Review: Apple MacBook Pro and 24" LED Cinema Display

I HAVE been using Apple computers every day of my working life for nigh-on 20 years; my newspaper office hums with the heat from hundreds of Apple machines of every generation.

It is this long relationship which means I seldom see Apple computers as anything other than tools for getting a job done.

That attitude shifted slightly with the arrival of the super-slim but limited MacBook Air, but it shifted a lot more with the unboxing of my 15.4inch MacBook Pro review unit.

Before it was out-punched by the new 17inch MacBook Pro, unveiled during the same week as the Consumer Electronics Show 2009 in Las Vegas, this 15.4inch machine was Apple's top-of-the-range portable.

And it brought me as close as I have ever come to seeing an Apple device as something more than just a mere work tool.

This machine is a thing of beauty, with its seamless, aluminium unibody construction, its gentle, slender curves, its sheer presence.Moreover, the MacBook Pro is everything that the style-statement MacBook Air is not: It's a genuinely useful, genuinely capable, powerhouse of a machine.

It isn't just the unibody construction of the 5.5lb MacBook Pro that is different - the entire internal architecture has been restructured so that it now contains a dual Nvidia graphics solution.

The integrated GeForce 9400M graphics take care of your routine, daily computing needs like surfing, office tasks, emailing etc.

But when you become more demanding - for example, when editing video or large image files - the GeForce 9600M discrete graphics chip, with 512MB of GDDR3 RAM, kicks in.

It's a compelling combination which, when married to a bright, rich LED display, a maximum 4GB of RAM and Intel Core 2 Duo processors running up to 2.8GHz, makes the Pro a stick-on buy for graphics/multimedia professionals.

Connectivity is well catered for: Unlike the new 17inch MacBook Pro, the 15.4inch still has a Firewire slot, plus Gigabit wired ethernet and wi-fi (the Pro's AirPort Extreme 802.11n found and connected to my home broadband network quickly and flawlessly), an Express Card/34 slot, Bluetooth and two USB ports.There's one other slot on the left side of the Pro, a Mini DisplayPort for use with the new 24inch LED Cinema Display, which I'll come to later.

The usual slot-loading, DVD-burning SuperDrive takes up the bulk of the right side of the Pro and it played my commercial DVDs without a hitch, just as I expected it to.

Given the pro nature of this machine, storage is crucial and there's a range of serial ATA hard disk drives available capable of taking 250-320GB of data (plus, you can add a 128GB solid state drive as an optional extra, but here you're pushing this purchase into very expensive territory).

That's the vital statistics taken care of: What's the MacBook Pro like to use? Well, it's a beauty.

That 15.4inch, 1440x900 resolution, LED-backlit, glossy widescreen display is as good as it gets, no matter whose name is on the lid: It's big, bright and colourful enough for me to be able to watch a DVD movie on it from across a modest-sized lounge.

I had some initial concerns about the shallow, individually-spaced keys on the Pro's handily backlit keyboard, mainly to do with the lack of depth in the tactile feedback, but more prolonged use proved me wrong.

Where I wasn't wrong, however, was with the multi-touch, scratch-proof glass trackpad.

I like being able to use finger gestures to manipulate files and images, and in theory I like the idea of being able to press anywhere on the pad to instigate a mouse-click, but what I definitely do not like is the actual feel and sound you get when actually doing it - it seems to somehow cheapen the MacBook Pro experience.

It's okay for occasional mobile use but, were I to buy a MacBook Pro (see current UK prices at the end of this article), I would also invest in the wireless Mighty Mouse for use on my desk.

I mentioned earlier the Pro has a Mini DisplayPort: It's to connect the laptop to Apple's 24inch LED Cinema Display, which also came with my laptop.

Bearing all the usual Apple styling hallmarks - slender, sleek, clean lines - the display is a fine piece of design.

But at a hefty £635 for what is, to all intents and purposes, a (very) glorified monitor, I would be struggling to recommend it as a worthwhile accessory. For that price you could get a much larger HDTV and Blu-ray player.Don't get me wrong, it is a lovely piece of kit - it adds three extra USB ports, stereo speakers and another iSight webcam (there's one on the MacBook Pro, of course) - which when combined with the Pro makes for an impressive desktop package, but it pushes your outlay well over £2,000.

Personally I would be happy to 'live with' the MacBook Pro's 15.4inch display.

The MacBook Pro range starts from £1,369, the 15.4inch machine I reviewed costs from £1,712 and you will pay from £1,949 for the new 17inch MacBook Pro.

Products are available in an Apple Store or online at: store.apple.com/uk or for stocklist call 0800 048 0408 (in the UK only).