With WWDC just a few days away, Apple took down their store this morning. Everyone was expecting new Intel Santa Rosa chips and LED lighting for the screen, but in addition we got was a small speed bump and extra RAM.
The new MacBook Pros now come in speeds up to 2.4 Ghz with Core Duo processors. Additionally you can get up to a 200 GB hard drive in the 15.4 inch model and a 250 GB in the 17 inch model. The notebooks also support up to 4 GB of RAM and come with 2 GB standard. Upgrading the hard drive is reasonably priced at about $100 depending on which model you start with. However the RAM is ridiculous. Upgrading the RAM costs $750 and there is no in between amount. You get 2 GB or 4 GB, no other options. I realize most people will say that RAM should be put in even amounts, but as long as the sticks put in are the same it won’t matter.
Update
According to the press release from Apple only the 15 inch does have the LED backlit display. Also some people claim the chips are the new Santa Rosa, but I see no reference to them. According to Intel and Wikipedia the Santa Rosa platform consists of more than just the CPU. Involved are GPU, wireless and a few additional features to be dubbed “Centrino Pro” (Santa Rosa was code name, this is the official name). The MacBook Pros do not seem to be using all of the components.