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left Apple store frustrated ... there is no MBP for me?

S

stefan1975

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 15, 2010
605
0
Well to help in my decision making process, that has been goin on too long as it is anyway, today i made a trip to the nearest apple store some towns away to actually touch and play with the new MBP models so it would help me decide which one i wanted.

However now that i am back i am in more doubt then when i left this morning.

I really wanted to like the MBP13 and in the store it was the one that felt best to me when it comes to size and weight. It was the one that really seems most mobile and lighweight, plus it is the one i could most easily afford.

However I really didn't like the extreme reflective glossy screen and the size of the icons on 1200x800.

The 15" next to it was the low res version but already a great improvement. I really can't affor the 17" so i didn't even try that highres model they had on display. It seems like a lot of aluminium to be using in bed, on vacation and on the sofa though.

They didn't have a matte screen on a mbp though, only on a 30" imac. Would a matte MBP be comaprable to that one? I really really really (did i say really yet?) liked that screen. it was next to a glossy and I could see all the way to the end of the street on the glossy and on the matte i didn't even see the reflection of myself. so if it is the one on the MBP i would really like to get that one.

So all in all more questions then answers....i seem to prefer matte, which would mean highres 15". I prefer the resolution anyway but it seems like a chunkload of iron to carry plus it is rather big in comparison.

Besides the girl helping me really had no clue about specs, hardware, cpu's and that kind of thing. When i mentioned C2D to her she just looked at me as if i were talking chinese...

So i think a 1440x900 matte MBP13 i5 would be "my" model .... sigh what to do now?

any advice?
stefan
 
Get a matte screen protector for the MBP13? It's pretty much the same thing.

Also, you can resize the icons very easily.
 
15" isn't that much bigger, most PCs are 15". It's matte + res vs weight + size, 15" is more powerful as well. What is more important?
 
Hellhammer said:
15" isn't that much bigger, most PCs are 15". It's matte + res vs weight + size, 15" is more powerful as well. What is more important?
Click to expand...

15" is too big for my own uses, and that of many other users. An i5 matte higher-res Macbook would make the deal, but at this point I'm looking elsewhere.
 
Beric said:
15" is too big for my own uses, and that of many other users. An i5 matte higher-res Macbook would make the deal, but at this point I'm looking elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Well, that really depends on person as everyone has different usage. If I has money, I'd get hi res 15" but if Apple offered hi res 13" with i5, I'd get it instead. In the end, the 15" isn't THAT much bigger, but of course every cm and gram can matter
 
Hellhammer said:
Well, that really depends on person as everyone has different usage. If I has money, I'd get hi res 15" but if Apple offered hi res 13" with i5, I'd get it instead. In the end, the 15" isn't THAT much bigger, but of course every cm and gram can matter
Click to expand...

for me bigger is better 17" or larger
 
stefan1975 said:
Well to help in my decision making process, that has been goin on too long as it is anyway, today i made a trip to the nearest apple store some towns away to actually touch and play with the new MBP models so it would help me decide which one i wanted.

However now that i am back i am in more doubt then when i left this morning.

I really wanted to like the MBP13 and in the store it was the one that felt best to me when it comes to size and weight. It was the one that really seems most mobile and lighweight, plus it is the one i could most easily afford.

However I really didn't like the extreme reflective glossy screen and the size of the icons on 1200x800.

The 15" next to it was the low res version but already a great improvement. I really can't affor the 17" so i didn't even try that highres model they had on display. It seems like a lot of aluminium to be using in bed, on vacation and on the sofa though.

They didn't have a matte screen on a mbp though, only on a 30" imac. Would a matte MBP be comaprable to that one? I really really really (did i say really yet?) liked that screen. it was next to a glossy and I could see all the way to the end of the street on the glossy and on the matte i didn't even see the reflection of myself. so if it is the one on the MBP i would really like to get that one.

