Worried about 6 bit 13" MBP screen + a couple of other questions...

[stevearm]

Hi all,

In the next couple of weeks I'll be looking to buy a 13" MBP. Very excited about it, and am definitely not looking to get 15. I have heard though that the display can only run thousands of colours and that it isn't as good as the 15 or 17 inch. This has me a little worried.

Can anyone put my mind at ease... is the difference really that noticeable? I will have to go into the store to check it out myself but I was just curious what people thought? It seems like quite a big negative to getting a 13".

Also a couple of quick questions:

1. I'm new to Mac OS X, this will be my first mac. I keep hearing about lots of problems with Snow Leopard, out of curiosity, when do you think Apple will release a software update to fix the bugs? Given recent history I mean. Are we talking a couple of weeks or a couple of months from past experience?

2. With new iPods coming out on the 8th/9th... does Apple usually do a new 'Buy a mac and get a free ipod touch'? Is it a yearly thing, or should I get that offer now before it's too late? Basically I'm asking when I should buy my MBP, now or after the Apple music keynote in a week or so.

Thanks all, I'd appreciate any thoughts on the above.

Cheers

 

[kasakka]

All the Macbook Pros and pretty much every other laptop has 6-bit TN panels. Don't worry about it, the current models all have good displays and I haven't noticed that the 13" is any better or worse than the 15 and 17 inch models. No, they can't match a good 8-bit IPS or PVA panel external displays but they should be perfectly sufficient for everybody but those who require real color accuracy (people working with print media for example).

1. The first update to OSX 10.6 will most likely come in anything from a few weeks to a month, fixing mostly critical bugs first. Maybe by Christmas we'll have things like QuickTime Player X that doesn't suck.

2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't they usually done just a "back to school" offer with the Mac + iPod thing? See if that's still available after the keynote.

 

[t3heford]

at least on my mbp 13 screen the colors look fine I suppose. But no better than any other lcd I've seen. What's annoying though is a faint "mesh" pattern on moving images https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/758816/ idk if that's only mine though...

Also, if you're planning on running windows through bootcamp I strongly advise you not to get the current mbp's as the drivers for them under bootcamp are horrible.

Other than that, the free ipod touch and printer is a good deal, but the ipod touch's are about to be outdated as there are some new ipods being released on sept 9th...But apple does the back-to-school free ipod and printer sale every summer so you could always wait a year.

Since the current mbps are about halfway through their estimated product lifecycle, I advise you to get it now (with the back-to-school program) only if you really need it. If not then just wait.

 

[L0s7man]

Yup, don't worry abou the display. All laptop displays are TN panels which are, simply put, crap ;-)

It looks ok, until you put it next to say, 30" ACD display, which is a great IPS panel. Only then you notice how bad it is. But it's a similar story for MBPs.

Of course there TN panels and there are other TN panels. Some are better. But next to a decent screen all are crap.

I wonder if a day'll come that we'll see IPS in a laptop. Hmm... probably not. Next thing will be OLED...

 

[AnotherFanBoy]

at least on my mbp 13 screen the colors look fine I suppose. But no better than any other lcd I've seen. What's annoying though is a faint "mesh" pattern on moving images https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/758816/ idk if that's only mine though...

Also, if you're planning on running windows through bootcamp I strongly advise you not to get the current mbp's as the drivers for them under bootcamp are horrible.

Other than that, the free ipod touch and printer is a good deal, but the ipod touch's are about to be outdated as there are some new ipods being released on sept 9th...But apple does the back-to-school free ipod and printer sale every summer so you could always wait a year.

Since the current mbps are about halfway through their estimated product lifecycle, I advise you to get it now (with the back-to-school program) only if you really need it. If not then just wait.

then when he buys it next year, the ipod touch he gets then will be out of date because new ones will be coming out after the promo ends. its the same every year, they are clearing old stock.

as for the display, mine is fantastic so i would recommend it.

 

[stevearm]

Thanks for the re-assurance about the 13" screen, glad to hear it.

Re: Snow Leopard, I guess I was just worried because I kept seeing all these topics on the board about how it's got so many bugs/problems etc... - hope it isn't as bad as that.

Also, the MBP + free iPod offer ends on the 9th, most likely the day of the Apple keynote. My question is, should I get it now and get a free iPod, or wait until after the keynote and hope they do the same promotion with the updated iPods. Is it a yearly thing and does the promotion tend to start around September or does it only tend to pop up around this time every year?

Thanks

 

[Doju]

@screen: I had a Unibody MacBook (non-Pro) before this 13" MBP and let me tell you, THAT was a horrible screen. Even next to my 24" Apple Cinema Display this thing looks great. Perhaps it's because the other screen sucked so badly, but it's definitely nothing to be disappointed with.

@SL: Keep in mind, people come here for technical support, not to compliment things. You'll almost always hear the "vocal minority" with problems, versus the massive amount of people (myself included) who find SL, short of Quicktime X, being a joy to use.

@iPod: DEFINITELY BUY NOW. They will NOT extend the offer, they never do. You'll lose out completely. Buy it now, sell it before the event, and you'll likely be able to buy the new and better one with increased capacity for less (just don't take the promo iPod out of packaging). The main point of the giveaway is to clear away old stock to make way for the new iPods, if they cleared away new ones... well, that wouldn't be too profitable. Apple isn't doing this to be nice, it's a business move.

 

[stevearm]

@screen: I had a Unibody MacBook (non-Pro) before this 13" MBP and let me tell you, THAT was a horrible screen. Even next to my 24" Apple Cinema Display this thing looks great. Perhaps it's because the other screen sucked so badly, but it's definitely nothing to be disappointed with.

@SL: Keep in mind, people come here for technical support, not to compliment things. You'll almost always hear the "vocal minority" with problems, versus the massive amount of people (myself included) who find SL, short of Quicktime X, being a joy to use.

@iPod: DEFINITELY BUY NOW. They will NOT extend the offer, they never do. You'll lose out completely. Buy it now, sell it before the event, and you'll likely be able to buy the new and better one with increased capacity for less (just don't take the promo iPod out of packaging). The main point of the giveaway is to clear away old stock to make way for the new iPods, if they cleared away new ones... well, that wouldn't be too profitable. Apple isn't doing this to be nice, it's a business move.

Thanks Doju, really appreciate the reply. I'll BUY NOW!! A friend of mine is keen on buying the iPod off me anyway, he doesn't care about the new models with a camera or whatever.

I assumed that Apple only did this offer at the end of the iPod product line but just wanted to make sure. Will order by the end of the week once I get my friend to buy from his university!

Yeah seems like a lot of peope don't like QTX. As long as QT7 Pro is still functioning on SL I'm happy.