Apple MacBook 13-inch 1.83GHz

Reviews: Hardware

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Anthony Fiti
Kurtis
N/A
Aug. 1, 2006

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First Looks

I remove the MacBook box from the packing. On one side of the box there is a picture of the laptop closed, and the word "MacBook" above it. Apple is known for simple packaging - not for filling every side with large amounts of text, quotes from magazines or newspapers, nothing drastic to grab your attention. Just a simple picture and the name of the product or some features and a caption (unlike another company I can think of). Perhaps the most descriptive side is one that has the specifications of the unit - processor speed, RAM, hard drive capacity, MAC (media access control) addresses for the Airport (Apple's term for 802.11B/G wireless), Bluetooth and Ethernet ports. It also has the serial number of the model - by looking at the 4th and 5th digits I can see what week it was manufactured. My digits are 2 and 1, so that is week 21.

So here I go, opening the box. I open the top of the box, and lift the front of the box open to reveal the MacBook in a soft gray plastic sleeve. I remove it from the box and the sleeve and set it on the counter. It looks wonderful. It is a shiny white, and the absence of a latch is noticeable. In place of the latch is an area to push the lid of the laptop up to open it.

(Ed - Sorry about the poor quality of these pictures. Normally I take all the product shots myself in our studio here in Texas, but since Anthony purchased this laptop and didn't want to have it shipped to me for photos, and because his camera sucks, this is what you get! Hehe. I've added some more product shots below that have been furnished by Apple as well, though.)
Inside the MacBook box, there are many other items in addition to the MacBook itself. First is the AC Adapter. It has two parts - first is a three pronged cord from the outlet to the AC to DC converter. Next, the converter and the MagSafe power adaptor that was first introduced to the Apple lineup with the MacBook Pro. Then the Apple Remote, which is used for controlling the Front Row application.

Underneath where the laptop sat is a small gray box containing documentation as well as some CDs and DVDs. On the front of the box it says "Designed by Apple in California." Inside the box is the OS X Install disc, a User's Guide as well as some smaller booklets ranging from Welcome to Tiger to regulatory certificates for Bleutooth and license agreements for the software. Since I also ordered iWork 2006 with my laptop, that CD was found in the bottom of the case, below the gray box.

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Page 3 of 14

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Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Ordering the MacBook
Page 3: First Looks
Page 4: Taking a Closer Look
Page 5: Setup & Packaged Software
Page 6: Testing - Hardware
Page 7: Testing - Software
Page 8: Testing - Interfacing with and Running Windows
Page 9: Testing - Temperature
Page 10: Testing - Performance
Page 11: Testing - Battery Life & MagSafe Adapter
Page 12: Tech Support Experience #1
Page 13: Tech Support Experience #2
Page 14: Conclusion

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