Apple snubs Blu-ray in new MacBook Pro line

• The new 13-inch MacBook Pro (with 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo) starts at $1199
• The 15-inch MBP with 2.4GHz Core i5 starts at $1799
• The 17-inch MBP with 2.53GHz Core i5 starts at $2299

Today's MBP refresh was pretty much to keep up with the Joneses. PC manufacturers have been shipping notebooks with Intel's Core chips for many months.

ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes pointed out that the new notebooks don't ship with USB 3.0, but what's even more disappointing is Apple's failure to deploy Blu-ray drives in its latest notebooks.

I wrote in early February 2010 about Apple lack of support for Blu-ray and how it's baffling considering that Apple is one of the original members of the Blu-ray Association (which it joined in 2005). Despite its membership, Apple continues to ship millions of antiquated “SuperDrives” in its Macs each year.

Apple would argue that it ships MacBook Pros with crippled “SuperDrives” because Blu-ray hasn’t taken off. The reality is that Apple isn’t supporting Blu-ray because of its inherent conflict with iTunes. Apple would rather lock you into purchasing all of your content from iTunes because Apple controls it and generates a 30% commission on every sale.

For some, Blu-Ray doesn't matter (I replaced my MBP optical with a second hard drive) but several people that I've spoken to won't upgrade to a new MacBook until it comes with a Blu-Ray option.

What’s your take on the lack Blu-ray on the new MacBooks?

Update: Engadget has posted its MacBook Pro Core i7 unboxing and preview.