Today Apple Computers announced the highly anticipated 17" model of their Intel Core Duo powered laptop, the MacBook Pro. This addition to the MacBook Pro family signals the ongoing effort by Apple to replace its aging PowerPC based lines, specifically in this case the PowerBook line.
The new model ships with a 2.16 GHz Core Duo, three USB 2.0 ports, 8x Dual Layer Superdrive, Firewire 400 and 800 ports as well as the now standard optical/analog audio ports and Apple patented MagSafe power adaptor. In addition, the new model includes Front Row (with the remote) as well as a built in iSight camera. It also ships standard with 1 GB of DDR2 (expandable to 2 GB), a 120 GB 5400 HDD (upgradeable to a 100 GB 7200 RPM), and a PCI Express-based ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB GDDR3 memory.
The 17" MacBook Pro is available to order today at a starting price of $2799 (USD).