Full Review

30 July 2007 - While the core element of the MacBook Pro hasn't changed, Apple has moved to upgrade and improve certain elements of the laptop. So should you upgrade now, does the new features give it a 9/10? We get working to find out.

Choosing when to upgrade your computer is always a hard one. Chances are you'll buy one and then new features come out and that's what most likely happened here.

Following hot on the heals of new specs for Apple's MacBook Pro range being announced earlier in the year, the laptop has had yet more upgrades, although not to the design of the model.

As before the MacBook Pro retains its lightweight aluminium chassis, there is a 1.3MP iSight webcam above the screen and it weights in around the 2.5kg mark.

New however to this mix, is the introduction of a faster processor; still Intel Dual Core, although now Santa Rosa and with speeds up to 2.4GHz.

On the graphics front an ATI card option has been ditched in favour of the faster NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 256MB SDRAM.

Other tech spec improvements have been to include a "n" variant wireless chipset for faster wireless connectivity rather than relying on "b" or "g" to get you connected.

The biggest change, although you are unlikely to notice it in use, is the move to an LED backlit screen.

Apple say the move is for two reasons; it's greener and more battery efficient.

In our tests compared to a non-LED backlit display there isn't much difference between the two.

The brightness on the older and now newer model is roughly the same. As for the battery efficiency claim, we were able to get around 30 more minutes on a single charge compared with our 2006 MacBook Pro. However, this could just be down to battery life cycles (yawn).

VERDICT
The new MacBook Pro, isn't a new model as such, just better tech specs with some LED backlighting for a longer battery life and the knowledge that you aren't as non-green as you were before.

It's good to see that LED offering doesn't affect performance. While those who bought a MacBook Pro in 2006, needn't worry that you jumped too soon.

As before this is a stunning machine that offers power and performance and comes with Apple's usual flair for style and panache, but any previous foibles still haven't been totally addressed.

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