My take on the new MBP

Question

Hi all,
I thought I would give you guys and gals my opinion on the new MBP.
Firstly let me explain that I bought my MBP to replace my old PB G4 17" 1.67Ghz model, so as you can probably imagine it's a fairly big upgrade for me.
I have also been using Apple stuff for 20 years and have spent a small fortune on their products.
I am a web designer and a photographer, an amateur photographer I hasten to add!
The main software I use on my machines are Flash, Photoshop, Aperture, Dreamweaver, Final Cut etc. Without these I am lost.
Okay down to the nitty gritty, I have been reading forums all over the net and heard a lot of people moaning about these new machines, I do appreciate it may not be to some people's liking for whatever reason but please note this is just my opinion on the new MBP's.
I have the 2.4Ghz version with no RAM upgrade as yet.
My first opinion when getting it out of the box was 'Wow', these machines really do look nice, the colour of course is the same as old and it's difficult to explain why they look so nice, maybe it's because they are thinner, maybe it's because they are moulded, I really don't know but I do know that with most Apple products you cannot appreciate them until you've seen them in the flesh.
Opening the lid, well this was a revelation it looks absolutely stunning, simple, elegant and the screen (I know what most people think) is absolutely superb. Let me talk about the screen a little, now I know why there are different complaints about this and it generally boils down to calibration issues for pro photographers and people who need to print professionally. I of course had the matte screen on my 17" PB and can tell you now that it really used to annoy me when I was outside as I could not see the thing at all. On many occasions I wanted to sit out in the garden during the summer and do some work but was unable to. I have a computer upstairs in my office and use my MBP downstairs in the living room, this allows me to carry on doing work and still chat with my girlfriend downstairs. One of the major problems I do have is that the sun (especially in the winter months when it's much lower) shines directly through the window and beams nicely onto my MBP. With my PB I used to have to close the blind (much to my girlfriends annoyance) otherwise it was impossible to work with but with my new machine I can see the screen perfectly without closing it. In fact I am sitting in that very position now with the sunlight beaming through and it's no problem. I'm not going to say there is no reflection at all but it's hardly noticeable and I can definitely say with hand held on my heart that the screen is fantastic whether you are in direct sunlight or night. My girlfriend has the MB (the previous model) and she has a glossy screen, I'm not sure what Apple have done but the glossy screens on these new ones are much better.
The Keyboard.
I know some people don't like the chicklet keyboard but I have no problems with them. I actually prefer them to the older style but I guess that's personal preference. The backlight is absolutely fantastic, it's one of my favourite things on this machine. My old PB had a backlight keyboard but due to the silver keys and white lettering it was near on impossible to see at certain angles, even when looking at it directly it was nothing to write home about. The new backlight on the MBP is just fantastic, I can't say enough good things about it, you have to see it for yourself.
Trackpad.
Mmmmm, really love the look and the size, it makes other trackpads look totally archaic. However I'm not too sure about the whole clicking thing. I am not having problems that others have mentioned about the click not registering or taking time to register. To me the click works as well and as efficiently as a standard button but it is harder to press down and noisier. Apple mentioned that they spent many many hours just getting the click sound right but I think they could have done much better with this. It's the only thing on the machine I am not totally convinced about and could definitely be improved but it's certainly not a deal breaker.
Battery Life
Seems okay at the moment, I probably get around 3 hours with it but as with most Apple products this improves over time.
General Use.
I have had it since launch and am over the moon with it. The speed is fantastic and it does exactly what it sets out to do. Whatever anyone says (and yes it is expensive) this IS (in my opinion) a brilliant piece of kit. It's fast, it's responsive and it looks fantastic. You would be hard pushed to find a better laptop on the market but of course you'll have to pay the price.
I urge you all before passing comment on these new MBP's to go and check one out and see for yourself how good they really are. I know there's nothing like testing one at home when doing your own work but I'm sure that you will be surprised at just how good these machines are and that some of the comments you may have thought originally will soon be forgotten.

Answer 1

Sweet! I cannot wait for mine to arrive this week. i actually went
to the apple store to check it out i can not wait for its arrival. i was very impressed
Im going from a 1.25ghz PB with only 512mb ram to the new MBP with 4gb
of ram. Talk about a major upgrade (yes!!) As a fellow web/multimedia designer
I know I will benefit from this upgrade. I really hope to be more productive
with having dreamweaver,photoshop,flash etc all open at once. A sImple RAM upgrade
could have solve some of my problems wIth my current PB...but this new machine is just
beautiful and durable and will really help me work easier. My current PB will be my side project and back up for now. 5 years I've waited to upgrade........ and glad i did.