Discrete MacBook Pro
The original 15-inch MacBook Pro was announced on January 10, 2006 by Steve Jobs at the Macworld Conference & Expo.[1] The 17-inch model was later unveiled on April 24, 2006.[2] The first design was largely a carryover from the PowerBook G4 and utilized Intel Core CPUs as opposed to the PowerPC G4chips used by its predecessor[3]. It is 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) deeper, 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) wider, and 0.1 inches (0.25 cm) thinner than the 15-inch aluminum PowerBook G4, while weighing the same.[4] Other changes from the PowerBook include a built-in iSight webcam and the inclusion of MagSafe, a magnetic power connector designed to detach easily when pulled to prevent the entire laptop from being pulled off a surface. Both features were later brought over to theMacBook. In order to accommodate the slimmer form factor of the MacBook Pro, the speed of the optical drive was halved compared to that of the PowerBook G4 and dual layer DVD writing support was omitted.[3][5]
Both the original 15- and 17-inch discrete model MacBook Pros come with ExpressCard/34 slots, which replace the PC Card slots found in the PowerBook G4. All discrete 15-inch models have two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port,[6] while the 17-inch models have three USB 2.0 ports as well as one FireWire 400 port.[7] When first introduced, the MacBook Pro did not come with FireWire 800 or S-Video ports,[4][6] although FireWire 800 was added in the next 15-inch model revision[8] and was present in every version of the 17-inch design.[7] S-Video capability can be attained through the use of a DVI to S-Video adapter.[4] External displays with up to a 2,560 × 1,600 pixel resolution are supported through a dual-link DVI port.[9] All models include a built-inGigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11a/b/g.[6][7] Later models include support for the draft 2.0 specification of 802.11n[10] and Bluetooth 2.1.
Apple refreshed the entire MacBook Pro line on October 24, 2006, to include Intel Core 2 Duo processors.[8] Memory capacity was doubled for each model, to 1 GB on the low-end 15-inch and 2 GB for the high-end 15- and 17-inch models.[8] FireWire 800 was added to the 15-inch models. Hard drive capacity was increased, although video card options stayed the same.[8] The MacBook Pro line received a second update on June 5, 2007 with new Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT video cards and faster processor options.[11][12] LED backlighting was added to the 15-inch model's screen, and its weight was reduced from 5.6 pounds (2.5 kg) to 5.4 pounds (2.4 kg).[12] Furthermore, the speed of the front-side bus was increased from 667 MHz to 800 MHz. On November 1, 2007, Apple added the option of a 2.6 GHz Santa Rosa platform Core 2 Duo CPU as well as reconfigured hard drive options.[12]
On February 26, 2008, the MacBook Pro line was again updated.[13][14] LED backlighting was added as an option for the 17-inch model.[13] Processors were updated to "Penryn" cores, which are built on the 45 nanometer process (65 nanometer "Merom" cores were previously used), and hard drive and memory capacities were increased.[13] Multi-touch capabilities, first introduced with the MacBook Air earlier that year, were brought over to the MacBook Pro'strackpad.[13] At the time of the introduction of the 15-inch unibody MacBook Pro on October 14, 2008, the discrete model with the same screen size was discontinued, while the 17-inch discrete model continued to be sold.[15] The discrete model was discontinued on January 6, 2009, when the 17-inch MacBook Pro was also updated with unibody construction.[16]