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Macbook Released
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Generally good, but several dissapointing points.
1. Glossy display. I was fine with the MBP mattes.
2. ****** battery life. 2.5 hours on DVD playback and just 3.5 with WiFi on. With a 9-cell, you could be getting 5-7 hours of DVD on a Dell 640m or 8ish hours with WiFi on.
3. Overcharged in the UK. At current currencies (no pun intended), with VAT added, the American Dollar to British Pound comes out at less than £700. Why pay the extra £50?
4. Bezel around the screen is too thick.
5. Would have preferred 12.1" and 14.1" versions with 1440x900 on the 14.1".
6. Would have preferred a 1.66 duo for less money in the cheapest version.
7. Would have preferred a 1366x768 pixel screen (16:9) with them.
8. Premium on black. Too damn Microsoftish.
Looks like I'll be buying my Dell Inspiron 640m...
1. Glossy display. I was fine with the MBP mattes.
2. ****** battery life. 2.5 hours on DVD playback and just 3.5 with WiFi on. With a 9-cell, you could be getting 5-7 hours of DVD on a Dell 640m or 8ish hours with WiFi on.
3. Overcharged in the UK. At current currencies (no pun intended), with VAT added, the American Dollar to British Pound comes out at less than £700. Why pay the extra £50?
4. Bezel around the screen is too thick.
5. Would have preferred 12.1" and 14.1" versions with 1440x900 on the 14.1".
6. Would have preferred a 1.66 duo for less money in the cheapest version.
7. Would have preferred a 1366x768 pixel screen (16:9) with them.
8. Premium on black. Too damn Microsoftish.
Looks like I'll be buying my Dell Inspiron 640m...
Ok, as for the glossy screen, i have a dell 700m with a 13 inch with the glossy screen and here are a few of my observations over the last year and a half that i've owned it:
#1 - The screen is amazingly gorgeous... when not in direct sunlight.
#2 - In sunlight the laptop is not viewable at CERTAIN angles, yes it's a pain, but some argue it's worth it.
#3 - This is NOT easier to clean than a matte screen, I use a microfibre cleaning cloth, and even THAT leaves small noticeable streaks no mater what cleaning solution i use, or dont use.
Conclusions: If you will use this mostly in an office, or in a home away from the glare of a window, it's absolutely amazing. But if you use it outside a lot, or in an office with a ton of windows.... you might want to go more for a Matte screen.
#1 - The screen is amazingly gorgeous... when not in direct sunlight.
#2 - In sunlight the laptop is not viewable at CERTAIN angles, yes it's a pain, but some argue it's worth it.
#3 - This is NOT easier to clean than a matte screen, I use a microfibre cleaning cloth, and even THAT leaves small noticeable streaks no mater what cleaning solution i use, or dont use.
Conclusions: If you will use this mostly in an office, or in a home away from the glare of a window, it's absolutely amazing. But if you use it outside a lot, or in an office with a ton of windows.... you might want to go more for a Matte screen.
I'm guessing because up until now, iMacs only came in white. People probably want that extra, extra cool factor of having both a Mac and a black Mac, too. I'm sure Apple's commissioned a focus group on it or something. I won't pay $150 more for paint (well, unless it's the previously mentioned bubblegum pink, which would get me with the Achilles Heel factor), but folks with extra cash do find ways of spending it.mark88 said:
Just got back from the Apple Store...they had one black Macbook just in...they hadn't loaded anything (photos, music, etc.) on it yet.
When I first saw it, I thought "What's a PC doing in here?", then realized it was a new MacBook! With the lid open, it looks like any PC laptop. Closed, the white Apple emblem makes it stand out. Maybe Apple should charge $200 LESS for black since it makes the MB blend in with everything else out there?
The display is definately brighter and sharper than the iBooks, but it does reflect a lot more of the lighting in the store.
The black is a matt finish, not shiny like the old iBooks or the black iPods.
KB is a bit different. The keys do not touch each other like the iBooks KB. It feels a bit nicer I suppose, but not as good as the Apple KB on my Mini.
Overall, it's a more "professional" feeling laptop -- more like a MBP than an iBook.
When I first saw it, I thought "What's a PC doing in here?", then realized it was a new MacBook! With the lid open, it looks like any PC laptop. Closed, the white Apple emblem makes it stand out. Maybe Apple should charge $200 LESS for black since it makes the MB blend in with everything else out there?
The display is definately brighter and sharper than the iBooks, but it does reflect a lot more of the lighting in the store.
The black is a matt finish, not shiny like the old iBooks or the black iPods.
