Screen quality from best to worst, 2010 models:
1. 13" MacBook Air
2. 15" MacBook Pro High-Res/17" MacBook Pro
3. 11.6" MacBook Air
4. 15" MacBook Pro (1440x900)
5. 13" MacBook Pro
6. white MacBook
1-4 are all amazing. 5 is satisfactory. 6 is pretty bad.
I do not agree with this at all.
RELATIVE to the rest of the notebook industry, ALL Apple screens from 2010 onward are in the top 1%. The white macbook which is ranked last here actually had as good if not better specs than the macbook air's (2nd generation). Actually it may be the same screen.
The 11.6" mba's screen is actually the "worst". But that's not saying much, b/c it's like being the dumbest kid at Stanford. Still a pretty smart kid relative to everyone else.
I like the high-gamut screens, so I'd knock down the macbook air's screens now since they are not high-gamut.
The only notebook screen in mass production that can compare currently are the high-end Sonys, but only in their highest end ($2000) models. There are a few 15.6" dell xps high-res models and lenovo models that have a good screen...but my point is that you can now buy any Apple laptop and know that you're getting a screen that is in the top 1%. In case anyone cares, Lenovo uses the worst screens of any manufacturer (I give them the nod b/c their thinkpads use worse screens than many netbooks, yet they still charge exorbitantly high prices). Use a bad screen, fine. But make the price commensurate. You incur my wrath when you dare pass of a premium notebook with a bottom-of-the-barrel screen.
All in all, for a discriminating buyer who values: screen, ergonomics, and battery life, and is willing to pay a bit more for it, I don't see how anyone could conclude anything other than Apple's laptops as the right choice. When you throw in weight, thinness, and aesthetics, the gap widens considerably.
I think that it's more true that once you get used to a mac, going back to a different laptop is harder. As long as you don't taste what you're missing, you're fine.
