I'm rather shocked at the uninformed comments I'm seeing in this thread. People really need to take a closer look at this machine internally because once the back cover is off this looks like one of the most serviceable MabBooks ever. None of the major components, RAM, hard drive, or battery are hard to get to.
In fact the new 17" MBP looks elegant inside.
As for serviceability of the battery I don't see a problem here. People have complained about downtime for repairs and stuff but keys face it many would have a hard drive fail sooner than a battery. I don't think it is a valid arguement unless you can't handle a screw driver.
Exactly what part of "opening the computer can void the warranty", is that unclear to you?
As I've said. For someone assuming their OWN risk, on their OWN personally owned computer, it is their choice to risk voiding their warranty coverage, and paying for non-warranty Apple Authorized tier service (which starts at about 7-800$ a pop, but is more frequently around $1380) to get the machine re-sorted again, and resume AppleCare.
As a service provider and an institutional customer, I cannot justify that risk for hundreds of units. They ALL go in for service if there is a warrantable issue, or any question about whether it will be covered.
I have torn down several machines that were beyond warranty coverage due to damage, or warranty expiration, and I am probably as familiar with the innards of the current MBP 17" as anyone short of an Apple Repair Depot technician. But I won't work on a machine that is under warranty, because it is expensive to risk it not being covered when it otherwise should be.
I know it may be easy. It may in fact be easier than current, to take the new unibody machine apart. It would be a feat for it NOT to be easier than the current 17" machines.
But this is a matter of policy, and a matter of liability, as well as a technical issue.
I'm a little upset that Apple didn't walk away from Lithium tech. Frankly the safety of Lithium batteries in general ought to be a bigger concern for people. Maybe the bigger battery will indeed help here but then again a shorted battery would generate that much more heat.
I have been saying that on several threads for days. And a built in battery will either swell and bend and distort the casing, causing inherent damage to the computer, and likely it's internal components, or it will rupture without outward warning, and quite possibly start a fire, and could easily cause enough heat to cause burns if the laptop is actually on someone's lap.
All the whining aside I see this as the first MBP that people will likely be willing to service themselves after the warranty expires. Accessibility is that good. So good infact that I could see all sorts of mods for the machine being developed.
All in all it really looks like one of Apples best efforts to date. -Dave
After the warranty expires. THREE YEARS from now for the very earliest machines. Even if the battery warranty expires after one year, cracking the case open could still void the rest of the extended warranty.
With as much as laptop repairs cost if something does go wrong, and I see it OFTEN, I would NEVER suggest someone go without an extended warranty on a laptop computer. Desktops are a different story, and MUCH more universally standardized, and far less expensive to replace parts.
Too many laptop components are custom, and too many of them are vulnerable and expensive to just 'hope for the best' without a laptop warranty. It is bad enough that you can't buy accidental damage coverage for an Apple Laptop. Accidental damage, even a slight little slip, can result in damage that costs hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair, any time from day one. I SEE it happen. I facilitate the repairs between users and Apple.
Three years until the AppleCare expires, and allows you to go into your own computer with impunity, is a long time from now.
It may in fact BE a better computer, but if it still voids warranties, an costs money outside of warranty to replace a battery, RAM, or an all-too-common dead Hard drive, is still not a good policy.
And pointing that out, from a particularly experienced viewpoint, is not "whining." it is WARNING, from someone who KNOWS.
