• AirPort Express: MacBook Pro offers built-in wireless capability, and you can create your own wireless network with an AirPort Express.
• Built-in Bluetooth: Connect wirelessly to Bluetooth-enabled peripherals or connect to the Internet via your mobile phone.
• On display: Extend your desktop by connecting your MacBook Pro to a larger display or an HDTV via the DVI port or an optional video adapter.

The MagSafe Power Adapter is just that: a magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So tripping over a power cord won't send your shiny new MacBook flying off a table or desk; the cord simply breaks cleanly away, without damage to either the cord or the system. As an added nicety, this means less wear on the connectors.

Included Software
Mac OS X v.10.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools), iLife '06 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, a 30-day trial of iWork '06, Comic Life, FileMaker Pro Trial, OmniOutliner, Photo Booth, and Front Row.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

76 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ditch XP/Vista and set yourself free, November 16, 2006

By	Jack Aubrey "kingfisher" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Laptop (2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) (Personal Computers)

I had my previous Apple computer in the early 80s...a Mac Classic. Then on to Windows 95, 98, some time with NT, and XP in the corporate environment. I have used Dells, Gateways, Fujitsus and Panasonic Toughbooks. Each computer needed some sort of virus program..and then another utility to manage the operating system...and another to back everything up for the blue screen of death. With each new application it got slower...and slower. Tired, stale, consistant, blah and increasingly frustrating computing experiences.

I got my daughter an iMac and was blown away with all the capabilities for enhancing the digital experience. So I just got a 2.33 PowerBook Pro with 3GB memory and and 200GB hard drive and glossy screen. I am in heaven...

The visual experience is quite awesome, and with the lighted key board, you can stay up all night and type away. I have been a pilot for 15 years, among other things, and know something about glare. If you hold it just right, you can see yourself in certain lighting conditions, like when you are having breakfast and the sun is coming up. It is a nice reflection of a smiling person enjoying thier MacBook. If you are going to be doing a lot of work in digital photography or watching DVDs...the glossy screen is just wonderful. If you are going to see how much abuse your nice new computer can take so you can brag about it...just go ahead and get a ToughBook.

For a number of corporate apps, I downloaded Parallels and a fresh copy of XP. It is unbelievable. Download the software, insert the XP CD...and shazam...you have XP running faster than you can believe.

Go to the Dell site, and load up a 15" laptop just like the MacBook Pro for yucs...the Mac is actually cheaper. And I like Entourage a lot better than Outlook for doing the daily contact managment. I am just now getting started organizing the digital photos, but have loaded 3000+ into iPhoto. I have 15 years of photos to scan along with various formats of video...so that is an upcoming experience.

Battery life is only 3.5 hours with a really brite screen setting and no conservation settings...and no, I cant cook an egg due to heat.

Oh, and for backup? Just sign on with .Mac, fill out the preferences and forget about it.

For me, this is the most brilliant computing device ever made. I have a Cingular PCMCIA data card which doesnt fit, so that is a bit problematic for awhile...but everywhere I used to need the data card I can get wireless coverage now...

This is the first review I have ever written, because I am having such a wonderful time with the product. Go ahead Neo, take the red pill and get on with your digital life.

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MacBook Pro Information, November 14, 2006

By	Scholar87 (Saint Louis, Missouri USA) - See all my reviews

Just purchased and received my MacBook Pro. One-Day Shipping was only $3.99 with Amazon Prime. I wanted to let other buyers know that this MacBook Pro comes with the ANTI-GLARE SCREEN. For those who prefer the GLOSSY, look elsewhere. The Amazon Rep didn't know and the product description didn't specify this info.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars pretty darn good, November 4, 2006

By	Benjamin D. Wei "B. Wei" (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Apple MacBook Pro MA610LL/A 15" Laptop (2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) (Personal Computers)

i maybe one of the few users out there that had to chance to own both the Core Duo and the Core 2 Duo within 2 weeks. i bought the Core Duo first but after a week the keyboard and track pad stopped functioning so i took it to the Apple guys to see if they could fix it and they couldn't. they told me that they would swap it out for free (normally they charge a 10% re-stocking fee) and it just so happened that the Core 2 Duo was released...so that's what i ended up getting. lucky huh?

