So what about glare? Apple says it worked to reduce it by 75 percent. We did notice some reflections

Just when the laptop competition thinks it's closing in on Apple, videotomp3 the company launches a new product videotomp3 that raises the bar for the entire industry. For the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display, it's the screen -- all 2880 x 1800 pixels of it -- that will leave others scrambling to play catch-up. Of course, to push that many pixels you need serious horsepower. And the next-gen videotomp3 MacBook Pro (starting at $2,199) delivers just that with a quad-core Core i7 processor, videotomp3 Nvidia Kepler graphics and super-fast flash memory. Did we mention the MacBook Pro is only 4.5 pounds and is nearly as thin as the Air? Yeah, it's almost not fair.
The new MacBook Pro balances portability and power like no other notebook, so well that Apple has decided to kill off the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Despite packing such high-octane components, this machine's unibody aluminum design weighs a mere 4.46 pounds and measures 0.71 inches videotomp3 thin. That's 25 percent thinner than the last-gen MacBook Pro and 1.1 pounds lighter. The Air weighs just 3 pounds, videotomp3 making it better suited for cramped airline trays, but the new Pro is certainly portable enough for travel.
The only machine with a 15-inch display that's more mobile than the new Pro is the Samsung Series 9 15-inch, which weighs 3.8 pounds and has a 0.58-inch profile. However, that laptop features a less powerful ultra-low-voltage Core i5 CPU and integrated graphics. The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra with Nvidia graphics weighs 4.5 pounds but is a thicker 0.78 inches and uses cheaper plastic videotomp3 in the chassis.
The new MacBook Pro essentially looks like Apple put the old model on the Atkins diet, but it's still remarkably sturdy. The silver chassis sports the same iconic backlit Apple logo on the back, a black bezel surrounding the eye-popping screen, and the trademark black backlit keyboard with silver deck. Some might appreciate a little more flair, but we suspect most MacBook fans wouldn't have it any other way.
In some ways the Retina Display on the MacBook Pro is more profound than the one on the third-generation iPad, especially for the target audience. It changes the way you work. The 2880 x 1800 pixels will definitely come in handy when editing RAW photos in apps such as Aperture and the new Photoshop, both of which have been optimized for the increased resolution.
It's easy to show off this eye candy to those who want to know what all the fuss is about. Just compare the new MacBook Pro and the 13-inch videotomp3 Air side by side and they'll see that it's no contest. Icons look as if they were painted on the MacBook Pro, while the same icons on the Air look pixelated up close -- and this is one of the better screens on the market. videotomp3
Just as important, the Pro has markedly better contrast and color saturation. The high-def "Dark Knight Rises" trailer had blacker videotomp3 blacks than the Air but also more vibrant yellows and more natural skin tones.
So what about glare? Apple says it worked to reduce it by 75 percent. We did notice some reflections when using the MacBook Pro by a pool, but it wasn't distracting. The 178-degree viewing angles make this notebook ideal for presentations. We could easily make out websites when viewed from the sides, and vertical viewing angles were just as forgiving. It's not the brightest, though; the MacBook Pro's average brightness of 223 lux falls slightly below the category average of 258. 
Apple has optimized several of its own applications for the Retina Display, including Safari, Mail, iTunes, iPhoto, Aperture, iMovie and Final Cut Pro. And third-party developers are jumping in with both feet. A Retina-ready version of Photoshop is on the way, as is AutoCAD and the game Diablo III. However, it's obvious that some apps will need to optimized videotomp3 to match the Retina Display's sheer detail. For example, headlines and text on The New York Times homepage looked pin-sharp in Safari but jagged in Firefox. Audio
For its size and weight no other notebook on the market sounds better. Apple deserves serious credit for the dual speakers integrated into the new MacBook Pro. Not only did they get surprisingly -- almost alarmingly -- loud during our testing, but they offered a full and rich sound. When playing "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls on Pandora, we easily filled our hotel room with audio sans distortion, and we could make out finer details such as the louder plucks on the guitar strings. You definitely won't need any other speakers when you travel.
The MacBook Pro's audio prowess extends to the dual microphones, which employ beam-forming technology to cut down on ambient noise. We confirmed that this feature works as advertised by recording a video in Photo Booth on both this notebook and the MacBook videotomp3 Air with a noisy air conditioner fan running in the background. On the Pro, we only heard our voice but on the Air we heard the constant droning of the fan. This feature will not only make FaceTime calls more pleasant but voice dictation more a