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Macbook Black - Fingerprint Magnet no more

M

mmoran27

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 23, 2006
298
0
I upgraded from a pre-santarosa MB to the new 2.4 model.

I can tell you this - It is definitely faster than my old 2.16 and the case is made of a new plastic.

It is no longer a fingerprint magnet.

The Trackpad button still is, though.

I also love the media keys for controlling Itunes.
 
For real? this is on of the things holding me back from getting a blackbook.
its plastic like the white macbooks?
does it scratch easily?
 
I'll confirm soon. Mine will be here in a few days. Upgrading from a 2.0 GHz, 1GB RAM, Core Duo (May '06 build).
 
The plastic is different, I am not making this up.

I used to have to wipe mine down all the time with a cloth.

On the new model I have yet to do so, or feel the need.

So it is most definitely different.

The trackpad button still colect fingerprints.

I don' think the new keyboard does though :).
 
TUD said:
I'll confirm soon. Mine will be here in a few days. Upgrading from a 2.0 GHz, 1GB RAM, Core Duo (May '06 build).
Click to expand...

Yea definitely post your review of the new macbook compared to your Core Duo one. I have a Core Duo currently and was thinking that it's about time for an upgrade. Let us know the differences if you can.


Kruse
 
I've heard multiple reports that the plastic on the black model has changed, but when I looked at a blackbook at my local apple store, I couldn't see any difference from mine (although I did not verify that the display machine was a new model).

Can anyone confirm whether or not there's a case material difference between the new machines and the SR/Merom (previous gen) ones?
 
i would think that apple would have addressed this when they released the updates...something along the lines of "a new 'stonger' macbook"

wouldnt they want to milk the upgrade for everything its worth? And if they fixed problems with the casing and announced it, wouldnt more people want to buy it?

just my thought

although i really hope you are right since i will be buying a blackbook in a few weeks, but i think your mind may just be playing tricks on you
 
Not yet received mine but checked them out in the store... new models definitely do feel like a different plastic. Not as smooth as my current blackbook. The trackpad seemed different to mine also. Almost looked like there was a film over it.

Not sure if the new machine is more resillient to fingerprints though.
 
One of my machines is a Black MacBook 2.2 I purchased a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure what the old plastic was.

It's not getting a lot of use but fingerprints aren't so much a problem, light scuffs and marks are a slight problem and I'm still not entirely sure how to go about removing those yet. Some products often mentioned aren't easily available in the UK.
 
Hankster said:
Can anyone confirm the BlackMB has a new type of plastic case? That would be very interesting...
Click to expand...

Mines due for delivery tomorrow and I still have the old one also so I'll do a direct comparison tomorrow.

My current Macbook has a kind of almost rubberised quality though. The shop models I saw at the weekend were just your average plastic.

The trackpad button and keys seemed much more responsive on both of the models in store also.
 
actorkid said:
i would think that apple would have addressed this when they released the updates...something along the lines of "a new 'stonger' macbook"

wouldnt they want to milk the upgrade for everything its worth? And if they fixed problems with the casing and announced it, wouldnt more people want to buy it?

just my thought

although i really hope you are right since i will be buying a blackbook in a few weeks, but i think your mind may just be playing tricks on you
Click to expand...

If they said this, it would acknowledge what older MB owners have said about the case and it's "issues." BTW, I paid the extra bucks to upgrade my MB to a MBP after the trackpad and keys wore shiny in less than ten months. Since then, bought another MBB and it too has gotten shiny and worn. Hopefully they have changed case materials for the better.
 
NC MacGuy said:
If they said this, it would acknowledge what older MB owners have said about the case and it's "issues." BTW, I paid the extra bucks to upgrade my MB to a MBP after the trackpad and keys wore shiny in less than ten months. Since then, bought another MBB and it too has gotten shiny and worn. Hopefully they have changed case materials for the better.
Click to expand...

Are the MBPs made of sterner stuff now then? My old MBP (and Powerbook before it) both got shiny keys and trackpad after a few months use. Just presumed that was something that happened to all laptops.
 
nomad01 said:
Are the MBPs made of sterner stuff now then?
Click to expand...

