MacBook Pro 15.4" 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo/2GB /120GB /SD /AP /BT
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £1,000.00Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(4 out of 5)I think I'm in love
Since amazon reviews for the newer model are scarce, I thought I'd write one here to help people with their decision-making =)
I have been wanting a mac for a while now, as I keep hearing great reviews of them - especially the newer line with upgraded Intel processors. Just so you know, I'm not coming from a slow PC - I have one of the new Intel quad-cores and a decent graphics card, so I am able to compare speeds.
I bought mine from a local Apple store. They gave me a 17% student discount and also knocked off the three-year Applecare from £250 to £53, not bad!! If you are a student, it is essential to bring your student card along, you'll regret it if you don't.
When I opened the box, there wasn't much in it. There was of course the Macbook, there was a power adapter (which I would say is at least 4 meters in length), an apple remote (which you can use to play music and DVD's from a distance, like Media Center) and a little box with the Applecare and OS X CD. By the way, it really is a full installation CD for OS X - unlike if you were to buy a windows laptop, where you'd be given one of those awful "recovery CD's".
The Macbook is very clean looking. There is a apple logo on the back of the screen which lights up when you open it. The keyboard feels so nice that it makes me WANT to type something. The trackpad (finger mouse) is pretty much like any other trackpad except it's a little wider, only has one button (for simplicity) and if you use two fingers, you can use one for the mouse and the other for scrolling pages. Handy, as moving the cursor to the scrollbar and back can be a bit of a pain. However, I really recommend buying a Mighty Mouse as well. With a physical mouse, it's just easier and less tedious.
Instead of most laptops, ports are located on the side, not at the back. On the right side, there's a USB port, firewire port, ethernet port and a DVI-out port for connecting an external display. On the left side you get another USB port, headphone jack, line out (for connecting external speakers) and a magnetic port to clip in the power cable. When I say clip-in, I mean it literally. The magnetic power cable is very intuitive and attaches to your laptop automatically.
The keyboard is backlit which is useful for typing at night, or outdoors. Basically the letters are lit up in a white/bluish colour (not the whole keys). Speaking of the keyboard, it's something that may take a while to adjust to if you're switching from Windows like I am. There is no delete key, you'll either have to just stick with using backspace, or hold down the "FN" key and backspace key simultaneously. You get used it to it ;). You also get volume, brightness and contrast buttons as well as an eject button. You just slide in your CD's. There's no tray. Just like the CD players you get in cars.
When you first turn on the mac, it'll welcome you in multiple languages (presented with a very nice 3D video) and then present you with a 3D cube, where each side represents a stage of the setup process (things like filling in your address, user name etc). It took me a couple of minutes to complete.
Once you're logged in you're greeted with the Mac desktop. Now, I am not going to go any further as this isn't a review of the operating system. However, it's much more aesthetic compared to windows and the learning curve really isn't that steep. The more you use it, the easier it will become to use. It comes with programs pre-installed such as iMovie (editing movies) iDVD (for creating DVD's) and a great program called iPhoto for editing your Photos. iPhoto is professional enough and easy to use if you don't want to delve into higher-end programs such as Photoshop.
The speed is fine. Programs loads almost instantly. I could edit photos in Photoshop with no slow-down. Multi-tasking is a joy. I could listen to music, browse the web, edit movies and photos without having to close each program. I could just switch between them with no performance hit. Speed is great even for professional work. I think the 2GB ram really helps out. I haven't tried throttling the CPU's yet, but if you're interested in statistics, there are plenty of sites out there. I have installed Windows on this machine and my average FPS with most games was around 48. This is pretty good considering I was playing at full resolution (1440x900) and had all of the quality settings at high. Some examples of games I played were Quake 4 and Counter-Strike Source.
It's actually very easy to dual-boot Mac OS X and Windows XP Professional. You must have an official Windows XP CD though. The drivers are installed all in one go and Windows actually feels speedier than OS X (this is acceptable, considering XP is three years younger than OS X).
The display (I chose a matte screen) appears to be of high quality. It's bright - I had to turn down the brightness. However, unlike some displays, the contrast didn't fade as I turned it down which is good. The blacks are grey I'm afraid and colours are not up to scratch. At first glance I thought they were, but after a few hours use, I noticed that it couldn't reproduce all colours, especially in gradients and darker areas of video. It also has a pixelation problem (that's the only word I can think of) where videos (I was watching some of the high-def Quicktime videos from Apple) seem to degrade around smooth edges (mainly faces). It's very weird...
I have tested the output to my 2405fpw and no such problem exists. It's almost as good as a 32-bit display, and I am happy editing media on it - but because of this problem, and the poor blacks, I give it a four-star.
Those little problems that most people will never notice aside, this is the best purchase I've ever made.
I'm in love with you Apple.
(5 out of 5)If your unsure, then take the plunge, you won't regret it!
I did hours and hours of research to work out what my next laptop was going to be. I went through the same thoughts most people go through when trying to decide on a mac or pc.
Are Mac's too expensive for what they are? Yes they are pricey...but you get what you pay for, they are gorgeous to look at, fast, plenty or storage, easy to use.
What about compatability with Windows applications? Thats no longer an excuse you can use. With Mac offering a dual boot system and an intel processor to run winows on...why not have the best of both worlds!
I have had my mac on now for over 2 weeks without needing a re-boot. I simply put it in sleep mode whenever i'm not using it... No crashes, No virus's, no reboots needed!
Stop trying to think of excuses as to why you can't get one....you will not regret it....i can promise you that!!!
(5 out of 5)How Much...
How come this machine is so much more than on apples website? it is only £1299 there....
(5 out of 5)Forget Win. Vista... this is the machine for you!
I have used Windows operating systems and PC's exclusively for the last 11 years, having last owned an Apple in the early 90's. I had been somewhat fortunate to use a friend's briefly during the last few years, but remained 'loyal' to a PC. When I needed to upgrade to a new laptop in October, I considered getting another Windows machine, due to the slight doubt about compatibility and that it has such a grip on ownership in this country. However, I decided to go with a MacBook Pro.... and I'm TOTALLY in love! As someone who has grown up with using a computer extensively, this is a dream, but I would imagine user-friendly to those not quite as confident with computers.
It is by far a superior machine and operating system to many a PC laptop and Windows... especially what I've used of Vista - urg... it's 'resource heavy' and just painful to use in comparison. I nearly threw my friend's computer out the window when I tried to change some wireless settings for her. Don't get me wrong, I liked Win. XP, but Vista is no-go. Go for the Mac, and go with OS X Leopard - marvellous, sexy, and just plain magical!
The machine is also one little (thin) sexy beast too - you should see it against other laptops, by far the nicest (I can see the green eyed monsters in the Library peeking over!) :)
(5 out of 5)Incredible - worth the money.
I was given mine as a Christmas present for my studies (I'm looking into working with graphics and movies).
start with the os: interface beautifully smooth and professional yet friendly. no problems since i had it.
Spec: Brilliant performance. I have never had a problem with it and the speed is very impressive compared to my dell (only purchased 6 months before this), which within a few weeks of use became laggy and difficult to work with. also much easier to keep track of program placements and backups.
only had one little issue with the keyboard but this was sorted within 24 hours with a update.
I think that apple have the right to be very smug about their os and their computers, because they are of such high quality. yes they are pricey, but with it comes quality and a computer that will last for years to come.