CD = Core Duo: older Intel processor
C2D = Core 2 Duo: newer Intel processor
PB = Power Book: older Apple laptop
MBP = MacBook Pro
MB = MacBook

physical build...this machine is perfect. it's about the same size as the G4 PB's but thinner. first thing i couldn't wait to try was the magsafe power adapter cause i can't count how many times i've tripped over my old PB's power cord. works as advertised! besides that, there isn't much of a design change from previous PB's except that they switched the battery placement, the ram slots are located by the battery, and the air vents that were located on the side of the old PB's are now gone. CD's and C2D's have the exact same body and build. same full sized keyboard with wayyyy brighter backlighting, so bright that i kind of hurts to look at it sometimes. there was only one magnetic latch to close the laptop now on the MBP's there are two. makes it more secure i think? can't really tell the difference. you get the standard two usb 2.0 slots (located left and right), a two fire wire slots (located on the right) one fire wire 400 one 800 (located both on the right) and the usual ethernet, headphone jack...etc. only gripe i have is that i wish they put more usb slots on there...

operationally sound...unlike the first release of MBP's that moo-ed and mysteriously shut off the new C2D's (at least mine and what i've heard so far) are problem free. this baby is quiet, in fact, you'd really have to prop your ears next to the air vents to hear the fans whir. i've only heard the fans kick on once when i had it on my lap playing a dvd and photoshopping at the same time. there were some issues with the CD's not being able to sleep when you closed the screen, well this one plops to sleep like a kid who had a big day.

performance is great...if you're coming from a PB to a MBP like i did then the performance gain can be measured in leaps and bounds. start up is amazingly fast, there is no more lag when due to the significant increase in processor speed and ram speed. C2D's can be upgraded to 3 gigs of ram only due to chipset limitations but i'm pretty sure 3 gig's would cover over 95% of what people need. (ie: Photoshop, internet surfing, music playing, dvd burning...etc) the new video is great as well, ati x1600 with 256 mb ram pretty much ate everything i threw at it. supported dual monitors (your laptop screen + another monitor) right out of the box without a hiccup. i ran a dvd on one screen, photoshop on the other and everything purred along fine, no screen lag. if you're comparing C2D's to the CD's then the performance gain isn't really noticeable...trust me, don't feel bad if you're one of those that was just outside of the return period when the C2D's came out. Apple also stuck a new wireless card in there that has the new n-wireless standard...ironically, it's not usable yet on OSX but if you have bootcamp, Windows is able to use it's n-capabilities. battery consumption is pretty good too me but your mileage may vary. i take notes in class, chat and surf the internet when i can't understand the professor...overall i get around 4 - 4.5 hours of usage.

software is elegant...this is probably just something you have to experience for yourself. Mac users will know what i'm talking about. literally everything, well everything that i've tried, have worked without a hitch. MS Office is a must if you're a college student otherwise everything you need is pretty much pre-loaded in the box.

overall...if i didn't get this upgrade for free i wouldn't be quite as happy as i am now. it was painfully obvious that the first release of the MBP with CD processors was pretty much just a MacBook with a bigger screen (1 inch bigger) and a dedicated video card. i didn't think then such minor details would command a $1500 premium. it was literally a battle between how long before Apple incorporated the C2D and how long the consumer was willing to wait. that in my opinion was a low blow. if they tout the MBP's as their top of the line notebooks then they should have made it so that it was significantly different from the regular MacBooks in the first place. i mean, if Toyota started making their sedans in Lexus quality...who'd wanna get a Lexus?

it get's only 4 stars due to the following reason...

- inadequate chipset that can't utilize 4 gigs of ram. just seems like they're cranking out whatever they can for the holidays to rake in the cash. hardware doesn't seem as meticulously thought out as it used to be. i mean, a month down the line when they have the new chipset that CAN use 4 gigs of ram you can bet there will be a lot of customers complaining again.

- the video card, while very decent, is hardly anything to write home about. again, for a top of the line notebook you'd think they would have used something better. to be fair, they probably were thinking about battery consumption on this one. but still...

- i wish they had some sort of extended battery pack included or as an option. i mean, the 4 hours of usage is good but on a day where i have 8 hours worth of classes...well you get the picture. starting to sound like a broken record but again, for a laptop that is around $2600 when everything is said and done, is that too much to expect?