The MacBook Pro, the most powerful laptop sold by Apple, does not allow users to connect to a 3G data network. Apple has decided that its popular laptop does not need such connectivity, but the company once had a prototype of the 15-inch MacBook Pro that was compatible with 3G networks. In the images in this article we have presented that prototype produced in 2007 by Apple and you can see that it is equipped with a 3G antenna but also has a slot where a SIM card can be inserted. The Mac is available for purchase on eBay.com and you can find the description made by the seller below:
Upon removing the top case it was immediately clear this was no normal Macbook Pro: the circuit boards inside were bright red as opposed to the normal blue! Further inspection found multiple differences from the stock version, most notably a feature never seen in a Macbook laptop of any kind: what appears to be a fully integrated cellular modem and SIM slot. There is an extendable cellular antenna located at the right top side of the display assembly (The antenna is marked with “Tyco Proto / #006” when slid out), and a standard size SIM card slot located underneath the memory cover on the bottom of the machine. The SIM card board is connected to the logic board via a connector not found on production machines. The solder footprint for it is still present on the production boards and not populated, which is interesting. This would seem to suggest that it was a last minute decision to remove the cellular functionality before going into mass production. The optical drive is marked as a "Sample for Evaluation". Rather than a normal EMC Number the specifications lapel simply says "XXXX", and the serial number does not show up in Apple's online database.
The MacBook Pro has a red motherboard specific to the prototypes manufactured by Apple and the integrated 3G chip is recognized by the system although the data connection cannot be used. It is interesting that Apple flirted with the idea of producing a MacBook Pro compatible with 3G networks, but from an aesthetic point of view it would not have been such a bright product. Maybe the design was one of the main reasons for abandoning the manufacture of such a laptop or maybe the costs were too high, no one knows, but it is certain that the current models do not have such a thing.
Would you need 3G connectivity in a MacBook Pro?
