MacBook family
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The MacBook family is a range of Macintosh notebook computers by Apple Inc. that merged the PowerBook and iBook lines during Apple's transition to Intel processors. The first model released under this family was the MacBook Pro, which was announced on 10 January 2006 at the Macworld Expo. The consumer-focused MacBook was released on May 16, 2006, and the MacBook Air was revealed on January 15, 2008. As of July 20, 2011, the unibody MacBook has been discontinued for consumer sales.[citation needed]
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[edit] Products
| Ultraportable (Thin) notebook | Professional | |
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| Portable (MacBook) |
MacBook Air 11.6" and 13.3" ultraportable with aluminium unibody casing; uses Intel Core i5, or Intel Core i7 Core processor |
MacBook Pro 13.3", 15.4" or 17" models with aluminium casing; uses Intel Core i5, or Intel Core i7 Core processor |
[edit] Overview
A majority of the MacBook family makes use of the unibody aluminium construction first introduced with the MacBook Air. The MacBook family (with the exception of the white polycarbonate MacBook) uses a black keyboard that was first used on the MacBook Air, which itself was inspired by the sunken keyboard of the original polycarbonate MacBooks. The now-standarized keyboard brings congruity to the MacBook line, with black keys on a silver aluminum body.
[edit] Comparison of MacBook family models
The MacBook Pros feature illuminated keyboards. FireWire 800 and Thunderbolt ports and a SD Card slot (ExpressCard/34 slot on the 17 inch model) are included with the MacBook Pro; the polycarbonate MacBook has no FireWire 400 or FireWire 800 port and uses a Mini DisplayPort port for connecting to displays, and the MacBook Air lacks FireWire. The unibody MacBook refresh introduced a Mini DisplayPort for all unibody aluminium MacBooks (i.e. all except for the polycarbonate model). The MacBooks feature two USB 2.0 ports, with the exception of the 17" MacBook Pro with three ports. The minimum price tag which comes with MacBook Pro is about $200 more than the price of MacBook to cover for the additional goodies in MacBook Pro.[1]
The lids of the MacBook family are held closed by a magnet with no mechanical latch, a design element first introduced with the polycarbonate MacBook. Memory and hard drive access is straightforward in the current MacBook lineup, aside from the MacBook Air which does not allow easy access for upgrades. The regular MacBook has been discontinued.
[edit] Displays
The larger MacBook Pro models offer the largest screens at higher display resolutions (the 15.4" at 1440×900 or 1680x1050; 17" at 1920x1200), whilst the rest of the MacBook family's 13.3" screens use a 1280×800 resolution except the 2010 Macbook Air, which uses a 1440x900 display.[2] The MacBook family makes use of LED backlighting for the screen displays. All MacBooks now come standard with a glossy display, which was first introduced with the polycarbonate MacBook (though the 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models have an optional matte display).
| Portable Macintosh timelines and sales figures |
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Timeline of the MacBook familySee also: Timeline of Macintosh models
Timeline of portable MacintoshesSee also: Timeline of Apple Macintosh models
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[edit] See also
| Apple's transition to Intel processors |
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[edit] References
- ^ "MacBook vs MacBook Pro". http://www.freebiesparadise.com/macbook-vs-macbook-pro. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ http://www.apple.com/au/macbookair/specs-13inch.html
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