Friday, November 21, 2008

Aluminum MacBook Mini-review


I got the new metal body Macbook two weeks ago. Strictly speaking, it is my first mac computer. Just want to share my thoughts about it. I have the low end model of the new metal body macbook



Pros:

I love the aluminum body of the macbook. Every laptop these days should be built with aluminum. It feels more solid and sturdy. It is also easier to clean metal than plastic. It is also a lot more resistant to scratch.

The usability of the multi-touch trackpad really surprises me. It makes using a trackpad to control the computer a lot more comfortable. Other laptop manufacteur should really consider implementing something similar.

13inch is a perfect form factor. It is very portable and the screen is not too small to read.

Battery life seems decent. I didn't actually test it out, but it seems like it can last 4 hours with WiFi turned on.

The battery and the hardisk can be easily replaced. I haven't check the RAM slot yet.

Other minor things like the magsafe power connector makes this laptop unique.



Cons:

The pricing of the new Macbook is a little too high in my opinion. It cost 1349 CDN after education discount. It does have a decent hardware spec, but 1349 is a lot of money for an entry level laptop in my opinion. 1000 CDN would be a more reasonable price since mac uses almost identical hardware components to PC these days.

The use of mini-display port as the display output is very annoying. It makes me have to purchase an extra 30 dollar adaptor to connect my laptop to external monitor and projectors. Almost no montiors on this world uses a mini-display port input. Apple should just include the adaptor with the purchasing of the laptop or at least use a normal display port instead of the "mini-display port." What the hell is the point of using a mini plug?