MacBook Pro 17-inch first hands-on (update: video added)

Yep -- it looks just like its little brothers! Feels like 'em too, except the obvious bit of heft added by that 17-inch display. Of course, they don't have that sweet, gigantic battery inside, or that matte display option (until we torch Curpertino, of course... in love). Video after the break!

Update: Added another video. It'll be exciting, we promise!

Gallery: MacBook Pro 17-inch first hands-on

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[everyone @ Jan 6th 2009 2:27PM]

@Ryan: so use your internal filter and stop being a jerk...

[vvtopkar @ Jan 6th 2009 2:08PM]

Looks pretty nice, but once again... What's so special apart from battery life?

[Adrenaline @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

the option to pay $50 more for an option that should be free.

No thanks.

[groovegsp @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

matte screen?

[Jason D. Clinton @ Jan 6th 2009 2:10PM]

Screen appears to be S/PVA which would make it the only laptop in production (?) on which a decent display is available.

[Derek @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

Absolutely nothing.

[ZeRo @ Jan 6th 2009 2:11PM]

It's new?

[Makavre @ Jan 6th 2009 2:16PM]

Well, it can now play cris....... oh never mind ... is a Mac

[GeekPI @ Jan 6th 2009 2:17PM]

No quad core option, no professional quality graphics card option (Quadro) = ZZZZZZZZZZZ

[Chester @ Jan 6th 2009 2:19PM]

This is so boring. I really wanted to see a new Mini.

[Mycroft @ Jan 6th 2009 2:31PM]

Oh, you wanted to SEE the screen? That will be $50 extra...

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Jan 6th 2009 2:33PM]

Where the Heck is the giant scroll wheel?

[Shinigami @ Jan 6th 2009 3:17PM]

SPVA screen with 140/120 angles? First time I've ever heard of such atrocity...
I thought SPVA were like 178/178...

Come on Apple! For the price premium you take you should put OLED as a default screen!!!

[cg0def @ Jan 6th 2009 3:31PM]

There's nothing special about it. It's a larger MBP for people who want/need one. It's just like the old MBP lineup. It really sux that Apple decided o just reduce the number of connectors on all of their laptops. They are not replacing firewire with usb like the case with DVI. They are just cutting the number of ports. And while I get that they are trying the reduce the footprint for a 17" notebook that will most likely stay on your desk 99% of the time 3 usb ports and one firewire is kinda low. Other than that the 17" MBP is a great addition to the lineup although I am definitely not getting one.

Oh yeah I really like to know how do you make a matte screen from a slab of glass. It must be an additional filter that they add on top of the glass ( hence the $50 extra ) but I have yet to see something like this. Actually Apple should teach Sony how to do that so they can build my dream TV ...

[jeremyturnley @ Jan 6th 2009 3:43PM]

The carpal tunnel you'll get contorting your hands to reach to type over that huge empty white space where the oversize battery lives?

[jeremyturnley @ Jan 6th 2009 3:51PM]

cg0def - It doesn't say "matte", it says "anti-glare" - people are making assumptions that it will be matte. Look at any plasma TV on the market to see what the anti-glare coating looks and feels like - and read reviews on them to see how much people dislike it.

[adrian @ Jan 6th 2009 4:19PM]

When you consider this is Apple's last Macworld it seems to be piss week so far. Maybe I am jumping the gun and they could announce it, But where is the new Mac Mini that is supposed to be showing.

[LucasDurant @ Jan 6th 2009 6:07PM]

Am I the only one who is really not impressed by a 9600gt...That is very average, I can find a computer with those specs for what...1300$...meh

[lanejasper69 @ Jan 6th 2009 9:07PM]

This will play Crysis, prob. better than most PC's out there, boot it to Boot Camp, I play MANY PC Games on my MBP 15.4" just fine with it's 512MB Vid Card, this WILL play Crysis...but Crysis is overrated and sucky so why would you want to? COD4 FTW!!! and COD WAW too!! Blend it if you want, moron. ;-)

[Abuzar Baloach @ Jan 6th 2009 10:36PM]

Yeah, I'm sure Crysis on a 9600GT will be JUST GREAT.

[Ronald McDonald @ Jan 6th 2009 11:30PM]

I'm not so sure how special the battery life is considering they put it in their least portable notebook. I imagine that this technology will trickle down, but for now it seems to have limited application on a 17" monster. Give me 8 hours on the 13" model and that will make all kinds of sense.