So all in all more questions then answers....i seem to prefer matte, which would mean highres 15". I prefer the resolution anyway but it seems like a chunkload of iron to carry plus it is rather big in comparison.

Besides the girl helping me really had no clue about specs, hardware, cpu's and that kind of thing. When i mentioned C2D to her she just looked at me as if i were talking chinese...

So i think a 1440x900 matte MBP13 i5 would be "my" model .... sigh what to do now?

any advice?
stefan
Click to expand...

Save some more money and get the base 15 inch with the anti glare screen but be advised you can only get the anti glare option with the hi res 1680 by 1050 screen. The i5 chip will stomp all over the C2D.
 
well price is a factor as well. i got the go ahead from the mrs for a 1149 mbp. when i get the matte base 15 it is high res as well and more like double the amount in euros.

so it is either a sucky cpu with a mirror screen in a perfect size and price...

...or a week sleeping on the sofa with an excellent laptop and matte, albeit too large to use in my comfy chair.

tough one. still.
 
I also like using my 13" MBP in my chair more than the 15" ... although the 15" screen is really nice.

Did you dislike the screen on the 13" MBP 'that' much. It looks it's worst in under the Apple's store lights, imo.

I love my 13", and I think in time you'll appreciate the 'pop' of the colors in the glossy.

Add an ssd and some ram in the future and you've got a fast machine that will last years.

Edit: Here's a good example, I own both the 13 and 15" MBP ... most often I probably 'should' be using my 15", better resolution, more screen real estate, faster machine etc.. But, I always reach for the 13" MBP, great to use anywhere.
 
buy the 13" then send it to techrestore.com for the $200 matte display upgrade.

You would have to spend $150 with Apple for a matte display on the 15", so for an aftermarket (post purchase) display upgrade, this is not a bad price.

The matte display would be only 1280x800, but it will have the same wide color gamut and brightness.
If you were unaware, you can adjust the size of the icons on the desktop and in the dock.
 
It sounds like the 13" MBP fits your needs best, except for the glossy screen...which you know, really isn't THAT bad. You do get used to it, and unless you're going to be using it outside, the screen actually does look pretty nice in terms of color saturation and brightness.

I felt the same way you did when I saw the glossy screens. Part of the problem is that many of us are simply just used to matte screens, since that was the norm for LCD screens for quite a while. Another problem is that the glossy screens look terrible in the Apple Stores. Makes absolutely no sense, but they have these intense store lights shining down from all angles, making it impossible to really get a glare free view. :confused: Take it home and turn it on in a room with normal lighting, it looks fantastic.
 
stefan1975 said:
so it is either a sucky cpu with a mirror screen in a perfect size and price...

...or a week sleeping on the sofa with an excellent laptop and matte, albeit too large to use in my comfy chair.
Click to expand...
I would avoid the glossy screen at all costs! I've had one and it's a mirror.

Many people (certainly not all) that have them need to justify it and say they are great. But side by side (as I have done) the difference is drastic. The Anti Glare is so much easier on your eyes.

I might suggest you give serious consideration to the 15" MacBook Pro with the Hi-Res Anti Glare screen. That's what I have and it's fantastic. My third MBP thus far. Yes the screen is expensive, yet when you think about all the hours you sit in front of it for the life of the computer, the display ends up being a fair price.

As far as the specific model for you, I would suggest the base 15" MBP 2.4GHz Core i5, in it's standard configuration with the only upgrade being the Hi-Res Anti Glare Screen.

That model is a great bargain, it's fast and quiet, as well as offering the best battery life of the lot. I would have bought that one in a flash, if not for the fact that I do 3D Aerospace Design and require lots of memory and other resources for the apps I use. For a day to day personal laptop I believe the model I'm suggesting for you is an outstanding machine. It's got plenty of memory, speed, and you may not notice the size difference as much as you think.

