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New laptops and Cinema Displays

Apple today released complete redesigns of their laptop line and, unexpectedly, they are offering a new Cinema Display. The new designs are in the black and aluminum style of the new iMac.

Cinema Displays
* 24" screen
* Price: $899
* ONLY the new design is available in black and silver. The old designs (20", 23" and 30") are still available on the store but we don't know for how long.
* LED backlight (easier on both the eye and the environment at the same time)
* Built-in iSight camera, mic and speakers
* Internal MagSafe power adapter that allows you to charge a MacBook
* Built-in USB ports, NO Firewire
* Connects via MiniDVI
* Max resolution 1920x1080
* Glossy glass screen
* Contrast ratio 1000:1 (massive increase from 400:1)
* 14 ms response time (same as previous gen)

My thoughts - Seems to be aimed at consumers due to the lack of FireWire, relatively low resolution (the old 23" offered 1920x1200), glossy screen, Mini DVI connector and the fact that every single photograph shows a MacBook tethered to it. Looks nice for watching HD iTunes movies on though.

And it gets bonus points for a huge increase in contrast ratio. I wouldn't advise it for color-critical work though.

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MacBook
* One-piece aluminum cases (this is the "brick" everyone was referring to)
* The original white plastic MacBook remains but lowered to $999
* GeForce 9400M graphics chipset (256 MB shared memory) delivers a significant boost in graphics performance over the previous Intel on-board graphics
* Ultra-thin LED display
* All-glass multi-touch trackpad
* 5 hours of "wireless productivity"
* USB-only, NO Firewire

Low-end model ($1299):
* 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo
* 3MB L2 cache
* 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4 GB)
* 160GB HD (or upgrade to 320 GB HD or 128 GB SSD)
* 8x Superdrive
* 2x USB

High-end model ($1599):
* 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
* 3MB L2 cache, 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4 GB)
* 250GB HD (or 320 GB HD or 128 GB SSD)
* 8x Superdrive
* 2x USB

My thoughts - The graphical upgrades are much-appreciated but there is no FireWire which makes it of limited professional use. Also, there is no indication as to whether or not these machines can boot into Target Disk Mode (which makes the machine behave like an external hard disk which is great for backing up data if the machine fails).

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MacBook Air
* Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset
* Identical form factor to previous model
* SSD doubled in size from 64 to 128 GB
* Faster CPU

Low-end model ($1799):
* 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 6 MB L2 Cache
* 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Memory
* 120 GB SATA hard drive

High-end model ($2499):
* 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 6 MB L2 Cache
* 2 GB 1066 MHz DDR3 Memory
* 128 GB solid state drive

My thoughts - Could be good if a lightweight machine is important. Speed is now less of an issue than with the previous model but still a significant factor. No FireWire so storage options are limited.

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MacBook Pro
All the features of the MacBook above, as well as:
* 256 MB GeForce 9600M GT graphics in addition to the GeForce 9400
* Only 15" models available

Low-end model ($1999):
* 15.4" LED-backlit display
* 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (3MB L2 cache)
* 2GB DDR3 RAM
* 250 GB 5400 RPM hard drive (or 250 GB 7200 RPM or 320GB 7200 RPM or 128GB solid-state drive)
* Slot-loading Super Drive
* FireWire 800 replaces FireWire 400

High-end model ($2400):
* 15.4" LED-backlit display
* 2.53 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo (6MB of L2 cache) (with 2.8 GHz upgrade option)
* 4GB DDR3 RAM
* 320 GB 5400 RPM hard drive (or 250 GB 7200 RPM or 320GB 7200 RPM or 128GB solid-state drive)
* Slot-loading Super Drive

My thoughts - Out of all of the new products unveiled today, this is the only one geared at professional users. It's faster (2.8 up from 2.6) and has faster memory and front side bus. It also has a 128 GB solid-state disk as an option, which will give a further speed boost. It's not a must-buy for previous MacBook Pro owners as the main selling point is the visual redesign, but it's good if you're in the market for a new machine.

It's worth noting that this machine does not have FireWire 400 ports so you will need a FireWire 800 to 400 adapter in order to use FireWire 400 equipment with it.

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Conclusion
It is interesting to note how Apple seems to be separating its professional lines from its consumer lines. The new graphics chips in the MacBooks make them much better for Final Cut Studio but the lack of FireWire now cripples them in that regard. I think this is deliberate.

There's nothing here to make pro users sit up and take notice but if you're in the market for a new MacBook Pro, you'll benefit from the speed bump and the (hopefully) more rugged design due to the new one-piece construction of the base.

Blu-ray unfortunately wasn't a feature in these new machines but then again, OS X 10.5.6 wasn't released either and there's no way they could introduce Blu-ray drives without OS support. But it does complicate the issue because if Apple were to, for example, release OS X 10.5.6 in two weeks with Blu-ray support in the OS, their laptop line would probably not be updated for another 3-4 months, whereas they could have just waited if Blu-ray support was just around the corner. I'm sure Apple must be working on this somewhere in their facility but when it will materialize remains to be seen. The next big event is Macworld in January so fingers crossed it will appear then.

Edit: One thing I didn't realize at first is that Apple is ONLY offering the MacBook Pro in a glossy screen configuration - the matte option previously offered is no longer present. The thing about glossy screens is that when calibrated properly, they are fully capable of reproducing accurate colors in a perfect environment. The gloss on the screen tends to reflect the environment which makes it virtually useless for professional work in most environments. I'm sure a third-party will create a matte screen cover for the MacBook Pro but for a machine supposedly targeted at professionals, they really shouldn't have to. This is disappointing.