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My first Mac - iMac or Macbook?

B

bighand

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2009
7
0
Hi,

I guess this question has been made times and times again, but the truth is I cannot decide wich one to buy. A macbook is more than enough for the stuff i do on my notebook nowadays (internet, music, photo, webdesing and text). But every time I loot at the iMac, I get conquered by its fantastic design and video quality.

I would buy a macbook for the mobility, only to move around the house or cafes and parks. On the other hand, I can picture myself listening to music, watching movies and doing a lot of things at the same time at the huge iMac screen.

It's really hard for me to decide. It's my first one, so which one will get me totally satisfied?

thanks!

PS: I have been a notebook user for years, but actually I don't take it outside that often.
 
You may have already answered your question, in the last sentence. Although, it's nice to carry a notebook with you from room-to-room.

I'm in the same boat and I too am thinking of jumping from this sinking barge called Windows. I'll keep an eye out for this post. Hopefully you wan't get to many "Search Nazis" on this...:rolleyes:
 
bighand said:
Hi,

I guess this question has been made times and times again, but the truth is I cannot decide wich one to buy. A macbook is more than enough for the stuff i do on my notebook nowadays (internet, music, photo, webdesing and text). But every time I loot at the iMac, I get conquered by its fantastic design and video quality.

I would buy a macbook for the mobility, only to move around the house or cafes and parks. On the other hand, I can picture myself listening to music, watching movies and doing a lot of things at the same time at the huge iMac screen.

It's really hard for me to decide. It's my first one, so which one will get me totally satisfied?

thanks!

PS: I have been a notebook user for years, but actually I don't take it outside that often.
Click to expand...

Don't you have a TV for watching movies? With regard to listening to music, don't know what the speakers are like on an iMac or Macbook but the ones on my macbook pro are a bit crap, best off just getting an airtunes plug for your hifi.

It all depends what you wanna do with it but for the record I never use my desktop anymore since I bought my macbook.
 
Vantage Point said:
Get the macbook and add more ram to total 4GB. Then go out and get a 21 or 22" monitor and you will have the best of both worlds
Click to expand...

DEFINITELY. Get the white macbook with 4gb, you'll have plenty of dough left to get a beautiful display with built in speakers and an hdmi input so you can even hook up cable tv or a video game console when you're home.
 
I noticed that the difference between the MacBook and the MacBook Pro is enough to spend the extra $200...or is it? I know absolutely nothing about Macs.

^ Can the iPad perform the same tasks as a MacBook?
 
elpmas said:
iMac, if not get a macbook pro. I think the macbook isn't worth it...just mop
Click to expand...

Macbooks are $800 at microcenter right now, a great deal for one.

the 13" MBP and Macbook are *identical* in speed on everything.

Go with the MB and a larger screen like has already been suggested... best of both worlds.
 
To be fair, I have a 2.53ghz 4gb ram mbp 13" and it doesn't have anything in common with a standard macbook, not to say the macbook isn't good, but dont say the 13" mbp is no better. As someone with both desktops and laptops I find the 13" mbp a better option than the larger ones, the whole point of a laptop is to be portable.
 
Thanks for all the answers so far. I still accept suggestions, mainly of those who have had the same doubt and made the decision. I want to know if they regret or not.

I am still in doubt, but i see that most of you are for the macbook or the mbp. That will count on my decision.

Actually i don't see much difference now between the mb and the mbp, regardless of the cover, sd card and the firewire entry. Am i right?

Thanks a lot. :)

Claudio
 
bighand said:
Thanks for all the answers so far. I still accept suggestions, mainly of those who have had the same doubt and made the decision. I want to know if they regret or not.

I am still in doubt, but i see that most of you are for the macbook or the mbp. That will count on my decision.

Actually i don't see much difference now between the mb and the mbp, regardless of the cover, sd card and the firewire entry. Am i right?

Thanks a lot. :)

Claudio
Click to expand...

Thanks guys! Looks like I'm going with a MacBook with a memory upgrade. I plan on getting it from the Mac Outlet Center. Thanks!!
 
bighand said:
Actually i don't see much difference now between the mb and the mbp, regardless of the cover, sd card and the firewire entry. Am i right?
Click to expand...

Comparing 13" MB with MBP base model, the battery, LED LCD, processor, and memory are identical. The MBP offers a backlit keyboard and a firewire port. The MB offers a 50% larger hard drive (250 vs 160). If I had to chose, it would be a MB - more for less
 
imac. If you don't take it outside very often, the portability isn't going to really be an issue. Just set up a nice, cozy area where you can put your imac, maybe something that will inspire you to do work, or whatever you like really, and you won't really want to move it around.
 
In August of last year, I bought my first Mac which was a Macbook Pro 17" (late 2009). Since then I've had no problems whatsoever!
 
Thanks again for everyone who helped me.

I finally decided for the macbook with 4GB and 500 gb of HD. It shall arrive at my hands by the end of next week.

Looking forward for it!
 
Awesome! You'll love it.

For a number of years I had a 12" PowerBook G4 on my desk, with a nice LCD monitor attached to it (it started off as a 17", then it became a 20" widescreen). The PowerBook mostly didn't go anywhere but it was sure handy to be able to pick it up and go on the odd time I was going away.

When the PowerBook hard drive died, I actually bought an iMac for a while and enjoyed it for about 6 months, then decided that I really missed having a laptop, so I sold the iMac and bought a 15" MacBook Pro.

I think if I was doing it again today I would buy the 13" MacBook Pro for its mobility, then attach it to a nice 24" widescreen monitor from Dell or some such.
 
I know you've already made your decision, but for others who haven't yet, I recently picked up a 21.5" iMac after being in a similiar situation -just the standard one and I love it. Doesn't take up any space and works great. I will be getting an iPad for the mobility around the house (WiFi only).
 
Flynnstone said:
1st you have to answer the question : mobility or not.

If you need mobility, that rules out the iMac.

If you don't need mobility, then ...
Click to expand...

I agree completely; ask yourself how much you need, or want, mobility, even the limited definition of mobility that views mobility as being able to move a computer from room to room, rather than from campus to home, or city to city. For me, this is a key consideration. The MB is an excellent computer and you'll enjoy it. However, if mobility is not vital, then choose the stunning screen of the iMac.

Cheers
 
Argh, you guys are making it harder for me to buy a mac desktop at home, haha :). I'm on quite a budget and was thinking about getting a mac mini since it's the cheapest mac to get for building iPhone/iPad apps. I wasn't sure if 2gb of ram is enough for development. Then there's the possibility of me traveling to clients. Would carrying a small mac mini be good enough? Or will I need a laptop for it? Decisions...
 
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