KB is a bit different. The keys do not touch each other like the iBooks KB. It feels a bit nicer I suppose, but not as good as the Apple KB on my Mini.
Overall, it's a more "professional" feeling laptop -- more like a MBP than an iBook.
they're charging more for the black model because (as of right now) it will be the ONLY black computer available from apple. just like the black ipod nanos and regular ipods sold very well because it was something different!! people will (and already have) spent the extra money for ONLY the black case because it's gorgeous and different.
mr
mr
$250 Will Buy A Seagate 160GB 2.5 Inch HD
For $250 you can buy a Seagate 160 GB 2.5" SATA drive and pop it in.jaxstate said:After he upgrades the HD, he has a top model, in white, and saving 150 bucks at the same time.
FoxyKaye said:I keep forgetting about these guys, thanks for the reminder!
True that. If I'm paying $200 extra for a color, it's going to be hot pink!!!!
Judging by the in-store photos...
the black model doesn't look so hot. Kind of cheap, almost like a Dell as someone else said. For charging a $150 premium they should added a backlit keyboard and called it a SE. Otherwise it looks rather bland. The sweet spot is clearly the mid-level model. However if you don't need the superdrive then the low-end is really the best deal.
the black model doesn't look so hot. Kind of cheap, almost like a Dell as someone else said. For charging a $150 premium they should added a backlit keyboard and called it a SE. Otherwise it looks rather bland. The sweet spot is clearly the mid-level model. However if you don't need the superdrive then the low-end is really the best deal.
Black Key Characters Will Be More Visible In Low Light
Black is also more stealth. And the white characters will be far more easily seen in dim lighting.avensis087 said:
JasonD said:
My thoughts exactly! Why would you want to pay so much extra money so you can "camouflage" your Apple into a Dell or other generic looking PC? Perhaps its mainly the "switchers" who will buy the black - it will make the adjustment easier!
To my eye, it looks quite business-like and boring; not what we have come to expect from Apple at all.
However, the white looks gorgeous, at least from the pictures.
battery life is regrettable...there may be some cosmetic things about it that not everyone likes...but the rest of your complaints are silly. it's a consumer notebook, it's not going to have 1366x768 HD...it's smart of apple to make a single 13" instead of the two sizes...moreover, the 12" and 14" ibooks had the same resolution so they weren't going to produce two different resolutions anyway. "too damn microsoftish??!!" that's exactly what you'll be getting in a dell...get your dell and begone.Central2 said:
iSee said:I already said this is sweet. You might want to through the posts before you say such obvious stuff...
Ohh come on, you call that joshing? Couldn't I at least have gotten a "Master of the Obvious" award
What a change from the Motorola days. We just received a speed bump in a very short time when it comes to the MacBook Pro.
This feels like a breath of fresh air. Additionally, it appears that apple has fast laptops and will certainly have fast desktops by the end of 2006.
The MacBook is a hot machine. I wonder if there is any market for my G4 now, because I surely would love to trade up.
This Intel thing is turning out to pure honey.
This feels like a breath of fresh air. Additionally, it appears that apple has fast laptops and will certainly have fast desktops by the end of 2006.
The MacBook is a hot machine. I wonder if there is any market for my G4 now, because I surely would love to trade up.
This Intel thing is turning out to pure honey.
The MacBook's Achilles' Heal perhaps?
I need someone to verify for me, I can't get into Apple.com whatsoever right now (good sign I gather that A LOT of people are on there), but it appears that the MacBooks might need paired RAM like the PowerMacs??? I went looking for third party RAM and found a warning about how Apple recommends paired RAM for this product.
Is this true? If so, we just got pigeon holed into having either 512MB, 1GIG, or 2 GIGs of RAM in our new MacBooks. The base model with 512MB of RAM is actually two 256MB RAM Chips according to the Store when I was able to get up there earlier. I was looking to pop one of those out in favor of a single GIG stick to help out with the integrated graphics setup so I wouldn't notice a decline in power.
I need someone to verify for me, I can't get into Apple.com whatsoever right now (good sign I gather that A LOT of people are on there), but it appears that the MacBooks might need paired RAM like the PowerMacs??? I went looking for third party RAM and found a warning about how Apple recommends paired RAM for this product.
Is this true? If so, we just got pigeon holed into having either 512MB, 1GIG, or 2 GIGs of RAM in our new MacBooks. The base model with 512MB of RAM is actually two 256MB RAM Chips according to the Store when I was able to get up there earlier. I was looking to pop one of those out in favor of a single GIG stick to help out with the integrated graphics setup so I wouldn't notice a decline in power.