New MacBook Pro doesn’t have a modem

MacInTouch: news and tips about the Apple Macintosh and iTunes

MacBook Pro has a 15.4″ widescreen and it’s 1-inch thick, at 5.6 lbs. with an “iSight” camera built into the top of the screen. It also has an IR sensor and an Apple remote, a light sensor, sudden motion sensor, scrolling trackpad, DVI video out that can drive the 30″ Cinema Display, digital optical and analog.

Unlike the PowerBook, the MacBook does not have support for FireWire 800, nor does it have any modem, although it does have FireWire 400 and two USB 2.0 ports. The laptop has an aluminum case, like current PowerBooks.

The MacBook sports a new Express Card slot, a smaller 34mm format approximately the size of a CompactFlash card, but there’s almost nothing available in that format.

A new MagSafe power adapter connector is magnetic, so tripping over the power card won’t do the kind of damage it used to do. It’s “patent pending”.

Apple’s price is $1999 for a 1.67GHz MacBook, shipping in February, with 512MB of RAM, or $2499 for a 1.833GHz model with 1 GB of RAM. Apple is taking orders today.

I’m on the road today in Redmond, but my first reactions:

1. Wow, faster, thinner - neato!
2. The power plug solution sounds frickin’ awesome
3. Lack of modem is a bummer. Modem has saved me quite a number of times on the road - boo to Apple for cutting it.
4. MacBook? I liked the name PowerBook better.