Apple MacBook

[Quillz]

Earlier today, I received my third Apple MacBook. This is my third MacBook because, frankly, I just love them. I bought my first one in July of last year, and then passed it on to my sister who really wanted a Mac notebook. I then received my second MacBook in November of last year, the high-end "BlackBook." Again, I loved the machine, but then got frustrated with Mac OS X Leopard, causing me to ultimately sell the MacBook and instead pick up a Dell XPS M1330, which I reviewed about a month ago. However, as good as the Dell was, I ended up returning to Apple hardware for a myriad of reasons. Sure enough, on October 14, Apple finally released the MacBook that myself and many others were waiting for. I sold the Dell XPS M1330 and immediately placed an order for the high-end MacBook, which starts at $1,599. So, let's get on with the review, shall we?

Build Quality - Updated 10/22/08

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, the all-new MacBook (and MacBook Air and Pro) is made entirely of an anodized aluminum unibody. What does this mean for the average consumer? It means it's extremely durable, strong and scratch resistant. All of the cosmetic issues that plagued the polycarbonate MacBook models are no more. With the new MacBook, you can pick it up anywhere, squeeze it and absolutely nothing will happen. No flex, no imprint on the display, nothing. The unibody construction truly is a new way of building notebooks.

Now, the MacBook is certainly not the first notebook to be built of anodized aluminum, although it's the first Apple consumer notebook. In fact, my previous notebook, the Dell XPS M1330, also had an anodized aluminum enclosure. But the difference between the two is that the XPS model only used aluminum for the palm rests. The rest of the chassis was a somewhat odd mix of matte polycarbonate and magnesium alloy. While it is certainly feels far more rigid than your average consumer notebook, it still feels "creaky" compared to the new MacBook. I really cannot explain just how great the build quality is on the MacBook. You really need to go to an Apple Store and use the notebook for yourself. It really is just built that well.

With aluminum, however, comes its own set of problems, such as pitting. While this has not happened to my MacBook, and likely will not occur at all, do remember that in fact, the sturdiness of aluminum is also its weakness. Whereas the polycarbonate MacBook would scratch, an aluminum MacBook in theory can be dented, and the metal overtime can weaken and begin to pit. This was uncommon, but not unheard of, on the old PowerBook and MacBook Pro models. So do remember that while aluminum is a far better material than polycarbonate, it is still not perfect, although nothing ever will be.

Size & Weight

I noted in my earlier Dell XPS M1330 review that one of the reasons I bought it was because it was a full pound lighter than the old MacBook. Well, guess what? Things have changed. The XPS is now only a half pound lighter than the MacBook, a significant difference from before in the world of notebooks. The old MacBook models all weighed in around 5 lbs. Now, they are only 4.5 lbs. It doesn't seem like much on paper, but believe me, you will feel the difference. As a student who carries their notebook around campus all day, the less weight, the better. Another important aspect of notebooks is weight distribution. And the MacBook again succeeds. One of the problems with my first notebook, the Dell Inspiron E1405, was that the top chassis shell containing the display actually weighed quite a bit as it was surrounded by a huge plastic bezel. With the display propped up on such a heavy bezel, there was quite a bit of tolerance on the bezel, allowing the display to be easily imprinted and scratched. But with the MacBook, all the weight is in the unibody. The top chassis shell containing the glass bezel and the display weigh only a few ounces. This means that there is little stress on the display itself, preventing weird artifacts and other display issues. So, while the MacBook is heavier than my old Dell, it's still lighter than most other 13.3'' consumer notebooks on the market. All in all, 4.5 lbs. is more or less an ideal weight for a product of this size and design. If you really need something lighter, consider investing in a MacBook Air or a sub-notebook.

Display - Updated 10/22/08

The display on the MacBook is easily the most controversial part of the new design. It's a glossy display like before, but it's now surrounded by a glass bezel, very much like the new iMac models introduced in August 2007. This makes the display much glossier than before. Some "pros" don't like the change, but what you get out of this are brighter colors that are richer and sharper than on more traditional matte displays. I can understand why some would be upset about the change, but honestly, it's really not that big of a deal. The fact is, yes, the display is a mirror when the computer is turned off. But, when it's on, the display is also so bright that you won't even remember it's a glossy display. That is to say, it's so bright that there's no reflection, even when working outside. Apple is catering to the consumers, and consumers have been consistent in their wanting of glossy displays for the past few years. It's the same reason that Dell, HP, Sony, etc. also offer glossy displays. They are here to stay, like it or not.

