The switch between computer lines ( the MacBook line replacing the original Apple portable computer line, the PowerBook) was made by the MacBook Pro replacing the PowerBook G4. The MacBook Pro was the second product developed by Apple which was part of the Apple-Intel transition, the first one being the iMac, which is also a line of consumer computers, but of the desktop range.
The MacBook Pro is considered to be the high end of the MacBook computer family, and is currently produced in three sizes: the 13 inch model, the 15 inch model, and the 17 inch model. There were two designs for the MacBookPro, both using aluminum. The first design was basicly a carry-over from the PowerBook G4 computer which it has replaced, and opposed to the PowerBook, it used Intel's Core central processing units. The MacBook Pro computer line started with the 15 inch model which was introduced in January 2006. A 17 inch model came out in April, same year. In time, these two MacBook models have received several updates and late 2006 found them upgraded to Intel's Core 2 Duo processing units.
The second MacBook model is an unibody model, made from a single block of aluminum. This design was introduced in October 2008 with the 15 inch model, and te 13 inch unibody MacBook. The 17 inch model did not get such a design until January 2009, when Apple also introduced the built-in battery. The built-in battery was implemented on the rest of the MacBoom Pro family from June 2009. From October, the built-in battery was introduced to the MacBook (not MacBook Pro) line as well. In April 2010, Apple upgraded the unibody MacBook Pro line to Core i5 and i7 processors for the 15 and 17 inch versions, while the 13 inch version remained to Core 2 Duo processing technology.
The original 15 inch MacBook Pro was announced at the Macworld&Expo. by Steve Jobs, on January 10, 2006. The 17 inch model was introduced on April 24 of the same year. The 15 inch and the 17 inch models share some features, like the card slot. The PC card slot which could be found on the PowerBook G4 was replaced, and both 15 inch and 17 inch models use ExpressCard/34 slots. They both have only one FireWire 400 port, while the USB ports are not the same. The 15 inch model has only two USB 2.0 slots, while the 17 inch model has three. When it first came out, the MacBook Pro didn't have FireWire 800 or S-Video ports, but FireWire 800 was later added to newer revisions of the 15 inch MacBook, and was present in every 17 inch MacBook. A port for S-Video capacity was not added, but it can be obtained by connecting a DVI to S-Video adapter.