I prefer the 15" as it gives one so much more screen space to work with. Also I carry mine every day and find it no problem. Especially when you take into consideration that for a 15" it's less than one inch thick and a full pound to a pound and one half lighter than the rest of the mainstream 15" laptops out there. It has a small A/C adapter and is easily carried in my opinion.

Good luck with your choice.

Cheers...:)
 
i have a 13 in with the glossy screen although. you should look into the moshi iVisor. It makes your screen seem matte and its really easy to install. there will not be any bubbles also since its not sticky in the center, only on the outer edge.
 
Beric said:
15" is too big for my own uses, and that of many other users. An i5 matte higher-res Macbook would make the deal, but at this point I'm looking elsewhere.
Click to expand...

My last laptop before my MB was 15", and I prefer that screen size to the 13".
 
stefan1975 said:
snip

However I really didn't like the extreme reflective glossy screen and the size of the icons on 1200x800.

The 15" next to it was the low res version but already a great improvement. I really can't affor the 17" so i didn't even try that highres model they had on display. It seems like a lot of aluminium to be using in bed, on vacation and on the sofa though.

snip
stefan
Click to expand...

FYI: The 13" MBP and the "low resolution" 15" MBP have exactly the same dot-pitch displays. i.e. native icons and fonts will be the same size and apparent "resolution".

cheers
JohnG
 
Will you use FW800? If not, wait for the updated Macbook. The screen is not as reflective as the MBP.
 
I've had first gen MacBook, Santa Rosa MBP, Penryn MBP, Mid 2009 MBP (the last three all 15"), 15" i7 antiglare, now 13" MBP and I love the 13"!

Highly recommend it. Glare isn't always the best but it's more tolerable on the smaller screen. With 15" it's like staring at a mirror. I haven't had as many glare issues with the smaller one, less surface area.

And as previously stated, you can resize the icons. I did, otherwise it looks kind of newb-ish.
 
Linkzi said:
Will you use FW800? If not, wait for the updated Macbook. The screen is not as reflective as the MBP.
Click to expand...

??? How would you know that? Based on a cheesy unpacking video? :rolleyes:

FWIW, I really like the reflective glass screen covers. :p
 
lordofuo said:
Whatcha talkin' bout Willis?? :confused:
Click to expand...

well what i meant was that i wanted to see a matte screen and all MBP's they had on display were glossy ones. They only had this huge iMac thingy standing around, might have been 27" but it was huge looking to me (too big, couldnt even stand close to it to see all icons).

I really liked that screen since it had 0% reflection, not even myself. I know the lighting is bad in macstores but the difference was huge. Would the MBP matte be the same quality? I read a lot here about people saying that the glossy looks better or has more "saturation" .... what's that all about? I looked at two identical imacs (i think) side by side and I couldnt see antything "wrong" with the matte one apart from not being a mirror, it didn't look any less vibrant or anything.

It just feels stupid to have to first pay €100 for the highres and then another €50 to have them not put the glass on, so i pay more to get less :D

i really dont think i want to change to much on the setup i will get. those stick-on thingys or replacement screens surely can't be good for my warranty right? i just wish they had an matte 15" highres MBP at the store, that way i could have really taken a good look wether or not i preferred it over the glossy and how the grey bezel looks, but they just custom order it here.

Does the MBA have a matte (higher res) screen or is it expected on the next refresh, i really dont need my MB to be that thin, but if it has arrandale and a better screen it would be worth the extra €€ for me. I read somewhere that they might put the ULV arrandale in the MBA refresh....

i would really like to get the MBP13. as i said before here somewhere i even already have the accesoires waiting for it, but i just know i would feel remorse paying top €€ for a P8700 now. It might be silly and it might not even make any difference, but somehow it stopped me from already having one spinning here right now.

The sales girl had no clue about arrandales or C2D's and just went rambling on about how good it was and that it wasn't windows running on it ... jeez as if i didn't know that. That didn't help in the decision making either.
 
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