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Home » Laptops & Computing » Laptop » Apple MacBook Pro 13in - 2009 Edition (MB990B/A) » Video

Apple MacBook Pro 13in - 2009 Edition (MB990B/A) video review

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Non-user replaceable battery aside, it's difficult to find fault with the new 13in MacBook Pro. All the things that made it great in the first place remain, but they've been joined by highly desirable features like the FireWire port, SD card reader and the now standard backlit keyboard. Add-in outstanding battery life, a faster CPU and a slightly more affordable price and you've got a package well deserving of a Recommended Award. Read full review

Overall

9/10

Write your own review

By Andy Vandervell
Reviewed 06 July 2009
Updated 26 May 2011

Price as reviewed

£828.90

  • Review
    • 1: Apple MacBook Pro 13in
    • 2: Apple MacBook Pro 13in
    • 3: Apple MacBook Pro 13in
    • 4: Apple MacBook Pro 13in
    • 5: Feature Table
    • 6: Performance Results
  • Video Review
  • User Reviews
  • Comments
  • 16 Photos
  • Reviewed by Andy Vandervell
  • 06 July 2009
Read the full Apple MacBook Pro 13in - 2009 Edition (MB990B/A) review
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Awards

  • Recommended by TR

Apple MacBook Pro 13in - 2009 Edition (MB990B/A) details

Performance
9/10
Value
8/10
Features
9/10
Design
10/10
Overall
9/10

Price as reviewed

£828.90

Manufacturer

Apple

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ffrankmccaffery

2:52 AM on 6 July, 2009

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SD card reader? what? the notoriously myopic steve jobs has relented and allowed such an imperfection to be added?

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lifethroughalens

2:52 AM on 6 July, 2009

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Good review.





It Would be expensive at 2/3rds the price for those stingy specs. But for those willing to pay the price and forgo the inevitable style over power when comparing any other laptop in that price bracket, well...it sure is a stunner.

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GoldenGuy

2:55 AM on 6 July, 2009

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I'm not saying it's not a great little machine because, well, it is. The new features rectifying the problems of the 2008 MacBook at a tad lower price point is of course welcome. (No denying that room for 8 gig in a 13 incher is very nice indeed.)





But this is not a "Pro". It can't be. Last I looked 'pro' means 'professional', and professionals need dedicated graphics. Aesthetic bells and whistles aside, the graphics chips were always the substantiative feature that separated the regular consumer need from the professional one. Photographers, graphic designers, video editors especially when rendering and writing huge files need the extra grunt from their graphics and processor - and this is what truly merits the "Pro" label, not that now nearly everything looks the same. And if "Pro" is meant to mean top of the line, isn't it a bit odd that this is now the majority of Apple's laptops - 3/5?





The rebranding decision seems to be a mostly political one. No matter how beautiful last year's MacBook reimagining was, asking for over 900 quid for a laptop that didn't even have a FireWire port was pretty outrageous, and I seem to recall not being the only one who thought so. Now that Apple has seen the wrath of the community for one of the worst spec decisions in a long time, they've managed to sneak it back in and justify the backtrack with the new name.





So now we have the rather strange situation where everyone's a Pro - even when they're not. (Cough - it's not a Pro or a price drop if you remove the MBP 15's dedicated graphics - cough.) This begs the question then, where does that put the furture of the actual MacBook? We're not blind. We know there's still one, rather dated, rather lonely looking MacBook left. And while the upgrades there have also been a pleasant bonus, we also know it's number's almost up. So what next? Any ideas? The supreme less-is-more con of the Air is certainly not worthy of the MacBook throne, lest its ridiculous price point remains. So if a 13 incher is now "Pro or 900 quid, does the next MacBook have nowhere to go but even further down with even less screen real estate, lower internal specs, and yes much much cheaper? As per the constant salivations over the grape vine, it sounds like a netbook to me too.

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xenos

2:59 AM on 6 July, 2009

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How easy is it to change the hard disk and memory in this model yourself? Can either be done without voiding the warranty? Thanks

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xenos

3:01 AM on 6 July, 2009

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I think Apple are just about there, I'm damn tempted with the latest model!

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gagagaga

9:03 AM on 6 July, 2009

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10 for design? You serious?


-1 for non-replaceable battery


-1 for SD card that sticks out


-1 for screen that cannot be used outside (this is a 'pro' PC that can only be used indoors)


...

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pragfest

9:14 AM on 6 July, 2009

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I just got one of these last week, my first Mac. Really dithered on buying because it seemed overpriced compared to a similar spec PC, however I have discovered you get what you pay for, it's freakin awesome.

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ilovethemonkeyhead

9:49 AM on 6 July, 2009

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there should have been a flap for the sd card, like the express card flap, to keep that clean look.





and placing the headphone jacks on the other side to allow room for one more usb port couldn't have hurt that much. (or have them vertically mounted).





there are many "pro" laptops around that don't have dedicated graphics, and unless you want overheating issues i'd keep it with an integrated chip while in a 13 inch chassis. (have you felt how hot pc world's dell studio xps 13 laptops can get while on display? last month.)





hell, lenovo's 13 inch laptops for the "elite" have integrated gma graphics, and hp's 13 inch pro boook doesn't have anything dedicated either.

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Steve

9:57 AM on 6 July, 2009

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I bought a 13" MacBook last November/December and the only thing it was missing from a personal point of view was the SD card reader and intergrated HSDPA.





Apple are nearly there, although I couldn't quite justify splashing out on another MacBook quite so soon!





I am glad they haven't changed the design, it's faultless. One thing I'd like to see is the option of a non-glossy screen for 13 & 15 inch Mac's. According to the Apple Store, only the 17" MacBook Pro gives you the option.

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Ed

10:31 AM on 6 July, 2009

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It's worth noting that we removed the bottom panel of the MacBook Pro (by means of about 10 small screws) and found that the battery was very easily accessible and should be easy enough to replace, assuming you can find a spare being sold. Obviously this doesn't solve any issues whereby you prefer to carry a spare for extended journeys but it should mean battery failure won't be a problem long term.

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