Update: And MacBook Pro now is cheaper then Gateway.

Apple MacBook Pro is the first and most famous Core Duo product to date. Launched with big Hoopla during Mac Expo in January, it instantly received widespread attention. It’s a 15.4-inch wide-screen laptop with 1.67GHz or 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo chips. Steve Jobs said that it will be four to five times faster than Apple’s prior-generation PowerBook G4. MacBook Pro is The 1-inch-thick and weighs 5.6 pounds. It includes a built-in iSight camera, an ExpressCard slot, and an Apple Remote for navigating Front Row - Apple’s home theater interface. It comes in two flavors: a $1,999 model with a 1.67GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and an 80GB hard drive; and a $2,499 model with a 1.83GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 100GB hard drive.

Performace

Early reviews are very positive about MacBook’s performance:

Craig Wood of Woodware says:

The new MacBook Pro performed admirably in all tests and surprisingly well in the video playback tests. While the Core Duo processor used in the MacBooks is very different than previous G4 and G5 processors, that did not seem to hinder it. In addition to dual processors, the MacBook features a fast ATI X1600 graphics chip and both of these are responsible for the new system’s improved performance.

Dan Lury of Apple blog:

The first and best indication of how fast a computer starts up…On these things it’s more like; press the power-button, BLIP, and you’re up and running… I can say with 100% certainty that the Intel build of Safari is the fastest web browser that I have ever used, on any platform. Instead of bouncing in the dock and forcing you to wait, Safari opens a new window and loads a page almost instantly when you open it…I went to the Applications folders, selected all, and double clicked. Now, I know this is far beyond anything that would show up in normal use, but just wait until you hear the results. After slowing down significantly for around 30 seconds, the MBP started working smoothly again. And I mean smoothly.

Youval Kossovsky from Computer World:

…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...The LCD screen, which offers a 1,440-by-900-pixel resolution, is much brighter than those on earlier Apple laptops.

Notebook review:

On paper Apple has created a competitive product in the MacBook. Now that these Intel based systems are known and their specifications disclosed I think you can see that the notion of Apple having over-priced systems is not true… If you take a good look at both the Gateway and Dell offerings you might have a hard time selecting either of them over the MacBook Pro.

Overall MacPro design is great and it makes me seriously consider switching from Wintel machines.

One simple but brilliant idea is worth a separate mention - “MagSafe” power connector. It’s new way to attach power cord to your laptop. “MagSafe” uses magnetic connection instead of a physical one. So, tripping over a cord won’t send MacBook Pro flying off a table or desk; the cord simply breaks cleanly away, without damage to either the cord or the system. As an added nicety, this means less wear on the connectors.

And, finally, before you drop everything and rush to the nearest Aplle Store, consider these cons:

• MacBook pro doesn’t have a modem.
• It has slower, and only single layer optical drive and no S-video port.
• MacBook Pro replaced PC Card ports with new faster ExpressCard. This new slot is incompatible with older PC cards, so all of none that you cards will’t work with MAcBook Pro.
• Apple removed FireWire 800 port from this laptop
• There are some concerns with battery life. A lot of discussions on this, through various forums, but no clear conclusion yet.

Update: And MacBook Pro now is cheaper then Gateway.