Apple’s Macbook Pro is perhaps the best 15 inch laptop on the market today. With the latest processors, an LED backlit screen, Intel’s new Santa Rosa architecture and nVidia 8-series directX 10 graphics, its a desktop speed powerhouse thats only an inch thick and weighs in under 5 pounds. My Macbook Pro, a 15” 2.2GHZ model with a 120GB hdd and 4GB RAM cost about $2300 after all was said and done.

The nVidia 8600GT is one of the best available in mainstream laptops and considering the slim body and light weight of the Macbook Pro, exceptionally powerful for its class.

OSX is an absolute pleasure to use even if you’re a longtime Windows user. For those who absolutly must have Windows for specific applications, Apple’s Boot Camp software allows users to dual boot between Windows and OSX with ease and native compatibility. The new Operating System, Leopard, is a strong update to the already excellent 10.4 “Tiger”, but it is not without its problems.

Still need Windows? No problem. With Bootcamp (built into OSX Leopard), Intel Mac users can run Windows XP or Vista natively. In my extended experience, the drivers provided by Apple work astoundingly well for a company that doesn’t claim to be a PC OEM on any level. If you must use Windows but want what the Macbook Pro has to offer, you don’t have to settle.

I would have loved to give it 5’s across the board, but it does have some outstanding but manageable problems. The screen resolution is a big negative for a “professional” grade machine, weighing in at only 1440×900 pixels. Comparable machines from the big Windows manufacturers (Dell, Lenovo, et al) often come equipped with 1920×1200 or at least 1680×1050 resolutions. Furthermore, the Leopard operating system, while a good update, has some unresolved problems with WIFI that have lowered my experience with OSX. When using a wireless-N router, it cannot stay connected after sleep.

The battery life is phenomenal for a laptop of such power. During the day, I get about 4 hours and 30 minutes to a full charge. I run with bluetooth and wifi off and with the brightness at 3 bumps above 0. With wifi on and brightness at a higher level, I get about 4 hours.

The LED backlit screen in the new Santa Rosa Macbook Pro’s is a shining jewel with a few quality control issues. If you get a good one, the even backlight and excellent brightness is great. If you get one with a yellowing tint (older Samsung panels have this problem, I believe), then its a good idea to swap it out at Apple.

The durability is good for such a “delicate” piece of machinery. Its well built and the aluminum finish is fairly scratch resistant, especially compared to the scratch-magnet White Macbook.

All things considered, the minor quirks are well worth it for a powerful machine at a surprisingly reasonable price. I would highly recommend the Macbook Pro for anyone who needs the power of a desktop in the portability of a 5lb Laptop.