Unlike the release of the original 15.4-inch MacBook Pro, the announcement of a 17-inch version Monday morning seemed almost an afterthought. The announcement came in a press release, and the appropriate updates at Apple’s online store. The $2,799 price is also consistent with the model it replaces, and if you don’t look at the specs closely, you can accept the situation and get on with your life. Or prepare to place your order, since they’re going to be shipping next week, and there are no long waits. At least not yet.

But you have to look at the smaller model, and you wonder. You don’t have to examine the specs all that closely to realize the new model’s pricing represents a much better value, at least for the time being. What do I mean? Well, take the 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor, which is standard on the 17-inch version. In order to add that option to the smaller MacBook Pro, you have to add $300, which makes the list price identical. And that’s before you add the larger hard drive to the package. No doubt that portends an upcoming price reduction or processor enhancement for the original model, but it does seem strange right now.

When the MacBook Pro originally appeared, professional users were concerned about the missing FireWire 800 port. Well, maybe a lot of people didn’t use them, and you should be able to get an add-on card to satisfy that need. Well, eventually, because there isn’t much available to fill the new ExpressCard/34 slot. There will be, of course, but Apple is at the beginning of the curve in supporting the higher-speed replacement for PC cards. They’ll come if enough people want to buy them.

But the 17-inch model answers that call, because it, like its predecessor, does contain FireWire 800 and even adds a third USB 2.0 port. This may just be the consequence of having more space to add parts, or it may portend that near-term update to the 15.4-inch version with similar choices.

Another complaint was the use of a slower SuperDrive, lacking dual-layer support. The speed hit may not matter, unless you make lots of DVDs, although dual layers are nice, but Apple claimed there wasn’t room to put in the speedier optical drive. Again, the 17-inch version does have the heftier SuperDrive. A consequence of a larger chassis, or does Apple plan to update the 15.4-inch model to reflect this change too?

If you’re intending to order the smaller MacBook Pro, I’d recommend that you wait for a while, just to see if there aren’t any modifications that might result in a price reduction and the return of those missing features.

In the scheme of things, however, the introduction of the 17-inch MacBook Pro merely fleshes out the line, as Apple continues its onward rush towards Intel-inside. But it raises still another question, which is the fate of the 12-inch model, cherished by those who like small laptops, or in situations where space is at a premium. Some are suggesting it’ll just be supplanted by the iBook replacement that many expect to arrive in the next few weeks. But that also raises the question of whether there’s room for a small professional laptop in Apple’s product line, and I think that there is.

That leaves the Power Mac and the Xserve. Apple says it’s on track to complete the Intel transition before the end of the year, but will professional desktops ship that quickly? That’s a question yet to be answered, because the processor family that might grace a future Mac Pro’s interior isn’t due till early in 2007. Unless Apple plans on simply announcing the product and not shipping for a few weeks, this would create the unfavorable specter of not meeting its deadline. That is, unless an interim model is announced, perhaps at the WWDC in August, at the higher-speed version is held back until Macworld San Francisco in January 2007. The deadline will still be met.

Or perhaps Apple knows something we don’t, which is that Intel’s processor timetable might proceed faster than expected.

On the other hand, maybe there’s no rush, except for the tepid sales of the existing Power Mac. After all, it’s not that all of the critical professional applications that are staples of Power Mac owners will be available in Universal form. Photoshop, for example, is on top for the first half of 2007, according to Adobe. Not good news, unless you’re willing to run the existing version at half-speed for a few months.

But if the Power Mac replacement affords a huge speed bump, maybe it won’t matter. Maybe Photoshop, even in emulation, will speed past existing models, even the G5 Quad. If that’s the case, things will be good at first, and great later on.

In any case, I welcome the arrival of the 17-inch MacBook Pro, and I’m going to seriously consider whether to buy one and retire my two-year old PowerBook G4.

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The closer Apple moves to having what many regard as industry-standard hardware, the easier it is for some to say that Macs are still a little too expensive compared to the competition. After all, if the internal components are essentially the same, where does Apple get off charging more for its products, even if the cases are, well, prettier?

