Apple Releases New 2011 Edition MacBook Pro Laptops, Students Rejoice

By AJ on February 24, 2011

Apple MacBook Pro laptops are by far the most prevalent laptop on campus, and with the cutting edge new MacBook Pros released today students have just another reason to buy a Mac as their workhorse for getting through school work. Apple today announced a refresh of their entire lineup of MacBook Pros that includes the following updates:

New Intel “Sandy Bridge” Core i5 and Core i7 processors with dual core and quad core options
New Graphics in the form of the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series
FaceTime HD web camera with triple the resolution of previous web cams
ThunderBolt I/O technology, a port that allows super fast data transfer between the MacBook Pro and external devices such as storage, displays and Ethernet

The actual design and look of the MacBook Pro remains the same, which means it has a cast aluminum unibody and glass multi-touch touchpad, bright and crisp LED backlit display and a backlit full sized keyboard. The battery life also remains the same at a quoted 7-hours. The full list of regular pricing and MacBook Pro options are below:

13-inch MacBook Pro 2011:

2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 320GB hard drive starts at $1,199
2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starts at $1,499

15-inch MacBook Pro 2011:

2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starts at $1,799
2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starts at $2,199

17-inch MacBook Pro:

2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,499

MacBook Pro Regular Pricing at Apple online store

Of course there is an Apple student discount on each of the new 2011 MacBook Pros and the pricing on the above MacBook Pro configurations with the discount factored in is as follows:

13-inch MacBook Pro 2011:

2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, 320GB hard drive starts at $1,099 with student discount
2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starts at $1,399 with student discount

15-inch MacBook Pro 2011:

2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starts at $1,699 with student discount
2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starts at $1,999 with student discount

17-inch MacBook Pro:

2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $2,299 with student discount

MacBook Pro Student Discount Pricing at Apple online store

To get to the Apple student discount site just click this link. The best option for most students will be the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a price of $1,099 since that is the most portable and budget friendly. However, if you need a lot of power then the 15-inch MacBook Pro is certainly enticing with its dedicated graphics and quad Core processor!

About AJ

I'm a big believer in the importance of technology usage in education, but not just having blind faith in technology gadgets and using them in a school setting for the sake of it. I review and write about technology devices such as laptops and tablets that have a clear purpose and provide a learning advantage for students.

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