Product Reviews

At one inch thick, the Macbook Pro could be your perfect portable friend. Slotting in between ultra-portables and the weightier desktop-replacement notebooks, it has the power to perform and, at 2.52kg, it isn't too heavy on your shoulder.

The keyboard is highly responsive so you can type lightly and for long periods without tiring. The track pad is similarly sensitive, allowing you complete control as you glide your cursor easily across the screen. The illuminated keyboard is a nice touch, making it possible to type in the dark; an ambient light sensor lights the keys when it senses it would otherwise be too dark to type.

The screen has a matt finish, reducing reflections when you're working outside, but you can choose a glossy finish as a no-cost option. Colours are accurate and our image tests revealed the greyscale transition from black to white to be almost perfectly smooth. However, the screen's 1,440x900 resolution is a little low; we'd prefer a 1,680x1,050 display at this price. In the top bezel there's an iSight webcam, which can be used with the included iChat software for video calls to friends

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and colleagues.

There are only two USB2 ports, but there's a six-pin FireWire port for attaching digital video cameras and a FireWire 800 port for audio interfaces and external drives. All of the ports are situated at the sides of the chassis for ease of access.

The Macbook Pro excelled at our video-encoding test, scoring an impressive 236. It also scored a respectable 177 in the multitasking test. The Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and 2GB of RAM are perfectly capable of running Mac OS X as well as Boot Camp for those who'd like to install a copy of Windows Vista (which isn't included). At 120GB, the hard disk provides enough room for even the largest music collection.

The Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card ran Call of Duty at a speed of 24.6fps, meaning 3D gaming is possible. Optimising settings, switching off anti-aliasing and lowering the resolution will allow for smoother gameplay. It's a good result for a notebook, but can't compare to a dedicated gaming PC.

Two hours and 47 minutes of battery life means the MacBook Pro should last for a train ride from London to Manchester with capacity to spare. The magnetic power cable is a nice touch; it disconnects when pulled so you should never trip over the trailing cable.

Unlike a lot of Windows notebooks, the MacBook Pro is a pleasure to use and we can't fault its ergonomics or performance. However, the high price prevents it winning an award. Acer's Aspire 5683WLMi (Labs, Shopper, August 2007) has a large keyboard, accurate touchpad and a similar specification to the Macbook Pro and, at £705 from www.simplyacer.com, it's far better value for money.