Apple MacBook Pro MA895LL/A 15" Laptop (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) at EZHOTSHOP.COM

Product Description:
Presenting the world's most advanced notebook computer. MacBook Pro is built on the latest Intel mobile architecture, which features the power of two processing cores on a single chip, along with a faster frontside bus, and up to 4GB RAM capacity for incredible performance with high-end creative applications. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with up to 256MB of dedicated memory delivers leading-edge graphics processing. And AirPort Extreme with 802.11n provides up to five times the performance and up to two times the range of 802.11g, as well as compatibility with 802.11a/b/g networks for ultimate Wi-Fi access. Yet with all of its advances, the sleek aluminum MacBook Pro is just one inch thin. So it's a joy to handle as well as to use. Slot-loading optical drive - 8x SuperDrive (DVD+-R DL/DVD+-RW/CD-RW) Expansion - One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, two USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard/34 slot Video - Built-in iSight camera, DVI, VGA (DVI to VGA adapter included) Audio - Combined optical digital input/audio line in, combined optical digital output/headphone out, stereo speakers, microphone Ethernet - Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Wireless - Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Inputs - Apple Remote; full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; scrolling trackpad Footprint - 14.1 by 9.6 inches / Thickness - 1.0 inch / Weight - 5.4 pounds Video accessories - DVI to VGA adapter included Software - Mac OS X v10.4 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, and more Hardware accessories - 85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, 60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery providing up to 6 hours of battery life per full charge Comes with

Amazon.com Product Description:
Stylishly and intelligently designed for mobile professionals, Apple's MacBook Pro gets a serious speed bump with the new, powerful Intel chipset (dubbed Santa Rosa), which provides a faster Core 2 Duo processor, longer battery life, and native support for 802.11n wireless connectivity. This model (MA895LL/A) also includes a new mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display measuring 15.4 inches and a state-of-the art NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card for more realistic graphics for animation and gaming. This MacBook Pro is powered by the new 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 memory--the fastest portable computer memory currently on the market (June 2007). But some things haven't changed: the trademark stunning aluminum enclosure that's is just one-inch thin, built-in iSight video camera, and Apple's magnetically connected MagSafe power adapter, which safely disconnects when under strain.

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
The Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor has a 2.2 GHz processor speed, super-fast 800 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and an enormous 4 MB of Smart Cache, an L2 cache that can be shared between the cores as needed. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

The Intel Core 2 Duo's 128-bit SSE3 vector engine handles 128-bit computations in a single clock cycle, accelerating data manipulation by simultaneously applying a single instruction to multiple data. And its two execution cores are designed to share resources and conserve power, helping it to achieve higher levels of performance since it uses fewer watts

Video and graphics are powered by the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT card, which is boosted by 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM. GDDR3 (Graphics Double Data Rate, version 3) is a graphics card-specific memory technology that's better able to deliver fluid frame rates for even the most advanced games and applications. The GeForce 8600M GT brings a new level of realism to the MacBook Pro with its 16-lane PCI Express architecture, 16x full screen anti-aliasing, 128-bit High Dynamic Range rendering, and a texture fill rate of up to 8.2 billion per second.

Hard Drive and Memory
The 120 GB Serial-ATA (SATA) hard drive (5400 RPM) provides more than enough space to store business-related documents and presentations, as well as offers space for a large digital audio and video library. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0. The 2 GB of PC5300 DDR2 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 1 GB) have an industry-leading 667 MHz speed, and the RAM capacity can be increased to a whopping 4 GB.

Wireless Connectivity
The built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it's also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the new AirPort Extreme with 802.11n. Use the built-in Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.

Video Conferencing with Built-in iSight
Artfully placed in the display bezel is an iSight camera, which enables easy video conferencing as well as allows you to snap pictures of yourself and create video podcasts. Using the iChat AV application, video conferencing is integrated into your iChat buddy list, so initiating a video conference is a breeze. iChat also lets you hold audio chats with up to 10 people and provides high-quality audio compression and full-duplex sound so conversation can flow naturally. For video podcasting, you can record a short clip using the iSight camera, then use iWeb to create a video blog entry or post your GarageBand-recorded podcast.

The MacBook Pro has battery life that rivals most notebooks in its class. If you'd like to make that battery last even longer, Mac OS X has a few tricks up its sleeve. Go to System Preferences, click Energy Saver, and change battery optimization from Normal to Better Battery Life. Or tell MacBook Pro to reduce its screen brightness and give yourself a little more time untethered.

And with the included Apple Remote and Front Row software, you can show off your latest photos and access your iTunes music and playlists from across the room. You can also use it to watch downloaded movies and TV episodes as well as control playback of DVD movies. The Apple Remote features a minimalist six buttons--just press the Menu button to activate Front Row and begin to navigate through your media. You can even use the remote to control Keynote presentations in iWork '06.

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.

What's in the Box
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2.2 GHz); 85W MagSafe power adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord; lithium-polymer battery; Apple Remote; DVI to VGA adapter; install/restore DVDs; printed and electronic documentation. It's backed by 90 days of telephone support and a one-year limited warranty.

