It offers a much larger surface area than most laptop trackpads, thanks to the elimination of a separate mouse button.

We're especially fond of the larger trackpad that uses multitouch gestures similar to those found on the iPhone. Most users will be ably served by the less-expensive 13-inch MacBook Pro, which starts as low as $1,199, but the combo of a faster CPU, better battery, larger 500GB hard drive, the SD card slot, and a $200 price cut makes the new 15-inch MacBook Pro a solid improvement over its predecessor. Our $2,299 review unit had the 512MB version of the GPU, while the $1,999 version has a 256MB version. Now that the 13- and 15-inch models have the same basic feature set, including Nvidia's excellent integrated GeForce 9400 graphics, a high-capacity (if unremovable) battery, an SD card slot, and FireWire connection, the main points of differentiation are minor CPU speed boosts, a bigger screen, and the availability of a separate discrete GPU (the GeForce 9600) that can be turned off if needed to improve battery life. More important than that, however, is a series of price cuts for all of the base model MacBook Pros, including this $2,299 version-the comparable 2008 version originally cost $200 more. Instead, the 13-inch MacBook has been promoted to the Pro family, while the 15-inch MacBook Pro gets a handful of minor component upgrades. The latest round of MacBook revisions are nowhere near as radical as the aluminum unibody construction rolled out in late 2008.

Apple mac pro 2009