As before, it continues to be a 13.3'' display with a 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio of 1280?800. This is the same size and resolution that exists on nearly all 13-14'' notebooks, including my old Dell XPS M1330. I personally would have preferred 1440?900, but in everyday usage, the former is likely better for readability on a 13.3'' display.

New to the MacBook line (but not to notebooks in general) is LED backlighting. According to Apple, this allows for the display to turn on instantly, produce much improved brightness and use far less battery power. From my usage so far, I really don't find the LED display to appear any quicker than it did on the old MacBook. I wouldn't doubt that it is in fact instant-on, but the point here is that the differences between LED and TFT are so minor that it's barely noticeable. This is more of a marketing pitch than anything else. The brightness, however, is improved. The factory default settings on the new MacBook have the brightness set to the second lowest level, and yet already, it's nearly as bright as the old MacBook was. I cranked it all the way up and it was stunningly bright, until my eyes got used to it. The main reason for the brightness is to counter the reflection caused by the new glossy display. As I stated earlier, the glossy display is really almost a non-issue, unless you always keep the MacBook set to the lowest level of brightness.

After using the MacBook for a couple of days now, there are a few (minor) downsides to the glossy glass. First off, every time you open your MacBook, you will likely smudge the black bezel surrounding the iSight camera. No big deal, just wipe it clean, but it's very annoying to know that the iSight, a major selling point of an Apple notebook, is easily smudged, which might affect photo quality. (I doubt this, but you never know for sure...) Another, more pressing, issue is dust. Like all displays, the glossy glass display will acquire dust. But, unfortunately, the new MacBook seems to collect it faster than the older models. I believe due to the glass display surrounded by aluminum, the whole chassis is slightly more magnetic than before. This, as you might imagine, just attracts dust like there's no tomorrow. Using a very large iKlear micro-fiber cloth, I am able to get the display nice and clean in a few seconds, but then, another few seconds later, dust re-settles onto the display. With the brightness on, you can't even see it, but just remember that dust is going to be an endless issue. I recommend cleaning the display every once in a while and then forgetting about it. It's too minor to bother.Graphicsb>

Another big complaint of the old MacBook of yesteryear was its integrated graphics. Now, truth be told, the Intel GMA series was not particularly awful. I mean, it ran things such as Windows Aero just fine, and it could even play some older games decently. But of course, it wasn't exactly the same as a dedicated GPU, either. With the new MacBook, we still have integrated graphics, but it's more of a weird hybrid between integrated and dedicated.

Instead of the Intel GMA, the MacBook now contains an NVIDIA 9400M. While still an integrated graphics card, the difference is that it also has its own chipset. There's lot of technical jargon and all sorts of numbers floating around that mean little to end users. Here's the important thing: the 9400M is better than any Intel GMA. It is able to use up to double the memory (up to 256 MB) than the Intel GMA. By being able to use more of the system memory, this means that all graphics intensive processes will be speedier than before. Again, in actuality, there isn't a huge difference, but it's noticeable. Again, the MacBook isn't and never will be a media powerhouse, but this new graphics card is just one of the ways that the new MacBook is better and faster than the old one.Battery Lifeb> Updated 10/22/08i>

There's not a whole lot to be said about battery life in the new MacBook when compared to the old one. It's more or less the same, between 4.5-5 hours. Mac OS X is a great power-managing operating system, because if you switch to the "Better Battery Life" energy plan, you really will achieve five hour battery life. But like most notebook owners, I usually just keep my charger with me all the time, meaning that battery life is usually a moot point. My MacBook is usually plugged into a wall charger, especially in classrooms while note taking.

The only major changes to the battery in of itself is how it's access. With the old MacBook, you needed a coin so that you could turn a dial. This was guaranteed to scratch up the bottom casing of the old MacBook. The new MacBook has a much better solution: a simple lever that you push up on. This releases a door on the bottom half of the unibody, providing simple access to the battery and hard drive. No coin required.

