New Slim 17-inch MacBook Pro Notebook Announced at Macworld 2009

Apple has given its 17-inch MacBook Pro notebook a new slim design with a durable aluminum unibody enclosure, and a new built-in battery that promises to deliver up to eight hours of use and up to 1,000 recharges. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro sports an ultra-thin, high resolution widescreen glossy 1920 x 1200 LED-backlit display and large glass Multi-Touch trackpad. It Measures 0.98-inches thin and weighs 6.6 pounds, making it just about the thinnest and lightest 17-inch notebook around. It's got the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, up to 2.93 GHz, and up to 8GB DDR3 main memory, and a choice of NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life, or the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance. A 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive comes standard, while a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, and 128GB and 256GB solid state drives are also available options.

The "Green" 17-inch MacBook Pro is said to be made of highly recyclable materials, and its energy efficient LED- backlit display is mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Like the rest of Apple's MacBook notebooks, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro includes a Mini DisplayPort to connect with an Apple LED Cinema Display.

Expect the new 17-inch MacBook Pro to start shipping at the end of January for about $2,799.

Specs and features:

- 17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200, glossy display;    

- 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;    

- 1066 MHz front-side bus;    

- 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;    

- NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;    

- NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;    

- 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;    

- a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+/-R DL/DVD+/-RW/CD-RW) optical drive;    

- Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);    

- built-in AirPort Extreme(R) 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;    

- Gigabit Ethernet port;    

- built-in iSight video camera;    

- three USB 2.0 ports;    

- one FireWire(R) 800 port (FireWire 400 compatible);    

- ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;    

- one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;    

- glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard;    

- built-in, 95WHr lithium polymer battery; and    

- 85 Watt MagSafe(R) Power Adapter.

Build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include a 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 8GB 1066 MHz DDR 3 memory, 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB or 256GB solid state drive, anti-glare display for $50 (US), Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.