If it isn't obvious already, Apple doesn't believe in joint announcements--it wants to own the product completely. Almost a month after every PC maker announced a laptop with Intel's new Santa Rosa chipset, Apple shows up fashionably late with its own Santa Rosa Macbook Pros. The refresh goes across the entire Macbook Pro line, two weeks after the launch of the consumer-based Apple Macbooks. And for the first time, there's actually a huge separation between the Macbook and Macbook Pros, namely because of the processing parts and the use of LED backlights.

You can check out the specs on the next page...

Traditionally, Apple has incorporated the fastest parts on the high-end 15-inch and 17-inch Macbook Pros. This time is no different. Both systems receive an Intel Core 2 Duo T7700(2.4Ghz) processor, with 800Mhz front side bus(FSB) support. Memory comes standard with 2GB, expandable to 4GB. Graphics gets a boost to the new nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, which has an improved PureVideo HD engine and HDCP support. The new graphics chipset also paves the way for a Blu-Ray drive announcement in the near future. The graphics card has support for Direct X 10, which means gamers can reap the benefits of Direct X 10 games coming soon, err, on a Windows XP Pro partition. Conversely, the lower-end Macbook Pro 15-inch will get an Intel Core 2 Duo T7400(2.2Ghz) and a 120GB standard hard drive. Both the higher end 15-inch and 17-inch Macbook Pros come standard with 160GB.

While the overall design remains virtually unchanged, there is one really exciting improvement, and that's the use of LED backlights on the 15-inch Macbook Pros. This makes Apple the first to incorporate LED backlights on a 15-inch display. I've only seen this technology on 12-inch displays, such as the Toshiba Portege R500 and the Asus U1F. LED backlighting has several benefits, including a better contrast ratio, brighter colors, better power saving capabilities, and thinner screen designs. Although the Macbook Pro 15-inch isn't actually thinner, the weight does go down from 5.6-pounds to 5.4-pounds and the 1-inch thick chassis is still the sexiest in the business. Because of cost constraints, the Macbook Pro 17-inch will incorporate a regular lamp display, but it will offer an optional 1,920-by-1,200 resolution, giving credence that a Blu-Ray drive is on the way.

The awesome features remain unchanged. You still get the iSight camera, the Front Row interface and remote. A slot load dual layer DVD burner, the magnetic MagSafe adapter, and Draft-802.11n support. Apple will not support Centrino Pro capabilities at this point, only Centrino Duo features(minus the wireless card), since the majority of businesses are still Windows based. Centrino Pro comes with enhanced management capabilities and the ability to perform Wake-On-Lan over a wireless network.

Prices remain the same with the new upgrades. The low-end 15-inch Macbook Pro will start at $1,999, while the higher-end Macbook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch will start at $2,499 and $2,799, respectively.