Apple Macbook Pro

This is the real reason Apple had to make the seismic shift to Intel processors.

The IBM G5 processor Apple used to use in its desktop systems was a good performer, but its power consumption and heat output made it completely unsuitable for notebooks.

This meant Apple's Powerbook laptops were stuck with the ageing and far less energetic G4 processor.

The new Macbook Pro is the first of a new generation of Mac laptops that use Intelís Core Duo processor.

There are two versions currently available - our review unit was the 2.0GHz model, priced at £1,779 and equipped with 15.4in widescreen display, 1GB of Ram, 100GB hard disk and Radeon X1600 graphics card.

There's also a 1.83GHz version with 512MB of Ram and 80GB hard disk, costing £1,429.

Despite the impressive specs, what everyone wants to know is whether the new Macbook really is faster than the old Powerbook G4 (which is actually still on sale).

If you're running software that was specifically written to run on the Core Duo processor, such as the bundled ILife '06 suite (read a review here), then the Macbook can indeed be 2-3 times faster than the Powerbook, just as Apple claims.

However, key programs such as Photoshop are still waiting to be updated for the new processor. The current version of Photoshop will still run on the Macbook, thanks to Apple's Rosetta emulation system, but it won't run at full speed until it's been updated - a process that could take several months.

As a result, the current version of Photoshop actually runs about 25-35 per cent slower on the Macbook than it does on a Powerbook G4.

This is a big problem for what's supposed to be a professional notebook, as Photoshop is a key program for the many professional designers using Macs.

The Macbook Pro is a well-designed and powerful laptop, but its potential will remain untapped until there are more universal programs available that can properly exploit its full power.