Apple Macbook Review

By Author: Asli Mana
Total Articles: 72
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Some Apple customers really hoped for MacBook to be an entry level notebook, but Apple didn't think the same way, nor the long-rumored touch-screen device or neither with a touch-screen display when compared to MacBook Pro it is more reasonably priced by many people, that's why people sticks with them, because of an upgraded makeover Apple sells the MacBook just as it was in the past, keeping the price stable.

Billed as a replacement to both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook, The new 13.3 inched MacBook provides a good balance between design and size. The good thing is you can get various cool attributes that MacBook Pro has, for a less price, like digital inputs - outputs, groovy MagSafe power AC, Core Duo processors. Its performance doesn't match that of the MacBook Pro, which is outfitted with discrete graphics and more memory, but the MacBook's combination of design, features, and software significantly narrows the value gap between Apple laptops and the PC competition.

Apple uses Unibody word to describe the MacBooks design, as the lower panel is separate, as are the multiple parts that make up the lid ...
... and screen. This MacBook is completely silent in terms of creaks or noise. The flexy and fragile feeling plastic hinge on this MacBook is no match for the Aluminum model's hinge. All MacBooks use a magnetich latch to keep lid blocked instead of a LCD latch mechanism. This model has the white plastic polycarbonate we have known and loved through the years. Like its predecessors (I can say I owned three versions) they are very durable. Where panels connect there are small gaps and also the battery sticks out a little bit. Controlling tolerances with plastic construction is harder than when using metal. Apple choosed building MacBook laptops not from metal, from a single chunk of polycarbonante, the though stuff we all have been using for a long time; from CDs to bulletproof windows, from Nalgene bottle to MacBooks now. From the sculpted edges to the very center, which can typically feel a little soggy on cheap laptops, the MacBook feels, well, bulletproof. The same solidification that happened on the MacBook Pro carries right over to plastic version, and we love it just the same.

The 13.3-inch display, at 1,280x800, is now LED backlit (it is a standard attribute of Apple products recently), LED backlit displays are known for their low energy consumption rates and quality.

Still, they are not the same as more expensive Pro models, you need to pay more money to get a better display. Other points of differentiation include the lack of an SD card slot and a backlit keyboard and one forward-looking change we'd like to see is a move to 16:9 displays, which are quickly becoming an industry standard. The MacBook's 13.3-inch wide-aspect display is just about the perfect size: it's large enough for watching movies or working with two windows open side by side, yet small enough to keep open on an airplane tray table or your lap.

It's also incredibly bright (an above average 230cd/m² on our Minolta luminance meter), also the 1.280x800 display resolution provide the perfect screen detail for this size of display. In a first for an Apple laptop, the MacBook offers a glossy screen for starker contrast and more intense color, keep in mind to be careful of bright places, gloosy coating causes glare.

We're not typically fans of Chiclet-style keyboards, which always seem to lack the satisfying click of traditional models, but Apple's is one of the best in the business.

FireWire fans should note that the port has finally left the building. This would be a good chance to place an SD card slot just like on MacBook Pro, but they didn't.

Generally performance is good, but there are speedier notebooks on the market from brands like HP, Acer and Dell at about the same price. None of them have what are the MacBook's best features; OS X and iLife.

The Apple MacBook ran for 5 hours and 42 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is about 30 minutes longer than the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and nearly an hour longer than the previous white MacBook. Toshiba's Satellite T135-S1310, however, showed the advantage of using an Intel ULV processor, going for an additional 30 minutes to pass 6 hours of total running time.

Asli Mana is the writer of this laptop article. Too see her work about Acer laptop models see her Acer laptop website.