New MacBook Pro 2.3GHz 15" Retina Laptop w/ AppleCare $2321 FS Preorders B&H Photo

B&H Photo-Video offers preorders of the Apple MacBook Pro Core i7 Quad 2.3GHz 15" Widescreen Notebook with Retina Display, model no. MC975LL/A, with three years of AppleCare for $2,321 with free shipping follow directions below.
It features an Intel Core i7 2.3GHz Ivy Bridge quad-core processor, 15.4" 2880x1800 LED-backlit display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 802.11n wireless, Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1GB graphics, two Thunderbolt ports, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, FaceTime 720p webcam, dual microphones, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and more.
To get this deal:

1. Click hereto find the Apple MacBook Pro Laptop for $2,199
2.select "Click here to select your choice of free software" on the product page
3.click "Save 50% on AppleCare Protection Plan" on the left side of the pop-up
4.choose the AppleCare Protection Plan for $122
5.select "Add all to cart" for a total of $2,321

Note that like the MacBook Air, this new MacBook Pro has no built-in optical drive. Neither does it have a Gigabit Ethernet port.

I can buy 4 Acer i7 laptop at this price.
But Apple is apple.

cartierf said:   I can buy 4 Acer i7 laptop at this price.
But Apple is apple.

Well you would need 4 of them to get the same resolution as the MBP with Retina Display. Of course then it wouldn't be 15" or .71" thin. You'll probably end up going through four of the Acers, too before having to replace just one MBP. But you know, whatever works for you. : )

Obviously, I'm exaggerating, but your comparison makes no sense. Any 15" laptop with a comparable Ivy Bridge i7 is going to cost you around $1k or more. And there's no other laptop with even a screen remotely close to the one in this MBP. That said, this device shouldn't be for everyone and the price reflects that. But for those who want (or feel they need) this model have no other choices in any other laptop model. So let them buy it.

Me, I'll wait for the 13" version.

~Paik

nice

lovecd said:   I have tried it at Apple Store 2 days ago, the retina screen is nice, but I have to say that you can't feel too much difference by yor eye ball. Plus, upgrade on this new macbook pro is very limited (can't upgrade memory and hard drive, etc.) So, you have to judge yourself if you really need this expensive one.

To clarify, there are upgrades but these are Built-to-Order upgrades that you pay Apple for. Unlike the past MBP models, the RAM and SSD are not (at this time) user upgradable. The RAM will never be upgradeable as it is soldered to the board so no off-the-shelf RAM can be put in. For the SSD, they are using non-standard SSD (flash soldered to a board) that is modular but since it's not standard, it will take a little time before companies make SSD models that are compatible with the form factor. Lastly, the battery is not easily serviceable by the user. All three of these trends are the same as the MBAs. That said, they have made SSD upgrade kits for the MBA and I would be surprised if they didn't make ones compatible with the new MBP. The 3rd party MBA SSD modules DO NOT fit the new MBP with Retina Display.

Lastly, Apple was particularly mean and made it so that to get a bump in SSD space, you have to also upgrade to a (slightly) faster i7 CPU. So if you're looking for a 516GB you'll have to pay an extra $600 on top of the base model. I think that the increase is ridiculous since it only covers a minor CPU bump and a jump from 256GB to 516GB. To put it into perspective, the MBP with Retina Display is only a $400 bump from the base model of the current 15" MBP. The $400 buys you a Retina Display, more RAM, more GPU RAM, and a jump from 500GB HDD to a 256GB SSD. By comparison the $600 bump in price is highly unjustified.

All that said, the MBP with Retina Display is gorgeous and a performance machine in most respects...it's just not for everyone...

~Paik

Just wanted to say thank you to all the guinea pigs that will get the first gen MacBook Pro with Retina!

They weren't, until about a year ago. Siri, new iPad that was bigger and shorter battery life than it's predecessor.

polishdreamer said:   How is this hot ??

This probably runs very hot.

guysks said:   is the retina display worth this much ?

to some people, yes. It got more resolution than apple 27" thunderbolt monitor.

Memory truly is non-upgradeable, but 8 GBs or 16 G said: Bs should cover the vast majority of users. It would be important to order the proper amount when placing the order. The SSD uses a board similar to what has been found in various MacBook Airs. While you can't slap in a 2.5" form factor SSD (wouldn't be possible to support such a thing without making the laptop about as deep as the older MBPs) you can probably count on SSD upgrades coming along from third parties before long (and certainly for upgrades down the road).

It is true that 8GB RAM is far enough for current applications. My point is if anything wrong with your RAM, you have to replace the whole logic board since you can't access to it yourself, that will be quite expensive.

I thought this forum was hot deals. A laptop these days for 2300 does look like a hot deal to me on ay level. Apple stuff is expensive but this is way out there.

Rob

robertw477 said:   I thought this forum was hot deals. A laptop these days for 2300 does look like a hot deal to me on ay level. Apple stuff is expensive but this is way out there.

Rob

Why does this have to come up in every single Apple thread? This is literally the best notebook you can buy on the planet. No other notebook in the world has anywhere near this combination of features, and to do it all in 0.71" thickness and 4.5 lbs is truly extraordinary for a 15" notebook.

Yes it's expensive and yes it's a good deal for what it is.

If you are in the market for a regular laptop, hit back on your browser immediately. This is for people who have the cash and want the highest end their dollar can buy.

Green.

I would think that only graphic artist type people would need that high of resolution. Even saying that, I doubt people would be able to tell the difference (between say 1080 for example) in most cases. I know screen space on a laptop is always important but it can get to a point where things are so small that it doesn't make sense anymore. I would be more wanting to see how bright and true the colors are, including how deep the blacks are.

I hate Mac but it seems like a very quality computer, esp. if you want to use both Mac and PC on a single computer. Only concern would be what others have said about upgrading. I hope no one buys thinking there will be some easy root to upgrading certain parts at a later point.

Is it nice? Yes, but apple is slowly alienating customers with it's path to making everything NON user upgradable. There is no reason to do this other than to force customer to pay even more for warranties to make sure they don't have to just junk a macbook if the memory goes bad because it would be to expensive to fix it.

I remember 15 years ago when some big computer companies made it to expensive to upgrade / repair the computers they put out... they are long gone out of business now.

I've never skimped on a monitor and been happy with the decision. I spend enough time each day in front of my monitors that the quality of the display is very, very important to me. That doesn't mean I can't find a deal--back in 2004, I picked up a 23" Apple Cinema Display for $150. Quite the deal then, and I'm still using it today.

What we're seeing here is the beginning of resolution independence. That'll be a foreign term to most people, but what it means is that in the future, very high DPI displays will be the norm. Screen elements won't be tied to specific pixel sizes. It'll be delightful, particularly for those who don't run their panels at their native resolution.

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