The MacBook Pro was the first Apple computer to feature the Intel Centrino Core Duo chipset – a dual-core processing platform that was being perfected at the same time as the new Pro. The release of these two great innovations means you get a laptop that reportedly delivers performance four to five times faster than the previously released PowerBook G4. The new Mac Pro release was aimed at the professional and power user market, but has made plenty of fans among less demanding users.

The extremely thin MacBook Pro with the aluminum case weighs 2.54 kilograms and features a 15.4-inch wide-screen monitor, an iSight camera built in, and a remote for use with Apple's Front Row media software. The trackpad has been enlarged, allowing for more room and comfort for scrolling and multi-touch gestures. The backlit keyboard has the sunken and separated keys that have become standard for Apple laptops.

The Mac Pro gives users a giant leap forward in processing speed, far above the performance of the PowerPC's G4 processor, which was produced by IBM. Intel's Core Duo processor has created a monster of a laptop that processes data at blazing speeds.

If you liked the profile of the 15-inch PowerBook, you'll love the MacBook Pro. It looks very similar to the PowerBook and it weighs about the same, but the MacBook Pro brings users a larger monitor screen while keeping a slightly thinner profile.

The monitor is an LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors. The high gloss finish of the display in this model, as compared to the former monitors' matte display, is due to the thin glass cover on the screen. The bright display of the MacBook Pro monitor is possible due to Intel's dual-core processors, which reportedly consume less power than the past generation single cores. The new MacBook is estimated to provide up to four times as much performance per watt as the PowerBook G4 did, resulting in a vastly improved display that isn't as power hungry as previous laptop models.

So what's the downfall of the MacBook Pro? Like most laptops, the answer is in battery life. Although this laptop and monitor is supposed to be more power conscious, battery life and corresponding problems seem like they will always be an issue. Another less important, though often worrisome downfall, is the amount of heat generated under the laptop during use. Neither of these issues are serious enough to take away from the advances that it brings to the table.

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