Apple MacBook Pro MD313LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) Review

Apple MacBook Pro MD313LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION)

Product Description Just when you thought your MacBook Pro was state of the art, Apple introduces the MD313LL/A 13" MacBook Pro with new advanced processing power and graphics. New connectivity capabilities potentially speed large file transfers beyond any current connection. All MacBook Pro models are state-of-the-art. This new one takes it out to another edge. New Thunderbolt technology lets you connect high-performance peripherals and high-resolution displays to one port - with data transfer rates up to 10 Gbps. Thunderbolt is based on two fundamental technologies: PCI Express and DisplayPort. And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, the video standard for high-resolution displays, any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port. To connect a DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA display, just use an existing optional adapter. Take everything from games to CAD to HD video projects anywhere. Time makes full-screen HD video calls that are astonishingly crisp. And thanks to the new widescreen format, you can get your friends in the picture, too. And with Mac OS X Lion and iLife '11, you're sure to get a great Mac notebook - all in a precision aluminum unibody enclosure that's less than an inch thin. Your creative potentials and dreams are realized with each new generation of MacBook Pro. Life, after all, is ever changing and this very affordable MacBook Pro makes impossible opportunities more possible than ever. 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory 8x SuperDrive (DVD+-R DL/DVD+-RW/CD-RW) AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi Wireless (based on IEEE 802.11n specification) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 10/100/1000 Gigabit BASE-T Ethernet SDXC Card Slot FaceTime HD Camera Audio Stereo speakers with subwoofer, omnidirectional microphone Expansions - 2 x USB 2.0, F Product Details Amazon Sales Rank: #6 in Personal Computers Size: 500 GB Brand: Apple Model: MD313LL/A CPU: Intel Core i5 2.4 GHz Memory: 4GB SDRAM Hard Disk: 500GB Processors: 1 Display size: 13.3 Features 2.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 Processor 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM 500 GB Hard Drive, 8x DVD/CD SuperDrive 13.3-Inch LED-backlit Display, 1280-by-800 Resolution, Intel HD Graphics 3000 Mac OS X v10.7 Lion, 7 Hour Battery Life Editorial Reviews Amazon.com Product Description Introducing the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The state-of-the-art dual-core Intel i5 processor delivers up to 2x faster performance (over the previous generation of MacBook Pro). New Thunderbolt technology lets you connect high-performance peripherals and high-resolution displays to a single port, and transfer files at lightning speeds. And with the built-in FaceTime HD camera, you can make astonishingly crisp HD video calls. The 13.3-inch unibody MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt technology (see larger image). With the revolutionary Thunderbolt technology, you'll be able to achieve bi-directional channels with transfer speeds to peripherals like external hard drives and servers up to an amazing 10 Gbps--while also connecting to a DisplayPort-compatible high-resolution display. As with previous models, the MacBook Pro features a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, creating a thin and light mobile computing workhorse (less than 1 inch thin and just 4.5 pounds) that's also highly durable. And it includes a 13.3-inch, LED-backlit glass display as well as a glass trackpad that doesn't include a button (for larger tracking area) that features Apple's Multi-Touch technology. You'll also get up to 7 hours of battery life while on the go. This version of the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro (model MD313LL/A) features a second-generation 2.4 GHz Core i5 dual-core processor, 500 GB hard drive, and 4 GB of installed RAM. Other features include integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics, ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth connectivity, an SDXC card slot, two USB 2.0 ports, and a FireWire 800 port (see full specifications below). FaceTime HD camera built into the bezel for crisp, widescreen video chats (see larger image). The backlit keyboard--great for typing in low-light settings (see larger image). OS X Lion Every Mac comes with OS X Lion, the latest release of the world's most advanced desktop operating system. With over 250 features including Multi-Touch gestures, Mission Control, full-screen apps, and Launchpad, OS X Lion takes the Mac further than ever. Key OS X Lion Features Mission Control provides a bird's-eye view of everything running on your Mac. Launchpad puts all your apps front and center for easy access. View apps full screen and switch between them with a swipe. Interact with your Mac using intuitive new Multi-Touch gestures. Key Features Revolutionary Thunderbolt Technology Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O (input/output) technology delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second of transfer speeds in both directions. Built into the MacBook Pro, the Thunderbolt port allows you to connect to new Thunderbolt-compatible peripherals as well as existing USB and FireWire peripherals using simple adapters. You'll be able to move data up to 20 times faster than with USB 2.0 and more than 12 times faster than with FireWire 800, and you can daisy-chain multiple high-speed devices without using a hub. And because Thunderbolt is based on DisplayPort technology, you'll be able to connect to a high-resolution display from the same port. Any Mini DisplayPort display plugs right into the Thunderbolt port, and you can also connect displays that use DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, or VGA connections with an existing adapter. You'll also be able to include your display into a daisy-chained set of peripherals. Next-Generation Dual-Core Intel Processor This MacBook Pro is powered by a second-generation Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, which provides breakthrough digital media management, content creation, and 3D gaming capabilities. With updated Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, the latest Core i5 increases speed automatically for whatever you're doing, dynamically accelerating performance to match your workload. Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology enables each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time, delivering the performance you need for smart multitasking. And you'll enjoy a rich set of new features for a stunning and seamless visual experience with no additional hardware. The Core i5 processor also provides faster access to the installed RAM, with an integrated memory controller to connect fast 1333 MHz memory directly to the processor. With new microarchitecture, the graphics processor resides on the same chip as the central processor and has direct access to the 3 MB of shared L3 cache--helping your applications run at peak performance. And an integrated video encoder enables HD video calls with FaceTime, while an efficient decoder gives you long battery life when you're watching DVDs or iTunes movies. Buttonless Multi-Touch Trackpad With no button on the glass trackpad, there's more room to track and click--left, right, center, and everywhere in between. Without a separate button, the trackpad gives your hands plenty of room to move on the large, silky glass surface. It also incorporates Multi-Touch gestures--including swipe, pinch, rotate, and four-finger swipe. And it also now supports inertial scrolling, an intuitive way to scroll through large photo libraries, lengthy documents and long web sites. Customers Review From Amazon.Com By Steelers Fan The reviews here are for the MD313LL/A, yet the computer is actually MD314LL/A, which has a faster processor and bigger hard drive. The MD314LL/A features a 2.8 GHz i7 processor, integrated Intel 3000 graphics and a 750 GB hard drive. I've never owned an Apple laptop before, so there was a little bit of a learning curve. Now that I'm getting the hang of it, I'm beginning to like OSX Lion better than Windows. Programs can be run on separate virtual desktops, and the computer never misses a beat when several programs are active. Switching between different desktops or open programs can be done by merely sliding three fingers forward on the large touchpad. Control-clicking on words or phrases in Safari brings up a context sensitive menu which allows the user to select to view a dictionary, Wikipedia, or do a Google search in a pop-up window in the browser. You can also ask the computer to speak the word or phrase, if you have any doubts about pronunciation. Safari also includes links to a library of plug-ins at extensions.apple.com, which includes a plug-in for Flash, so you can now watch free Hulu videos and other videos online. The network preferences window makes it far easier than Windows to set up a list of public DNS servers to bypass the sometimes slow, glitchy ISP servers. This computer is completely silent. I wasn't even sure it had a cooling fan until I downloaded a utility to monitor the fan speed. This computer is super fast, and the base plate never gets more than lukewarm. The light weight, small footprint, lighted keyboard, crisp screen and speed really make this computer shine. The attention to detail is really outstanding. The cooling vents on the back of the base are completely covered by a sliding plate when the lid is closed, keeping dust out of the innards. The power supply has flip out legs for winding the cord for storage and the prongs can be removed so it can be used as a brick type supply with the supplied AC cord. The computer also has a green LED battery status gauge built into the left side of the base, which is activated by a flush button. The lid snaps shut quietly even though there are no cheesy stick-on rubber bumpers, and it is held closed by magnets. The built in light sensor shuts off the keyboard backlighting and brightens the display in bright ambient light. The computer also has a 3 axis accelerometer to protect the hard drive from damage. The attention to detail is why Macs are more expensive than the various PC clones. By my_2_cents ( Value For Money ) Mac Book Pro 13 (early 2011 and late 2011) are excellent laptops. It works really well. The pricing is very competitive. You will fall in love with it in no time. If you could stretch by a few 100 dollars I highly recommend you should replace your Windows laptop with this one. My review mainly talks about the difference I have felt between an early 2011 and late 2011 mac book pro. I bought mine from Apple Store the day it was released as Amazon didn't have it yet. Processor - When compared to my 3 week old Early 2011 edition there I barely experience any difference in performance (2.3 GHz v/s 2.4 GHz). Hard disk - The new editions gives you more hard disk space (500GB instead of 320GB) but time has taught me never to trust an internal hard disk. I always use a backup hard disk to store important files at all times. So, the hard disk capacity really doesn't matter to me. Issues I have encountered so far on the Late 2011 Edition (new one): Fan noise: The fan made a constant hissing noise in the background. So, I took it back to the apple store and they narcissist genius bar staff) fixed it by resetting the fan at boot up. (Beware, their staff could send you back making you feel that only they know what a computer is. I had the staff telling me older version did not make the fan noise cause it is a "different" computer. Yeah, of course smarty pants "fix it now") Software - Compared to the early 2011 edition I did see inbuilt applications crashing and it prompted me to send the report to Apple (which I promptly did).I think this will happen to any new version of computer/phone released and I need to wait for the next set of updates to have all of this fixed. I will be patient for few months. Overall,at this point I feel for 100 bucks more you will get a newer hardware but it is not drastically different and you will not miss anything if you want to save some money and want to stick with the Early 2011 edition. Enjoy your mac book pro !!