Well, I would have thought this myth would have been dispelled long ago, and certainly it’s not for want of trying. But, on the surface at least, there is good reason why this perception simply will not go away, and I suspect some of you wonder about it whenever you walk into an electronics store and see those $399 PC boxes, apparently ready to roll and complete with display, keyboard, mouse. How can Apple possibly compete with that?

For an answer, you have to look at the auto industry. Some companies, in order to advertise bottom-line prices, strip some vehicles of as many options as possible. You want side air bags, or electronic stability control, you must pay extra. Ditto for the fancy radio and other components that you might regard as essential. When you check the boxes on the list of extras and add up the price, suddenly that cheap car doesn’t seem so cheap.

Now I’m not implying one of those stripped models won’t make it out of the showroom, but you can see that something is being sacrificed. Now a stripped down personal computer may not affect your safety, although not having side air bags on a car could make you more vulnerable to injury in the event of a crash. In fact, if your needs are modest, and you only want to surf the Internet, send email and maybe do a little word processing, I can see where the entry-level computer might have some value. In a business environment, the number-crunchers in the accounting department might even consider that these boxes are only going to run a single application, and don’t mind if a few “luxuries” are missing. That, however, ignores the known security shortcomings of the Windows platform. I would assume that a malware protection package would be part of your purchase, even if it does add at least $50 to the bill. And there’s that increased cost of ownership, which keeps IT people busy and well-paid.

But now consider what you get in the cheapest Mac mini. Sure, Apple bumped the price $100 when it went to Intel, and I can see where it got a few brickbats as the result. But remember that Apple doesn’t ditch features to keep the price down. Well, let’s remove the built-in modem from that equation. If you have broadband and don’t plan to fax with your Mac, you might appreciate not having something you aren’t going to use. Otherwise, you have another appendage to deal with.

In any case, Macs are designed to run seamlessly out of the box, without, for the most part, forcing you to buy extra hardware to get the functionality you want. Except for the Power Macs (and that might change with the Intel-based version), all include built-in wireless networking. Except for the iBook, and I suspect its MacIntel replacement will alter that, you get gigabit Ethernet on every single model. There’s built-in FireWire for your camcorder and other peripherals, and a great package of bundled software, most of it coming from Apple. Sure, the PC box makers can bundle software, but a lot of it is cobbled together from different companies, with no guarantee everything will work properly together.

When you begin to add on the features so the typical PC matches up with any Mac in the lineup, suddenly the price doesn’t seem so expensive. The so-called “Apple premium” vanishes. But don’t take my word for it. Charles Gaba’s System Shootouts regularly configures a PC to match the Mac in terms of pricing. The features are brought into parity as much as possible, and that can take time with some of computer makers, because you have to check a lot of boxes on a “Customize” page to make it happen. You can examine the features side-by-side and come to your own conclusions.

To be perfectly fair, one of the computers will have something the other lacks, and the Mac isn’t always ahead in every single respect. You can see where, for example, Apple might consider adding certain features to future models that some of you may find useful. Consider media slots, so you can connect your digital camera’s flash cards directly, and not be restricted to the module that’s in the camera. With the arrival of its Intel-based models, Apple no longer bundles a copy of AppleWorks, and all you get is a demo version of iWork ‘06. If you want a word processor, and TextEdit doesn’t do it for you, you could, of course, look online for free alternatives, such as OpenOffice, but shouldn’t an application so fundamental to the personal computing experience be included as standard issue?

All right, I know that iWork ‘06 is apparently gaining traction in the marketplace, so maybe Apple doesn’t feel compelled to offer it free. But what about iLife ‘06, which is included on every new Mac you buy? Do you see a disconnect here?

This is not a serious issue in the scheme of things. But what is serious is one inescapable fact: Outfit a PC to match the Mac as closely as possible, and the price differences become insignificant. Apple doesn’t sell stripped-down computers, and that’s something you should appreciate. You want it to just work, and that can’t happen if you turn the thing on and find that you have to buy something extra to get the functionality you want.

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