Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Do Black Macbooks really look so bad?

R

Rovias

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 22, 2005
95
0
I am about 99% sure I'm going to buy a Black Macbook here in the next couple of weeks, but from the reports I've heard so far, I'm quite scared to take the jump. A lot of people have posted about how the black finish easily retains grease, collects dust, and shows dirt and scratches much worse than the white Macbook or MBP. As I plan on keeping this notebook for at LEAST the next two years, I don't want it to end up looking like crap after only two weeks.

Has anyone had difficulty keeping their Blackbooks clean, or am I just making a big deal out of nothing?
 
Rovias said:
I am about 99% sure I'm going to buy a Black Macbook here in the next couple of weeks, but from the reports I've heard so far, I'm quite scared to take the jump. A lot of people have posted about how the black finish easily retains grease, collects dust, and shows dirt and scratches much worse than the white Macbook or MBP. As I plan on keeping this notebook for at LEAST the next two years, I don't want it to end up looking like crap after only two weeks.

Has anyone had difficulty keeping their Blackbooks clean, or am I just making a big deal out of nothing?
Click to expand...

The blackbooks do pick up a lot of grease and fingerprints, but they're easily wiped off (though you do have to do this a lot). On the other hand, the white MBs (and I've had both), scratch WAY easily (the blackbook did not), and I've seen some older iBooks that look nasty because they're so dirty.

IMO, you'll have a better time keeping the blackbook looking nice for two years than you would trying to keep the white MB looking good.

Plus, the blackbooks just look better to me, and the white plastic looks.. blah.. like a toy. But that's a matter of preference.
 
xfiftyfour said:
The blackbooks do pick up a lot of grease and fingerprints, but they're easily wiped off (though you do have to do this a lot). On the other hand, the white MBs (and I've had both), scratch WAY easily (the blackbook did not), and I've seen some older iBooks that look nasty because they're so dirty.

IMO, you'll have a better time keeping the blackbook looking nice for two years than you would trying to keep the white MB looking good.
Click to expand...

Agreed! Black shows grease, white gets scratched superfast. Basically, you just breathe on it and it's got 15-20 scratches. You can always remove grease but you can't get rid of scratches.

FWIW, white picks up greasy fingerprints too, they're just not as obvious, but you can still see them at certain angles.
 
Black Macbooks do not look bad

really, they are beautiful macs

Clean it with a soft cloth with a little water. they are absolutely beautiful.

I hope you're happy with your black macbook.
 
To prevent scratches/fingerprints/grease/etc, just invest in about $30 from BestSkinsEver and you won't have to worry about these things. Doesn't matter if the MB is white or black :cool: :apple:
 
The black MacBook is so sexy, don't worry about a little bit of grease. I just use iClean (purchased from the Apple Store) once a week to take the marks away.
 
I purchased a Black MacBook early in 2006; at that time I too felt black would hold up better. To date I've been very careful not to put it in harms way and thankfully have no scratches.

The one thing I've noticed about the black MacBook is that it almost looks as if the black finish were painted on rather than being black through and through. Has anyone actually scratched a black MacBook significantly deep enough to verify if the black is a surface coat or not?
 
BobP63 said:
I purchased a Black MacBook early in 2006; at that time I too felt black would hold up better. To date I've been very careful not to put it in harms way and thankfully have no scratches.

The one thing I've noticed about the black MacBook is that it almost looks as if the black finish were painted on rather than being black through and through. Has anyone actually scratched a black MacBook significantly deep enough to verify if the black is a surface coat or not?
Click to expand...

I think these pictures will answer your question.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matajuro1905/sets/72157594453312365/

This guy's pretty pissed, but from my perspective, it looks like he's kind of rough with his Macbook. But, what do I know, mine is white.
 
Thanks for the link; I suspected a painted surface, but I didn’t suspect they painted matte black over black plastic. Personally I think the unpainted areas looked better, wish they would sell them that way.
 
i love my blackbook, but just so you know, my right handrest is starting to discolor a bit, from black to yellow. but it's really small, and generally speaking, im satisfied with the MB, esp since my last notebook was a Dell.
 
I was worried about this before I got mine. I don't know what people have on their hands for the grease not to go away as a quick wipe fixes all that.

Don't hesistate just get one. I think mine looks amazing (sit one next to a pc and tell me they look the same, honestly...)
 
Black is Back!

I think the black macbook looks awesome. I am puzzled by the wear and tear on the link below. I have seen many black macbooks and they do show a little more grease (which is easily cleaned) but nothing like those images from that link. I suspect some improper storage and carrying methods caused these lapses in finish.

Also, I was told by a rep at the Apple Store in the Mall of America that the black is actually a scratch resistant material and that is one reason it costs more, besides the other hardware benefits. I remember the old black powerbooks and those rocked, the upside down apple is just classic. If you can't go pro, black is a minor step down and I'd go for it.
 
Just wondering, have you seen it in person or will you order it from Apple.ca?

In person, teh black one looks really cheap. Unlike the black iPod which looks like the monolith from 2001, the black ipod looks like an inexpensive piece of plastic junk. The finish is really, really ugly, even compared to the white one.
 
tschmidty6 said:
I think the black macbook looks awesome. I am puzzled by the wear and tear on the link below. I have seen many black macbooks and they do show a little more grease (which is easily cleaned) but nothing like those images from that link. I suspect some improper storage and carrying methods caused these lapses in finish.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with your assessment. I think this guy has been abusing his Macbook and expects Apple to replace the casing.
 
I can't give an opinion on the black macbook because I haven't owned one, but I have owned an iBook and can say that they scratch FAR too easily. After about a year of use I was afraid to look at the back of the screen because it was so scratched and that was with me taking really good care of it. And to answer the question in the thread title, I think the black macbooks look bad and would never buy one.
 
dont forget with the blackbook, people will recognize it as a new model, whereas with the white macbook, people might think it's an ibook, and the same for macbook pro.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back