The third announcement made yesterday by Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing, following the introduction of iWork '09 and iLife '09, was the much anticipated 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Besides confirming the obvious, Apple also revealed that new technologies employed by the unibody notebook made it the thinnest, the lightest, the greenest, and probably the most productive system of its kind. In fact, the company touted the new MacBook Pro as the thinnest and lightest in the world for the 17-inch class.

However, the Cupertino-based manufacturer also unveiled that, unlike its 13-inch and 15-inch cousins, the 17-inch MacBook Pro featured a huge, built-in battery pack, which allowed one to spend some eight ours in front of the glossy, high-resolution LED-backlit, widescreen display.

Just like it did with the 13-inch unibody MacBook, Apple released a making-of video showing off the parts of the making up of the 17-inch notebook, with an emphasis on the product's battery. In the video, Bob Mansfield, SVP of Mac hardware, explains that the 17-inch Pro features a revolutionary new built-in battery that delivers up to eight hours of use, and up to 1,000 recharges for more than three times the lifespan of conventional notebook batteries.

Of course, Apple couldn't just introduce a new device simply including a more durable battery and slapping it with a $2,799 price tag. Although still not making up for the high price (some may say), the new 17-inch MacBook Pro also adds the large glass Multi-Touch trackpad, introduced with the new MacBook family in October. Under the hood, the company also accessorized the new system with state of the art NVIDIA graphics and the latest generation Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor.

“We’ve developed new battery technology that is better for the user and better for the environment,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, stated. “Apple’s advanced chemistry and innovative technology deliver up to eight hours of use on a full charge cycle, and up to 1,000 recharges.”

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro is immediately available from Apple's store and authorized resellers for $2,799. You can learn more on the exciting new notebook here.