These days $200 is a lot of money, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of you are wondering what you''ll be sacrificing if you opt for the new unibody $999 MacBook, or what you'll gain if you spring for the $1,199 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Here's a quick summary.
Unibody MacBook: What You Don't Get
- Aluminum design (though polycarbonate MacBook feels pretty sturdy to us)
- SD Card reader (deal-breaker for me, but others will be okay with this omission)
- Display with 60 percent greater color gamut (photo editors may think twice about new MacBook, but it was plenty bright in our early hands-on)
- No backlit keyboard (bummer, but we can live with it)
- No FireWire 800 (some video producers demand it, but most peripherals use USB, and USB 3.0 is on the way--so expect a refresh next year)
- No infrared port (nothing to see here).
Overall, the unibody MacBook Pro looks like a good deal. You get a fast Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia 9400 graphics, and a rated 7 hours of battery life. All in a stylish package that's under 5 pounds with a DVD drive. Stay tuned for a full review.
