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Macbook Keyboard Blacklight Worth The Extra Money?
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My girlfriend has the unibody Macbook with the backlit keyboard, and I personally love it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it unless money was a serious issue. Even though the specs aren't much higher on the higher end MB, I like that model. I wish Apple put 4GB of RAM in that model. I think that would make a lot more sense for the price increase.
If you buy from the education store, the discount is bigger on the 2.4GHz Macbook anyway.
If you buy from the education store, the discount is bigger on the 2.4GHz Macbook anyway.
If you look at the keyboard a lot when you type then yeah its worth it. But if you have the keyboard memorized then i would only see it as a luxury.
I'm a touch typist myself, but even then I'd say it's definitely worth it. Using the keyboard isn't always about typing. It's often just about hitting a key. And when in low light situations, I'd rather not have to search for that certain key. The backlit keyboard means you won't have to. Ever. It's wonderful, really. Plus, you get a (slightly) faster processor. And a bigger hard drive. All pluses. Even the price is a plus (albeit negatively). My sister has the white MacBook, which obviously doesn't have a backlit keyboard, and she envies me for my keyboard. And for the aluminium body.
I bought the one with the backlit keyboard not because of the keyboard but becuase of the higher spec HDD and processor.
If spec have been the same would not had gone for it.
But have to agree its awesome....very happy with my choice.
If spec have been the same would not had gone for it.
But have to agree its awesome....very happy with my choice.
Apple is pretty smart with the upselling... adding the backlit keyboard probably costs them a few bucks but it was enough to get $300 more out of me, and I'm glad I did... the backlit keyboard really comes in handy, I use mine in the dark often. I do wish it would dim more, its a little distracting when watching videos in bed. And in an ideal world, it wouldn't bleed light out around the keys, only through the labels, but whatever... it's a great feature. The tiny hard drive upgrade and 20% CPU speed increase are nice as well but I wouldn't have paid for those.
Rob
Rob
My girlfriend has the unibody Macbook with the backlit keyboard, and I personally love it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it unless money was a serious issue. Even though the specs aren't much higher on the higher end MB, I like that model. I wish Apple put 4GB of RAM in that model. I think that would make a lot more sense for the price increase.
If you buy from the education store, the discount is bigger on the 2.4GHz Macbook anyway.
I agree. 4GB would have been nice.
Yeah I love it on mine, def a big selling point for me, not like I wouldn't have gotten it, if it didn't have the backlit keyboard, but def a really nice feature to have.
My one regret when I got my old G4 PowerBook was forgetting to select the backlit keyboard as an option.
On my new unibody MBP, it's standard and it's awesome. Particularly given the black keys, I think it's essential.
On my new unibody MBP, it's standard and it's awesome. Particularly given the black keys, I think it's essential.
It's nice being able to sit in bed, and not have to bother to turn on the lights, because oh, I can just turn my keyboard lighting on. It's better to have it and rarely use it than not, and really need it. Plus the CPU difference is a nice little bump up too.
I find it completely worth it. After using the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro's backlit keyboards, I personally can't go back to the non backlit. I dunno why, I guess its a personal preference but its something I slightly could not live without.
absolutely worth it, for some reason I like it the most on the MBA but I just go the 2.4 and it's dang good. If you're thinking macbook get the 2.4.
I'll add my two cents and say that it wasn't worth it to me. I like the lighted keys on my mbp, but I tend not to look at the keys much when I type. I'm able to type on my non-lit mb keyboard just fine in the dark. There's certainly nothing wrong with a backlit keyboard, but I was purposely shooting for a low-end compliment to my high-end mbp. Couple that with the .4GHz that I won't miss (heavy development usage, lots of programs, none tax the cpu a ton save video encoding) and that was pretty much all that I had to decide on at the time of purchase (RAM and hd can be changed later).
Yeah, I think I'll go with the backlit keyboard then. Thanks!
The only other problem I'm having is the choice between the 13.3 MacBook or the 15 inch MacBook Pro. I actually might be the only person in America that doesn't and hasn't ever owned a computer. I run the iPhone as my main computer and use my local Library's free one's to update it and do anything larger. Ohio has an excellent Library system!
I'm torn since I like the small footprint of the 13. It might be a boon to be able to have such a small, full featured, machine that's very portable and light. The tradeoff is everywhere I read complains that the screen is terrible.
The Air is out. I dearly love the design but without the optical drive I can't justify the price.
I also recognize that the 15 Pro has more features and a larger screen but the trade off is size, portability and weight. In my mind? When you start talking a 15/17 inch screen? Why not just drop the laptop and spring for an iMac.
Any advice?
Just got to the store and play with both of them... For me it's just like you said, i wanted something small and portable and the MB is PERFECT, I didn't even consider the MBP. YOU have to decide for yourself if the screen is an issue, as there are many users who have no problem with it.
I've owned 2 air's, I have a MacBook Pro, a BlackBook and now the Alu MacBook and I can tell you first hand that the MacBook screen is not bad at all. It blows the BlackBook's screen out of the water, it obviously can't mess with the MacBook Air because that thing is seriously perfect. The MBP classic has a really good screen but you obviously pay for it. The new MBP has a better screen than the MB but not by miles, the glass is still an issue.
If this is your first computer, you're about to have your world rocked. I got the 2.4GHZ Alu MacBook brand new for $1250 yesterday, but I was ready to pay $1600, It's seriously a lot of computer, and for the size it really is like a mini MBP. It's worth every penny.
i sold my white macbook last month and upgraded to the 2.4GHz aluminum macbook. going from non-backlit keys to backlit keys was like night and day for me. huge improvement in my opinion
My girlfriend has the unibody Macbook with the backlit keyboard, and I personally love it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it unless money was a serious issue. Even though the specs aren't much higher on the higher end MB, I like that model. I wish Apple put 4GB of RAM in that model. I think that would make a lot more sense for the price increase.
If you buy from the education store, the discount is bigger on the 2.4GHz Macbook anyway.
LOL, Apple's customers would buy even it had 512MB ram. Apple has always been on the cheap side when it comes to giving a decent amount of ram in their computers yet their sales have never been higher when they've been the stingiest.
I agree the backlit keyboard is a must, I have it on my MBA and those function keys and punctuations become difficult to find in lower light situations.