New MacBooks hit the street

Apple today released its new MacBook Pro laptops. There is a 13″ using Intel’s integrated graphics, and a 15″ and 17″ that use dedicated AMD graphics cards. As with many new laptops from competitors, these feature Intel’s new Sandy Bridge processors.

These are beautiful looking laptops. They have a sleek brushed aluminum look, with gentle curves. In appearance they are similar to earlier models, though of course the specs have improved.

There’s a significant premium required to own a MacBook. One can buy a good looking Windows laptop that is faster and more feature rich for less money. For example, at my quick glance a MacBook Pro appears about 50% more expensive than a similarly powered Dell XPS laptop.

Of course none of that will discourage the Apple fanboys, who would never consider a non-Apple computer. I read a MacBook owner sum up the choice as “fashion accessory or highly functional, take your pick”. For many Mac owners, fashion accessory trumps a more functional Windows machine every time.