I’ve had a 15″ i7 MacBook Pro since they came out—ordered as soon as they were announced and had to wait weeks to get it. One thing that always annoyed me was the ‘sharp’ edge that you sometimes feel when you type or move your hand/arm over the machine—particularly the sharp corners around where you open the lid. I remember seeing a video a while back where someone actually took a file to theirs because it bothered them so much! 
I had a chance to look at a brand new 13″ MacBook Pro today and noticed that it has a nice bevelled edge all around it, including the DVD slot but not the SD slot. The sharp edge around the DVD drive on my 15″ has always concerned me—I rarely ever use it, but if I do I’m always worried that it could easily damage a disc.
The aluminium surface felt slightly smoother all over as well—there’s a slight ‘roughness’ to my MacBook Pro if you run your finger over it, which wasn’t there with the 13″.
This is my first time actually seeing one of the 13″ MacBook Pros in person, and I was just wondering if this has always been the case, or if Apple has silently upgraded them even from the last spec bump? Is it meant to be like this, and my 15″ was rushed out the door because they were having trouble keeping up with demand? (there was a slight nick on one edge but not enough to go through the hassle of returning it)
I must say, the weight of the 13″ was really surprising—I didn’t expect it to feel as light as it does. It makes the original MacBooks feel like a brick in comparison. It also looks quite a bit smaller than them, even though I’m pretty sure they’re actually the same size. (or very close)
I was left a lot more impressed than I thought I would be after seeing the 13″ and it’s definitely the size & weight I wish my 15″ was. It feels more solidly built as well—I suppose the larger the notebook is, the more it’s going to flex. I simply cannot tolerate that low resolution screen with a pane of glass on top though. It’s a real shame that there’s no high-res anti-glare option as there is on the 15″.
It does still seem to have the same thermal ‘issues’ that the old MacBooks did though—it seemed to heat up quite considerably at times even if it wasn’t doing that much work, though not quite as bad as the MacBooks. My i7 on the other-hand is almost never hot to the touch unless the 330M is being stressed. (on Intel it barely gets warm most of the time)
I was also surprised to see v-sync issues (screen ‘rippling’ or ‘tearing’) when scrolling in Firefox (where I’ve found it to be most noticeable) on the 13″. I had always assumed that was a problem with the dual GPU system in the 15″ as it only happens with the 330M and not the Intel HD graphics. Now it looks like it may be an nVidia issue as I’ve never seen it on any Intel or ATi powered Macs.
I had a chance to look at a brand new 13″ MacBook Pro today and noticed that it has a nice bevelled edge all around it, including the DVD slot but not the SD slot. The sharp edge around the DVD drive on my 15″ has always concerned me—I rarely ever use it, but if I do I’m always worried that it could easily damage a disc.
The aluminium surface felt slightly smoother all over as well—there’s a slight ‘roughness’ to my MacBook Pro if you run your finger over it, which wasn’t there with the 13″.
This is my first time actually seeing one of the 13″ MacBook Pros in person, and I was just wondering if this has always been the case, or if Apple has silently upgraded them even from the last spec bump? Is it meant to be like this, and my 15″ was rushed out the door because they were having trouble keeping up with demand? (there was a slight nick on one edge but not enough to go through the hassle of returning it)
I must say, the weight of the 13″ was really surprising—I didn’t expect it to feel as light as it does. It makes the original MacBooks feel like a brick in comparison. It also looks quite a bit smaller than them, even though I’m pretty sure they’re actually the same size. (or very close)
I was left a lot more impressed than I thought I would be after seeing the 13″ and it’s definitely the size & weight I wish my 15″ was. It feels more solidly built as well—I suppose the larger the notebook is, the more it’s going to flex. I simply cannot tolerate that low resolution screen with a pane of glass on top though. It’s a real shame that there’s no high-res anti-glare option as there is on the 15″.
It does still seem to have the same thermal ‘issues’ that the old MacBooks did though—it seemed to heat up quite considerably at times even if it wasn’t doing that much work, though not quite as bad as the MacBooks. My i7 on the other-hand is almost never hot to the touch unless the 330M is being stressed. (on Intel it barely gets warm most of the time)
I was also surprised to see v-sync issues (screen ‘rippling’ or ‘tearing’) when scrolling in Firefox (where I’ve found it to be most noticeable) on the 13″. I had always assumed that was a problem with the dual GPU system in the 15″ as it only happens with the 330M and not the Intel HD graphics. Now it looks like it may be an nVidia issue as I’ve never seen it on any Intel or ATi powered Macs.