MacBook Pro 2010 update: battery life, CPU refresh

Apple has (finally) refreshed its MacBook Pro line. The 2010 refresh includes better battery life and an update to the processors, including Core i5 and i7 options. There's also improved graphics switching and iPhone-like inertial scrolling. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers either salivate at the new, shiny stuff or spit on the overpriced, me-too-ness.

By Richi Jennings. April 14, 2010.
(AAPL)

Your humble blogwatcher selected these bloggy morsels for your enjoyment. Not to mention ghosts in the machines...
 
 
James Kendrick runs with an unintended pun:

A refreshed line of MacBooks has been announced to keep Apple’s core business chugging along. ... Faster processors and longer battery life ... keep things interesting.
...
The 13.3-inch model gains ... Core 2 Duo processor options and a 10-hour battery life. ... Larger models are now available with Core i5 [or] Core i7. ... Apple has added ... inertial scrolling on the glass trackpad. There are three solid-state disk (SSD) options.

Eric Slivka expands:

[The] Core i5 and i7 processors ... run at slightly lower clock speeds than ... the previous generation, the smaller 32-nanometer process, Hyper-Threading, and other enhancements yield performance improvements of up to 50%. ... On the new 13" ... Apple claims a performance boost of up to 80% with the new graphics capabilities.
...
Greater battery life ... achieved through a combination of larger battery capacity and greater energy efficiency. ... The 15" ... has ... a new option for a high-resolution display, offering users the opportunity to bump the standard 1440x900 screen to 1680x1050.

Chris Foresman examines the new "graphics switching" tech:

The main goal of Apple's automatic graphics switching is to balance graphics performance with long battery life. ... [The] Intel HD ... integrated graphics processor is designed primarily for efficiency [not] "performance". ... NVIDIA's Optimus ... uses a combination of hardware and software to enable automatic switching between integrated graphics and a discrete GPU.
...
Apple's approach ... differs from Optimus in two key ways. ... The switching is all handled automatically by Mac OS X without any user intervention. ... The integrated graphics are powered down when the discrete GPU is active. This saves even more power.

Jason Chen ran some benchmarks; waddya know, they're faster (well, duh):

Overall I'd say they're about 50% faster than the last gen Core 2 Duos, which is about the same bump the iMacs got with Core i7.

Michael Gartenberg thinks it "matters more than you think":

For the most part, these are speed bump machines with some nice processor upgrades. ... We often hear of the “Apple tax”. ... What many other vendors miss is the attention to the small details that by themselves don’t matter all that much but add value and delight as the user discovers them.
...
When vendors focus on the big picture but also focus on the small details as well, they differentiate themselves. ... They find new ways to delight and provide value to their customers ... changing customers to fans and generating trust and loyalty. ... [This] appears to be a minor product refresh but actually is something more.

But Joe Wilcox can't resist pointing at emperor Jobs' nakedness:

I'm not weeping with excitement. ... The hardware improvements are marginal, "Me-too" upgrades against Windows 7 laptops. ... Premium brand ... premium pricing ... maximum margins. ... It's the price people pay to be cool.
...
I expect more from Apple? Shouldn't you, given what Mac laptops cost? ... Windows PCs comparably come with faster processors, more storage and more graphics memory for considerably less money. ... I expected more than Windows 7 laptop "Me-too" from Apple.

So what's your take?
Get involved: leave a comment.
 
 
And finally...

• Another Toyota Corp. recall in the offing?
  [hat tip: Photoshop Disasters]

Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him as @richi on Twitter, or richij on FriendFeed, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itblogwatch@richij.com.

 
 
Don't miss out on IT Blogwatch:

• Subscribe to the Computerworld Blogs and IT Blogwatch newsletters
• Catch up with posts from the previous few days