Apple October '08 Macbook Refresh Hands-On

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Cameron Baker
Kurtis
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Oct. 31, 2008

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Hardware Impressions

So. Glass touchpad, eh? What’s the big deal? Well, for starters, it feels amazing. We talked about the degradation of the surface feel on a traditional touchpad over time and how that is less likely to happen on a more resilient glass surface. I think that’s a nice bonus.

The “whole touchpad as the button” thing worried me at first mention. Would it be strictly tap-based, or would it actually depress? It definitely clicks like any other mouse button, but it’s not as much of a revolution as Jobsie played it to be. To click on the lower third, you press just about as much as you used to. The further up you move, however, the harder the button press becomes.

I found myself using my thumb to click, just like any other touchpad I have used. It’s a solid feeling mechanism, but I wouldn’t say that this round automatically goes to the new generation. The added touchable real estate is definitely handy for executing multi-touch gestures, but doesn’t really live up to the original description from the keynote as far as clickability goes.

Kurtis just finished doing a second hard drive upgrade on his mid-2007 Macbook Pro, and I listened to vitriol pour from his end of the phone call throughout the process. Luckily, those of you who are planning to pick up one of the new aluminum Mac portables won’t have to live through that horrid process. [Kurtis: So who wants to buy my MBP with 500GB HDD and 4GB RAM? I'm not asking much, just the price of one of the new MBPs... with a custom, matte LCD... /sad face/]

The new battery compartment has a thin aluminum shell that detaches with a push-and-pull of a magnetically secured lever. Once you remove this cover, all you have to do is remove a screw or two on the tension bar that keep the HDD secure, and then you pull 'er out and replace with a newer, bigger disk. No more tears. [Kurtis: My tears have already been cried. Not that I'm bitter...]

Performance Impressions

As soon as I entered the store, I made a bee-line for the Macbook Pro that Kurtis was snapping some photos of. That didn’t last long, as one of the Apple Store employees told him to cease and desist. Apparently, we aren’t among the chosen few that get the full hands-on treatment. Just a slap on the hand for being too fresh with the new goods.

After calling up every press contact at Apple he could find, Kurtis finally got someone on the phone. Upon asking about becoming a launch partner, the person on the other end said there was no such program. We’d have to buy Apple stuff to review it. Kurtis then inquired as to how we could join the Walt Mossberg program. I don’t think that phone call lasted much longer.

Kurtis and Brian had fired up Spore's Creature Creator to test out the new graphics card(s) - it's probably the worst piece of software conceivable for testing purposes, but Apple hadn't pre-loaded Crysis for us (not even the full-blown version of Spore).

The Creature Creator looked to be running pretty smoothly at 1440 x 900 resolution, and when we closed out, I checked out the new "Energy Saver" preference pane. The computer was set to battery life mode, which means it was processing the graphics by way of the new Nvidia GeForce 9400M setup - with no help from the dedicated 9600M GT.

We restarted one of the Macbook Pros in Performance mode and Brian and I did a side-by-side, pedestrian comparison between the two. The performance setting provided silky smooth frame rates, while the battery-conscious setup chugged noticeably when pushed. All in all, we think the more energy frugal setting could hold its own when you’re interested in saving some juice. And it’s a quantum leap in performance coming from the X1300 Intel integrated graphics of yesteryear.

The new multi-touch gestures on the touchpad worked just like Jobs showed us in the keynote - I think they would be incredibly useful in one’s daily workflow. I crave anything that shaves seconds off my execution of common tasks, and using a quick swipe across the touchpad to invoke expose or move back / forward in Safari serves that purpose efficiently and gracefully. I’d still pick Quicksilver in a no-holds-barred productivity deathmatch, but if my withdrawal from the old touchpad once I moved from Macbook Pro to iMac is any evidence, this touchpad is going to make a lot of friends.

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Page 1: Introduction, First Impressions
Page 2: Hardware & Performance Impressions
Page 3: Conclusion

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Add Comment

3 User Comments

1 - Posted by RRR on November 5, 2008 - 12:47 am

Get the facts. Do a google search for MATTE GLOSSY POLL, and you'll see that most polls that between 45% to 54% want matte screens.

Now, Apple can do their research, and claim that anything below 49% means the majority want gloss. But this 44-54% agrees with what the local Apple store salesman told me: that it was roughly 50-50 for people who wanted matte vs glossy MacBook Pro's (of the former model that had the option).

These are the polls of people who want matte:

44%
45%
48%
68%
50%
54 %
72%

_____________

POLLS:

What type of screen do you prefer on the MacBook (Glossy or Matte)
Glossy 32.31 % (10007)
Matte 44.04 % (13639)
Don't Know 23.65 % (7324)
Total votes: 30970

http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=527

What are your feelings on the glossy-only screen in the new MacBook Pro (and MacBook)?

Love it, already ordered one! 5.73%
Looks sharp, planning on buying 15.92%
Looks good, but no plans to purchase 16.97%
Need to see it in person before judging 14.75%
Dislike glossy screen, but will buy anyway 15.06%
Hate glossy screens, will not buy because of it 29.41%
Other? 2.15%

http://www.macosxhints.com/polls/index.php

View Poll Results: Gloss or Matte? [are you well?]
Gloss - I like to shine! 50.00%
Matte! - I'm all about the dull sheen... 48.39%
Yes, thanks... I'm well! 33.87%
No... I'm having a shocker!!... 9.68%

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showth...

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte (Not Glossy) MacBook Pro Screen?
Glossy 24.14%
Matte 68.97%
Neutral (Doesn't Matter) 6.90%
You Can Choose? 0%

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=24420...

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte Display ? (new imac vs old imac)
Matte 50.00%
Glossy 50.00%

View Poll Results: What's your display like?

Poll Options:
My matte is great 54.10%
My matte is bad 3.28%
My glossy is great 39.34%
My glossy is bad 3.28%

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/318569/gl...

View Poll Results: Glossy or Matte screen ?
Glossy 27.27%
Matte 72.73%

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/19/33640023-matt...

2 - Posted by Kurtis on November 5, 2008 - 3:17 am

Thanks for the input, RRR. Though you do seem to be coming across as though we were saying the glossy-only screens are a good thing, which isn't the case. I agree, matte is needed as an option.

3 - Posted by MacMatte on July 17, 2009 - 10:04 am

There is a matte petition site http://macmatte.wordpress.com that, so far, has over 300+ submissions. It's a little different to a petition site, in that each person has an opportunity to state their case, in as much detail as they want, to persuade Apple for the need for matte screens.

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