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Apple MacBook Pro: 17-inches of Pure Lust

By Aloysius Low - 19 Mar 2009

Deja Vu?

Deja Vu?

You're certainly seeing double; well, sort of as it looks like the same MacBook we've reviewed previously except that it has grown much larger and has a much more spacious feel. So what does Apple do with all that space you ask? Well, surprisingly nothing really, apart from moving the speakers to the side of the keyboard (which by the way, comes backlit). Frankly speaking, we do appreciate Apple's zen-like approach to the MacBook, and having plenty of cool aluminum to rest your palms and wrist on it also helps. Only one slight hiccup to this plan though - the lower left corner tends to heat up greatly when the notebook is chugging away at more intensive tasks and can get quite uncomfortable.

Glossy screens are something of a sore point with us, but the 17-inch MacBook Pro comes with a non-glossy option (though just not our review model, obviously).

The illuminated keyboard that comes with the Pro versions of the MacBook and the higher specced version of the normal MacBook.

More space on the 17-inch MacBook Pro means the speakers can come out of hiding from under the keyboard and take their rightful places beside the keyboard.

As an entertainment unit, the MacBook Pro was definitely decent with its large display and high resolution. Colors were gorgeously displayed and contrast was decent. The only drawback to the unit is really the audio quality of the speakers. While they sounded decent and clear at full volume, the lack of a subwoofer meant that bass was mostly flat when it came to explosions or scenes that required some depth in the audio. With the notebook's thin profile, it's understandable that there's not much space to fit in more beefy main speakers or integrate a subwoofer.

Music was like-wise equally clear for most tracks but the lack of punch in the bass department meant that some tracks ended up sounding flat. Still, the MacBook Pro is definitely decent for a notebook entertainment machine with its large vibrant screen and average speakers.

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