I picked up the new 15" with TFT (non-glossy) display yesterday morning. I too was excited about the LED displays as well as Santa Rosa, etc. Stepping up from a PBG4, it was time. FWIW, even the folks in the store were unaware that the new units (not yet on display but in stock) had LED displays. Here are just my observations.
I admit that I went with the 15" over the 17" because of the LEDs (both 160G HD) and a concern for use while flying (coach). My current 15" works but I thought the 17" would not be able to be open when the seat in front reclines. I fly enough for this to be a concern. To my surprise my current 15" is taller than the new 15" by about an inch. The new 15" is wider. At the store, the 17" stands about an inch taller than the new 15". So all in all, the difference between the new 17" and my old 15" height-wise is near nill (error 1).
But my real issue with the new 15" (AND I KNOW IT COULD BE JUST WITH THIS ONE UNIT) is that the LEDs may not be even in brightness. Particularly, I notice uneven illumination along the bottom almost like subtle shadows that form along the bottom of a near flat curtain. It is subtle but when compared to my older mac is noticeable. I have pointed this out to several colleagues and they then notice the effect as well. I also think that this issue exists in the upper right-hand corner of the screen but this is more difficult to pinpoint. My firm uses LEDs in the manufacture of our electronics and we know that LEDs vary in uniformity. This might be what I am experiencing. Again, it could be one rouge display that isn't perfect.
I also noticed something else when I accidentally shook my desk. While my existing Mac holds the image brightness constant, the new display shakes with the movement of the vibration. To be clear, the brightness (maybe contrast vibrates) while my older Mac holds steady. This would bother me on a flight during even minimal turbulence.
Finally, unrelated to illumination, the left side of the computer upon which you rest the palm of your left hand gets quite warm. I can't say how long it took to warm up (say at least a few hours) but I for one found it uncomfortable.
As for the rest of the machine, there is a great deal to love and the firewire between two macs setup was as painless as you could hope for. I strongly suggest not using this feature for transferring programs (that works less than ideally and the feature is selectable). Other than that, I admit that the rest of the time spent with the machine was deleting all of my transfered files and data as I will be exchanging the unit for the 17". Frankly, I don't know if the LED thing is just on this unit or potentially on other units. Secondly, the warming up issue I doubt is specific to just this one machine. And lastly, the 17" most likely dissipates heat better (larger surface area) while opening as tall as my current 15" so that issue in reality doesn't exist.
One last note, while I expected the battery size to increase (as compared to an old Titanium PB G4), I was surprised at how large the transformer has become. Both the spare battery and transformer will now take the space in my laptop rolling bag that was occupied by my 80G external hard-drive. Space I was hoping to save. Oh well.
In closing, I reference these remarks as only my experience with just one sample. I would like to hear the impressions of others (once you get over the "I Love It - It's New" factor...took me a while to become critical).
