Consumer Reports does not recommend the new Mac Book Pro

Plagued by bad battery life, that is inconsistent from machine to machine in testing, Consumer Reports can not recommend people purchase Apple's newest Mac Book Pro.

Apple launched a new series of MacBook Pro laptops this fall, and Consumer Reports' labs have just finished evaluating them. The laptops did very well in measures of display quality and performance, but in terms of battery life, we found that the models varied dramatically from one trial to another.

As a result, these laptops are the first MacBooks not to receive recommended ratings from Consumer Reports.

Complaints about MacBook Pro batteries have been popping up online since the laptops first went on sale in November. Apple says that these computers should operate for up to 10 hours between charges, but some consumers in Apple's support forums reported that they were only able to use their laptops for three to four hours before the battery ran down.

Apple declined to comment on our test results until they better understand the issue, but emailed this statement: "Any customer who has a question about their Mac or its operation should contact AppleCare."