Apple updates MacBook Pro lineup

On the heels of the releases of the iPad and new iPhone OS, comes the revamped MacBook pro for 2010.

Physically, the MacBook Pro's look exactly the same with unibody aluminum construction, glass trackpad, and black keyboard. But it is the Macbook's guts that give it a much needed spec bump to keep it on par with other top-of-the-line laptops.

The MacBook Pros come in models with 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch screens priced from $1,199 to $2,299. The laptops come with 4 gigabytes of memory, expandable to 8 gigabytes, and with hard drives of 250 gigabytes to 500 gigabytes. Processing speeds range from 2.4 gigahertz to 2.66 gigahertz.

The big news is that the 15 and 17-inch models will feature Intel's high-end Core i5 and Corei7 CPUs making them more efficient at handling high definition video editing/ encoding, photo editing, and general multitasking.

Apple says the new laptops will have up to 10 hours of battery life for moderate computing (internet browsing, email, word processing, video playing) thanks to its  new "automatic graphics switching technology." This basically means that the MacBook will manage which graphic card to use on the fly, either the onboard powerful NVIDIA's GeForce GT 330M (which soaks up power) or the one integrated into the CPU, which uses much less power.

Still missing from the MacBook Pro lineup are other basics like 3G connectivity, internal Blu-ray player and an HDMI port.

On the slightly bright side, Apple said its mini displayport now carries audio. So with a a $8.55 HDMI adapter and cable, users can now connect their high-end laptop to their high-end home theater system.