Besides being up to “39% faster”, the new MacBook Pro notebook models offer new features, fixes and upgrades. Mike Curtis has posted specs and commentary on the new MBP C2D notebooks. Comments of note:

“…the 1GB config on the MacBook Pro is now a single 1GB stick, so you still have a free slot - cheaper to upgrade…
If you are on a budget, the 15″ base model is a helluva machine for the money. Get some more RAM, be it third party or Apple branded…
The 17″ is a viable desktop replacement. If you have a dual 2.0 GHz G5, this laptop might well be faster…
If you have a choice, the new 15″ models are DEFINITELY preferable to the older 15’s, if only because of the addition of FireWire 800 - a HUGE increase in throughput for certain applications…
ALL of these will be JUST FINE for cutting native DV, DVCPRO HD, HDV, etc.”

In related news, another geek named Brian just picked up one of the new Macbook Pro notebooks, a 15-inch 2.33GHz model. He’s taking questions and detail requests from inquisitive people, and posting them on his website. For instance, this little tidbit:

Q: What wireless network card is in the new C2D MBP?
A: The card is based on the Atheros AR5008 802.11n chipset.
Additional: The card only supports 802.11g in OS X, however in Win XP via BootCamp you can get full “n” functionality by installing the driver for the D-Link DWA-645 (version 102).

Brian’s site was having a little difficulty keeping up with the /. traffic earlier, so here’s a Coral Cache link as well.

And of course you can build your own MacBook Pro at the Apple Store.