Didn't say that but in my experience the MBP and the PB's I've had have held up better than my MBBs. They do wear but none have worn as bad, as fast - especially trackpad. I have seen the pic's of seriously worn MBP keyboards but I've been lucky with more than a couple. I tend to use trackpad quite a bit.

I have a 400MHz PB that has worn better than any over eight grueling years.
 
NC MacGuy said:
Didn't say that but in my experience the MBP and the PB's I've had have held up better than my MBBs. They do wear but none have worn as bad, as fast - especially trackpad. I have seen the pic's of seriously worn MBP keyboards but I've been lucky with more than a couple. I tend to use trackpad quite a bit.

I have a 400MHz PB that has worn better than any over eight grueling years.
Click to expand...

Cool. Just curious. My trackpad has worn but the keys are pretty much okay. The new trackpad did look different when I saw it in store. Fingers crossed.

Other than that, does anyone sell a film you can apply to the trackpads to preserve them? Just thinking of resale value. :)
 
nomad01 said:
Cool. Just curious. My trackpad has worn but the keys are pretty much okay. The new trackpad did look different when I saw it in store. Fingers crossed.

Other than that, does anyone sell a film you can apply to the trackpads to preserve them? Just thinking of resale value. :)
Click to expand...

Invisible shield sells 'em.

Fortunately for others, I just hand my old lappys down. At least it's truly an "as-is" don't whine about it transaction:D
 
NC MacGuy said:
Invisible shield sells 'em.

Fortunately for others, I just hand my old lappys down. At least it's truly an "as-is" don't whine about it transaction:D
Click to expand...

Don't their shields cover the whole laptop though? I don't want to do that.

As for handing them down... why the hell would I do that!?! lol I'd rather sell the thing and make some money off it. Not like I'm desperate but I'm not in the habit of giving a piece of kit away when I can sell it for four or five hundred quid.
 
nomad01 said:
Mines due for delivery tomorrow and I still have the old one also so I'll do a direct comparison tomorrow.

My current Macbook has a kind of almost rubberised quality though. The shop models I saw at the weekend were just your average plastic.

The trackpad button and keys seemed much more responsive on both of the models in store also.
Click to expand...


What do you mean by "old one"? Is it an SR machine, a Core Duo, or what?
 
Wow, I think I was right.

When I first saw the blackbook in the picture on apple's site, something wasn't right about it, it was a little brighter, the whitebook still has the glossy finish, the blackbook still has the more expensive matte finish, but it looks different in the pics on apple's site, it looks more attractive, and brighter.

A friend is telling me instead of painting the plastic black, the new blackbooks, the plastic IS black, ive gotta see this, im getting excited!!!
 
nomad01 said:
Cool. Just curious. My trackpad has worn but the keys are pretty much okay. The new trackpad did look different when I saw it in store. Fingers crossed.

Other than that, does anyone sell a film you can apply to the trackpads to preserve them? Just thinking of resale value. :)
Click to expand...

I've just bought a blackbook and a Moshi Palmguard film. It covers the "rest-hands"-area and the trackpad + the button. It cost about 20$ i think.. I have'nt got my blackbook yet so I don't know how it works, but tjeck out their website and you can see some pics. I can't remember the link-adress but google-it :)
 
nomad01 said:
Don't their shields cover the whole laptop though? I don't want to do that.

As for handing them down... why the hell would I do that!?! lol I'd rather sell the thing and make some money off it. Not like I'm desperate but I'm not in the habit of giving a piece of kit away when I can sell it for four or five hundred quid.
Click to expand...

You can buy the whole shield kit which breaks into front, top, bottom, trackpad, click bar, etc. It's not one whole unit so you can pick and choose what gets protected.

I own a small company and I hand them off to employees. It works better than buying them new ones all the time since they usually don't take as good care as I do and we get about 1.5 lappys stolen a year since they travel so much. When I do hand them off they are like new w. fresh OS, box, works. My MBB is going out next week being replaced w. the Air.
 
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