Bye Bye Powerbook

Steve Jobs keynote would be complete without his trademark “one more thing.” This year’s was a doozy: a new laptop computer called the MacBook Pro. That’s right — no more PowerBook.

The MacBook pro features an Intel Duo Core chip that runs four to five times faster than the PowerBook G4, according to jobs — he called it the fastest notebook ever. All this, in a chassis that’s actually slimmer than Apple’s 17-inch PowerBook G4 model, and weighs in at 5.6 pounds. It features a 15.4-inch LCD screen that’s as bright as Apple’s desktop Cinema Displays.

The new MacBook Pro features a built-in iSight camera, much like Apple’s iMac systems, and an integrated InfraRed (IR) sensor supports Apple’s remote control, which can operate Front Row — the software that helps turn a Mac into a media center, which Apple first introduced in a refreshed iMac model in 2005.

Apple is taking orders today, but does not expect to begin shipping the MacBook Pro until sometime in February. A 1.67GHz model will cost $1,999. A 1.83GHz model will cost $2,499.

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/