Earlier today, Apple announced the release of their new Intel Core Duo powered 17-inch MacBook Pro. The specs are as follows:

  • 17-inch widescreen display
  • 1680 x 1050 resolution
  • 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo(1)
  • 1GB (single SODIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
  • 120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
  • 8x double-layer SuperDrive
  • ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory
  • One FireWire 400, one FireWire 800, and three USB 2.0 ports
  • ExpressCard/34 slot
  • Dual-link DVI, VGA adapter
  • Optical digital and analog audio I/O, built-in microphone and stereo speakers
  • Illuminated keyboard, Scrolling TrackPad
  • Mac OS X Tiger with iLife ’06 featuring iWeb, iWork ’06 trial, and more
  • MagSafe Power Adapter

The price is set at $2799. Interestingly, the price the 15-inch model upgraded with similar specs is $2899, and you still don’t get the dual-layer SuperDrive or the FW800 port featured on the 17-inch. It will be interesting to see if Apple adjusts the pricing of the 15-inch MacBook Pro to address this anomaly.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro is certainly the ultimate portable laptop for the computer-based musician or DJ. At 1″ thick and 7lbs, it’s combination of portability and power can’t be beat.

The 17-inch MacBook Pro can be ordered today, and is shipping next week.

If you can afford it, what’s stopping you?