A hands-on look at the new MacBook Pro

Computerworld - Apple Computer's new MacBook Pro -- the renamed Intel-based successor to the PowerBook unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs two weeks ago -- isn't yet shipping (see "Update: Apple unveils Intel-based laptop, iMac"). But Apple officials are now showing off their newest 15-in. laptop, and I had a chance at a special Apple event last week to get a closer look at it. In fact, I had some real "pick it up and use it" hands-on time.

The good news is that the MacBook Pro, which comes in two models and starts at $1,999, feels and looks just as solid and well built as its aluminum-clad predecessor. The better news is that it outperforms and is better engineered than any G3- or G4-based laptop models Apple has sold.

First, I should say up front that I don't know whether the model I had in my hands was a prototype or an example of the final product, which is due to ship officially next month.

Having said that, I can tell you this laptop is fast. Really fast. I am hesitant to say it's exponentially faster than the G4 version, but subjectively, this baby cooks. Universal binary programs like Safari and Apple's iLife suite -- which have been rewritten by Apple to take advantage of the new dual-core 1.83-GHz Intel processor inside -- launched in one or two icon bounces. And using the Microsoft Office suite, which hasn't yet been rewritten, was seamless using Rosetta.

For those of you who may not have been following Apple's transition to Intel, Rosetta is emulation software built into the latest version of Mac OS X 10.4. It was designed to allow programs written for the G4 processor to run without a hitch on Intel. It works. I did not feel like I was using a translation/emulation environment at all, something that's going to be important in the months ahead as Apple moves more of its hardware to Intel and software developers follow with recoded apps. Although older versions of Mac programs will work on the Intel hardware, they will likely run slower than on a native G3 or G4 chip.

Apple wants to make this transition as seamless and transparent as possible, and if my short time using Rosetta is any benchmark, I'd say they're off to a good start.

The built-in Web cam -- think of it as a smaller iSight camera -- is clearer and offers higher resolution video than was previously available using Apple's iSight Web cam with the G4 PowerBook.