New MacBook Pros Hit Shelves!

Earlier this morning, Apple released (more accurately “refreshed”) its line of MacBook Pros.

The 13" model

While all of the MacBook Pro models received some sort of improvement, the 15 inch and 17 inch models saw the the most drastic changes.

First up: the 13 inch model. They’re now shipping with either a 2.4 or a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo processor– unfortunately, you won’t be able to get a Core i5 or i7 processor into one of these 13-inchers. Additionally, the laptop will come standard with 4GB of RAM (pretty snazzy, eh?). Apple’s also bumping up the standard hard drive space to 250GB. Even though this is the lower end model, you will be able to upgrade to a 512GB SSD, although you’re going to have to shell out a little extra dinero (like thirteen hundred dollars extra).

Next up: the 15 inch model. The base configuration will feature a 2.4 GHz Core i5 processor and a 320GB hard drive. Note that the i5 is just the base adjustment– if you do decide to buy the 15 inch model, you will be able to upgrade to Intel’s latest and greatest, the Core i7 processor.

Lastly: the 17 inch model.The 17 inch MBP has only one “starting point,” a 2.53GHz Core i5. Just like with the 15 inch model, you’ll be able to upgrade the 17 inch model to a 2.66 GHz Core i7 processor. The laptop will also feature a 500GB HDD and a high-resolution screen.

Note that all of the 15 inch and 17 inch models will come preloaded with 4GB of RAM.

Apple claims that the 13 inch model will last for ten hours on a single charge, while the 15 and 17 inch models will last for “eight to nine.” Seeing how accurate the company’s latest battery life predictions were (a-la the iPad), I’m kind of excited to see if these laptops live up to Apple’s pretty big substantial promise.

So, when are these things shipping… and for how much?

The 13″ MacBook Pro ships within 1-3 business days. For $1,199 you’ll get one with a 2.4GHz processor. For an extra $300 (so $1,499 for those of you bad at math), you “can haz” a 2.66GHz processor inside your MacBook.

The 15″ MacBook Pro is shipping within 24 hours. $1,799 for the 2.4GHz edition, $1,999 for the one packing a 2.53 GHz processor, and $2,199 for the 2.66 GHz processor.

Finally, the 17″ MacBook Pro is shipping within 24 hours. The sole 2.53 GHz configuration will set you back at least $2,299.

More after the break.