[Hung @ Jan 7th 2009 1:59AM]

@ Jason D. Clinton

Did you just make that up or is there an article detailing the technical specs?

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/01/06mbp.html






I'm pretty sure you just made that up.

[Artr @ Jan 7th 2009 7:50AM]

Can you guys even read? The way they get rid of the matte is they REMOVE the glass panel, and replace it with an aluminium bezel like on the macbook Air.
http://live.gdgt.com/2009/01/06/live-macworld-2009-keynote-coverage/#more gdgt have a good shot of it.

[Andrew @ Jan 8th 2009 1:41PM]

I saw the new 17" from a few feet away at the Expo hall last night. I was a little bit perplexed by the non-black bezel I saw, but now I know why. I can verify for sure now that the anti-glare screen is exactly what you're talking about (removal of the glass panel, I believe).

[Leo @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

My 5 year old HP Pavilion zt3000 has a 15.4" 1920 x 1200 screen....OLD NEWS!!!

[GreezyG @ Jan 6th 2009 2:18PM]

1900x1200 is NOT the native resolution of a 15" screen lol

[Mike P. @ Jan 6th 2009 2:28PM]

Yes, it is. My old Inspiron 6000 had a configure-to-order WUXGA 1920x1200 native resolution panel.

[Jason @ Jan 6th 2009 2:53PM]

I had a Toshiba years ago that had a 15" 1600x1200 screen. Until it melted it's own video card.

[GreezyG @ Jan 6th 2009 2:58PM]

The 15.4-inch display ships with two native resolutions: 1,280x800 and 1,680x1,050.

http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/hp-pavilion-zt3000/4505-3121_7-30598913.html

[Mitchell Oke @ Jan 6th 2009 3:09PM]

My Dell 8600 from several years ago had a 15.4" 1680x1050 display, with the option of 15.4" 1920x1200.

[sbrown23 @ Jan 6th 2009 4:38PM]

@Greezy

Dumbass. I have an nw8440 in front of me with a 15.4" screen with 1920x1200. You going to tell me there is no such thing?

[waiownsyou @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

Let's get some pics of the matte screen, pl0x

[zioncat @ Jan 6th 2009 3:58PM]

I'm confused why the hell is Mac charging an extra 1200 bucks for 8 GB of ram. DDR3 4GB sticks in laptop memory is around 100 bucks a pop. But I will say I'm very impressed with their battery technology getting up to 8 hours of life without being plugged in.

[Beastage @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

Keyboard looks ... small and far away compared to the overall thing, that base looks huge!

[kjb434 @ Jan 6th 2009 2:14PM]

I really don't like the black keys.....why can't they match the rest of the device.

[coffee @ Jan 6th 2009 2:15PM]

maybe MBP users have HUGE palms?

[rcappo @ Jan 6th 2009 2:48PM]

It looks like they attempted to save money by using the same keyboard as their other models.

They should have gone with a bigger keyboard, with aluminum keys (silver color).

Other than that, I think this laptop would be perfect for me. That is after snow leopard comes out...
Apple is getting really close to selling the perfect laptop.

[jakem @ Jan 6th 2009 3:12PM]

Perfect laptop? That thing is huge and judging from the quick shot underneath there's no way the user can upgrade any of the components. Seems like a waste of money to me.

[Chris @ Jan 6th 2009 3:46PM]

How about a num pad? Come on!

[irdepesca @ Jan 6th 2009 6:11PM]

yeah, it looks weird with all that empty space to the sides of the keyboard

[Richard Lai @ Jan 6th 2009 2:09PM]

I want to see the bottom side...

[Richard Lai @ Jan 6th 2009 2:19PM]

Nevermind - Apple's video shows it. Looks very plain.

[Precurse @ Jan 6th 2009 2:20PM]

And I wanna see what the insides look like!!

[iKurt @ Jan 7th 2009 3:28AM]

That's what she said.

[ro @ Jan 6th 2009 2:12PM]

BORING....

[Ryan Goodenough @ Jan 6th 2009 2:10PM]

And it's already fixed. Thanks!

[Les @ Jan 6th 2009 2:11PM]

No number pad?
It looks awkward, little teeny keyboard

[skeptical @ Jan 6th 2009 2:10PM]

Hey look! A dancing robot.

No, no, no...and no. Apple is a loser.

[ZeRo @ Jan 6th 2009 2:10PM]

Quit being a snob..

[BecomingxInsane @ Jan 6th 2009 2:10PM]

If only I was rich..... =/