Apple MacBook Pro MA895LL/A 15" Laptop (2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive)
Customer Reviews:

Average Rating:

Rating : - Excellent laptop... although flawed
After years of being a PC user I finally made the switch to Mac; at the time the 15" MB Pro seemed like the best choice of computer. Although both the OS and the laptop itself are excellent products, I can't help but glance from time to time at my Dell Inspiron for answers whenever I get stuck in a rut. With that in mind, I'll draw some comparisons between my 14" Inspiron and the MB Pro.

Here's my two cents:

HARDWARE:

* Peripherals:
I think that for $2,000+ I should get at least 3 USB ports instead of just 2. The Inspiron comes with 4 at $1,500 and not even the 17" model comes close with only 3 USB ports available. Both the MB Pro come with Express Card slots but the Inspiron comes with a 5-card memory reader. Granted, the MB Pro comes with an extra FWire slot but I still haven't found a good use for it. A memory reader would be sweet, though!

* Keyboard/Trackpad:
I'll say it up front: I do not like the keyboard's response! The keys feel kind of mushy and the kick-back action is slow which keeps me from typing fast. The backlit function is super sweet, though! It really comes in handy when I use it in a non-lit room... it also attracts the attention of passersby which is always cool hehe. BUT, this very function messes up the key's assigned functions (Spaces, Dashboard, Exposé, etc...) which makes it a toss-up between choosing either the Exposé functions or the Volume/Brightness functions. In this aspect, I prefer the Dell's response but backlit LED feature is not available.

The trackpad is nice and big enough for mouse activity but sometimes gets in the way of my typing and can mess up with my typing especially when I have to reach out to the G, H, V, B and M keys.

*LCD:
The LCD is nice and bright and self-adjusts its brightness when in a low-light environment. Its tricky getting used to it because sometimes it will self-adjust to very low levels and you'll then have to manually tweak it until you're satisfied. I haven't had any monitor problems like other users have stated and I hope I don't run into that problem!

*Speakers:
I can't really say much about the speakers except that I like their location which is at either side of the keyboard and thus gets out of your way when you lay your wrists on the laptop. The sound quality and volume are OK and really don't use them since I either plug my headphones or my external speakers. I can say that they're more powerful than the Inspiron's.

*Battery Life:
The battery life on the MB Pro is great, running at an average of 4 hours which will vary depending on how much stuff you do with the laptop. Inspiron's battery life runs at an average of 3 hours.

*Heat:
Oh, yes... the dreaded subject! This annoying bug takes the "lap" out of "laptop" unless you enjoy your thighs being subject to extreme heat... I kid you not! I can only stand holding the MB Pro on my lap for about 30 minutes and then it just gets unbearable; I either have to set it on a table or turn it off and wait for it to cool down. It seems that the sleek design comes at a very high cost and that's the heat since only one cooling vent is found where the LCD meets the chassis. The Inspiron handles this issue with better results.

*Weight/Size/Design:
The MB Pro will fit just fine on my backpack which was designed to carry my 15" Inspiron and the weight is nothing to either complain or brag about.

The design WILL make heads turn since its aluminum casing (also a con. See: Heat) makes it look cool, sleek and just brings the whole design together since it's not splashed with several colors like other laptops do.

SOFTWARE:

I have to admit that I almost returned the damn thing since Leopard was not pre-installed as "stated" on the Apple website; Apple had adroitly phrased their Leopard marketing pitch as "Ships with Leopard". Oh but Leopard was included all-right, in a drop-in DVD.

Upgrading was a breeze (around 40 minutes) and I didn't have to go back to the laptop every minute for annoying "Would you like to..." pop-ups. I can say that Leopard didn't recognize my wireless connection until after the computer was all setup.

I can honestly say that Leopard is a great piece of software and its features (too many to discuss here) really blow Vista and/or XP out of the water; there's simply no point of comparison! And no, the OS is not perfect either. It will lock up but not as often as Windows... in fact, it has only locked up 3 times since I got the laptop on Nov 24 and I use it every day.

I have really learned to enjoy the difference between platforms and although they're both flawed systems, OS X is the winner in this category. Who says you can't be productive and look cool at the same time!

Bottom line, I don't have any reason to go back to Windows...er, well actually I do have XP installed thanks to VM Ware Fusion, which rocks by the way! Ok then, let me rephrase: I don't see myself buying a PC unless some major development happens in the hardware scene. Sony, HP, Dell, Toshiba... I'm talking to you!

As for the software side, if a major release of Windows happens to be ground-breaking I'll just buy the damn thing and install it on my Mac, ha!

I do have some suggestions though: I honestly believe a memory card reader is needed and don't give me the "oh but you can buy an express card for that purpose" excuse! The heat issue is a big one too: it's like having a Ferrari and not being able to get the juice out of it because the steering wheel gets hot after 30 minutes! The keyboard needs some work, it can be more responsive; the backlit feature rocks though!

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