It would appear that the new MacBook no longer offers various power schemes, as did the old MacBooks. At least, I've yet to find where they are. Before, you had the choice of "Better Battery Life," "Better Performance" or a custom plan. It seems now that the MacBook simply uses "Battery Power" and "Power Adapter." However, Apple also seems to have merged the older power schemes into these new ones, as "Battery Power," for example, continues to let you adjust settings such as brightness, when the display shuts off, etc. Personally, I preferred the old way, as with the new way, it's not configured by default to use the maximum battery power. I know this because the old MacBook could easily get 4.5-5 hours. With the new MacBook, at a full 100% charge, the battery life is now only rated at just over 4.3 hours or so. Now, unless the new MacBook does in fact have a lower capacity battery, then it means the new power scheme is flawed when it comes to battery management.Trackpadb> Updated 10/21/08i>

The trackpad received a total revamp on the new MacBook. It's considerably larger than before, and the main reason for this is because Apple removed the separate button that used to be below the tracking surface. Instead, the trackpad itself now function as a buttonContrary to what is being said elsewhere, the entire trackpad does not click down in a uniform fashion like a huge button. Instead, it's like an Apple mouse, in that one half (in this case, the bottom half) simply levers down to function as a click.i> It's a bit weird at first, but you'll get used to it, to the point that you'll likely prefer having more tracking surface.

The trackpad itself is now made out of glass instead of plastic. I'm hoping this means that the trackpad won't be stained by finger oils after a few months of use. I guess time will tell. Really, nothing to get excited about. A glass trackpad looks and feels just like anything else out there.

The MacBook's trackpad now supports all the multi-touch gestures introduced on the MacBook Air, as well as a few more. All of the gestures are accomplished by using two, three or four fingers. The two finger gestures include secondary clicking and scrolling. You can also do things like pinch and zoom images and text. The gestures are nice as you can scroll, for example, from anywhere; there are no dedicated scroll boxes required. Three finger gestures let you do things like move back and forward in your web browser, skip back and forth in picture slideshows, etc. You can use four finger gestures to activate Expos?. Move the fingers up to show all application windows, or move them down to show the Desktop. Moving four fingers left and right on the trackpad will activate the application switcher, although it's much faster and easier just to use the traditional Command+Tab keystrokeKeyboard & System Functions/b>

The MacBook keyboard has the same look and feel as its always had. It's the "chiclet" style that most people seem to have taken a liking too. However, the color has been changed from white to black. And new to the high-end MacBook is the backlit keyboard, first introduced over five years ago on the PowerBook G4. Like the PowerBook and MacBook Pro, the MacBook uses ambient light sensors to automatically adjust the keyboard backlighting. This is a nice feature, but nothing essential. It's more cool than anything else.

The function keys continue to serve multiple purposes. From left to right: adjust brightness; activate Spaces; toggle Dashboard; adjust keyboard backlighting; rewind/pause, play/fast forward; mute; volume down; volume up; eject disc. This layout is very similar to the late 2007 MacBook update, and it continues to work just fine.Heat Dissipation & Noise Management/b>

As with all Apple notebooks, great attention has been paid to style and heat management. It runs cool and quiet, and there's not much more I could have asked for here. There is a large vent just below the display and is very effective at cooling the system. The fans are controlled by the OS and, except under the most stressful situations, rarely spin fast enough to be heard. Really, the MacBook is very quiet. Typing on the keyboard is probably the loudest noise that will ever come out of it..Conclusion/b>

According to Apple, the MacBook is their best selling computer line of all time. I can certainly see why that is. It is very stylish, well built and is heralded for its clean and consistent design. The new MacBook continues to build upon all three. Despite being built entirely of anodized aluminum, it does not have that industrial look to it. It continues to incorporate very minimalist, clean designs. All of its ports are on the left side, leaving only the SuperDrive on the right side. The unibody construction makes the build quality better than ever. No more skin-deep scratching and flexing. This machine is clearly built to last, and will continue to look new even after months of use. As always, it runs Mac OS X, a really nice operating system that is as simple and clean in design as the hardware it runs on.

While Apple has a horrible corporate attitude of smugness and arrogance, I think most would agree that they are capable of building and designing some of the best hardware in the industry. Starting at $1,299, the MacBook is certainly not the cheapest notebook around, but I really do feel you get what you pay for, and the MacBook is quite simply the best notebook I've ever owned, bar none.

