Apple's announcement of the new Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro did more than raise the performance bar for their portables. The addition of the new, faster Intel chip in only the Pro model serves as a key differentiating factor between the consumer MacBook and the professional MacBook Pro.

Prior to the announcement of the Core 2 Duo, the MacBook easily had the best price/performance ratio of any Mac in history. For US$1100 you get a screaming Intel-based Mac portable. The only advantage in the twice-as-expensive MacBook Pro were a larger screen (15.4 v. 13.3), a dedicated video card (which drives 30-inch displays), ExpressCard/34 slot and the Aluminum skin.

Read the rest of the story on my ZDNet Blog: The Apple Core.