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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Conclusion

There’s a point in almost every Apple product lifetime where design near-perfection is reached. The 5G iPod is still my favorite hard-drive player, and I doubt anything that follows will match its combination of visual appeal and tight interface functionality.

I was the proud and frustrated owner of a last-gen Macbook Pro for two years, and while the notebook performed well past my needs, I just couldn’t get on board with the hardware design. The mechanical latch degraded over time. The casing bent and dented far more easily than I would have expected. Carrying it in a bag often made a full keyboard impression on my display, some of which became permanent.

Only time will tell, but from my initial impressions, the new physical components on the Macbook / Pro address my concerns. A notebook’s primary task is portability, and handling abuse on the road should be at the top of its job description. I’d feel much more comfortable tossing one of the new brickbooks in a bag for the day.

There’s a whole grab bag full of little stuff that may or may not turn you off - Firewire’s Macbook no-show and the movement away from matte-screen options to name a few. But if you’re not losing any sleep over these omissions, now would be a fantastic time to drop some cash on a new laptop from Cupertino. If you’re still not interested, just go watch the presentation video again and listen to Jonathan Ive pronounce “Aluminium” a few times. The sex appeal alone will convince you.

If you’re looking for some more in-depth testing and experience, here are a few links with which to sate your lust for knowledge:

Gizmodo’s Full Review
MacWorld’s Benchmarks for the new Macbook
AppleInsider on Firewire, USB, and Nvidia Controller from new Macbook/Pro

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Page 3 of 3

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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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