Pros

• Anodized aluminum unibody for improved durability
  
• DDR3 memory for faster caching and system performance
  
• NVIDIA 9400M benefits nearly all graphic intensive applications
  

Cons

• Lack of FireWire; most won't care at all, but some with external hard drives and camcorders will mind a great deal
  
• More expensive than prior models; base price used to be $1,099, is now $1,299
  
• Only two USB 2.0 ports; with the removal of FireWire, why wasn't a third USB port added?
  

Edited October 22, 2008 by Quillz

[redeemed]

Another excellent review, Quillz!

How would you rate it out of 10 and (although that's probably besides the point) what would be the */10 rating for the old MacBook compared to this?

Edited October 21, 2008 by redeemed

[Quillz]

Well, when it gets right down to it, the main difference between the old MacBook and the new one is the build quality. I'd give the old MacBook a 7/10... Was durable, but also had the tendency to look terrible after just a few months of use. I'd give the new MacBook an easy 9/10... Not perfect, nothing ever is, but this is about as good as a notebook could be built with all the current technology we have.

[+John. Subscriber¹]

Great review! I'll be sure to take this into account when it arrives next week :D

[MightyJordan]

Great review, but I'm shocked at the price! $1,600 for the high-end MacBook?! And they have the cheek to charge us ?900 ($1,800) over here for the bottom of the line MacBook!?:angry::

[Quillz]

Great review, but I'm shocked at the price! $1,600 for the high-end MacBook?! And they have the cheek to charge us ?900 ($1,800) over here for the bottom of the line MacBook!?:angry::

I agree, it was a terrible move on Apple's part. Had they managed to keep the price at $1,099, that's it, it'd likely have sold even more units than before. But with both the price hike and lack of FireWire, I honestly think now that they may sell less than expected.

[PL_ Veteran]

Great review, but I'm shocked at the price! $1,600 for the high-end MacBook?! And they have the cheek to charge us ?900 ($1,800) over here for the bottom of the line MacBook!?:angry::

That's why they still sell the white MacBook at the original base price.

Great review, I enjoyed reading it and I'll look out for any more reviews you do(Y))

[Quillz]

That's why they still sell the white MacBook at the original base price.

Great review, I enjoyed reading it and I'll look out for any more reviews you do (Y)

Here in the USA, the base price was dropped to $999. What is the base price in the UK?

[furby]

Really good review Quillz.

The white macbook is ?719 about $1230 (no idea what it was before)

[redeemed]

Well, when it gets right down to it, the main difference between the old MacBook and the new one is the build quality. I'd give the old MacBook a 7/10... Was durable, but also had the tendency to look terrible after just a few months of use. I'd give the new MacBook an easy 9/10... Not perfect, nothing ever is, but this is about as good as a notebook could be built with all the current technology we have.

It's the difference between plastic and aluminum, eh?

The (new) MB is basically a (new) MBP with a bigger screen and faster CPU/GPU. (more or less)

[what]

Really good review Quillz.

The white macbook is ?719 about $1230 (no idea what it was before)

'Twas ?699 before. So Americans pay $100 less, we pay ?20 more. Oh the joys of living in a country where people don't care that they're being ripped off...

[Jordan Green]

Great review indeed! Its a shame I can't jump on the bandwagon and buy one now...skint :(

Yea lots of people have beef about how apple do the conversion with different countries... ahhh welll.

[Quillz]

It's the difference between plastic and aluminum, eh?

The (new) MB is basically a (new) MBP with a bigger screen and faster CPU/GPU. (more or less)

I think so, yes. The improved graphics card, DDR3 memory, etc. are all evolutionary changes that could have been added to the old MacBook. So therefore, yes, I'd consider the build quality and design to be the only real significant change. Everything else is just evolution, not revolution.

[PatriotsM16]

I have an iMac already but I am getting this for christmas. The 13inch I think.

Thanks for the review.

[Gareth]

Review was really nice Quillz, I really enjoyed reading it!

I'm considering upgrading from my old white MacBook, which has taken some hammering. The section on improved build quality was perfect for me.

I think that the new aluminium design is selling it for me. the one thing that lets down my white MB is the crapp plastic feel.

Thanks again for the review, much appreciated!

Gareth

[well...]

Nice review, cant wait for mine to arrive on monday!! Refreshing the tracking page like crazy XD