Review by Samer A for Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A 17-Inch Laptop
Rating:
I finally made the decision to get rid of my two laptops (an HP envy, and a 13″ macbook pro) in favor of this 17″ macbook pro with a dual boot setup using Boot Camp. Initial impressions: The best choice I’ve ever made. Here’s the whole thing broken down:

THE SIZE

This thing is pretty beastly, but it’s not unwieldy. You definitely feel its size the second you pick one up, or move it around, but you’ll quickly get over that once you open it up and turn it on. The keyboard is super expansive, the screen is unbelievable (more on that later) and you can still stay mobile with this thing if you really need to. It’s not something you can easily move around with 1 hand from room to room, but if you’re like me, and do most of your work at a desk, then this is a great choice to make. (Note: I also own an iPad, which is a fantastic pair with this thing, since it does about 90% of what I do on-the-go as far as mobile computing goes.)

THE SCREEN

So I mentioned already that you’ll most likely fall in love with this thing like I did when you open it up and turn it on. It has the highest PPI (pixels per inch) of all the apple laptops they sell and it shows. I actually am considering not even hooking this up to my external monitor anymore, because of how brilliantly sharp it is. Colors really pop and text is easy to read. Also, since it’s 17″, you get a better-than-HD 1920×1200 resolution. My work is in development, so this is really a major selling point for me. I need to be able to manage all my windows in Xcode and Interface builder without tons of overlap and clicking between browsers, my chat windows and my code.

THE KEYBOARD

If you’ve used a macbook pro keyboard in the past year or so, you’ll feel right at home with this thing. I will say this as a negative, however: It’s not super comfortable on your arms right past your wrist, because the sharp edges of the laptop dig into your skin after a while.

THE PERFORMANCE

I copied over my entire OS/settings to this new macbook pro and ran some field tests to see how fast this thing is in comparison to my old macbook pro–and it screams. An iPhone/iPad project that takes 5-10 seconds to build on my old machine (core 2 duo) takes a fraction of that time here. The i5 is most definitely a step up from previous core 2 duos. I finally have a laptop I can stick Windows 7 on that is as good as a dedicated Windows machine can do. (Being able to have this 1 comp to run both environments is great!)

BATTERY LIFE

I will have to come back and update on battery life, but I can tell you that it’s worlds better than my HP. That was similarly spec’ed and barely worked 2 hours on the go. This one so far is looking like 6 hours with wifi and full brightness. They have it rated at 8-9 hours, but I’m sure that’s with brightness turned down and not full use the whole time. Truthfully, anything better than 2 hours with this kind of power is great for me.

TOUCHPAD

Again, if you’ve used a recent MacBook Pro, this is essentially identical. The biggest change here is that you can now use “inertial” scrolling, so that you can just flick your fingers to scroll long pages, and it will keep scrolling until it slows to a stop. This is very similar to the iPhone scrolling of long pages, or if you’ve used a Magic Mouse, it does the same thing.

Also, of note, is that of all the new copy cat glass track pads, I haven’t used one that works as well as these. Even inside Windows, it performs real well and you feel productive with it. I’ve used other PC’s with the no-button glass touchpad, and it makes me want to throw them across the room after a few minutes..

OTHER THOUGHTS/CONCERNS

While I’ll keep this at 5 stars, this isn’t necessarily a perfect computer. I have a few gripes with it, but they aren’t really deal breakers and all the other pros make up for them so well that I’m okay with it. For starters, this has three USB ports (the 15 and 13 model only have 2) but unfortunately they are literally all lined up next to each other. If you have any kind of a fat usb device, you’re out of luck for placing anything next to it.

Also, you’ll most likely need to buy the mini-display port to HDMI converter because while Apple loves mini-display port, the rest of the world is just now using HDMI as its standard. You can find one here on amazon for real cheap (

Review by Conrad B. Senior for Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A 17-Inch Laptop
Rating:
This is my second 17″ MacBook Pro. I had the last generation in a 2.93GHZ CPU. My first one had a SSD drive, this one does not. I updated my first one to 8GB of RAM, this one still has 4GB, and I won’t be in a rush to update it. BTW, my first MBP was stolen.

If you can stand the weight, and don’t let the other reviewers fool you. Yes you get a nice 17″ full HD display, but it is very heavy. I’m 6’4″ and have a Brenthaven backpack and Brenthaven carry all. You will need some protection for this thing, because if you drop it, it is heavy enough to break itself. The folks at Brenthaven were great. After my first MBP was stolen they sent me not one but two replacement sleeve at no charge. Did I say it was heavy? It is really heavy. Try to carry it around all day and you will start think that small is beautiful.

We have two 13″ macs in the house. A unibody MacBook–the best selling laptop ever, and the newer 13″ MacBook Pro–fast becoming the most popular laptop ever. Both of these are outstanding computers–probably better machines. They are lighter and more fun to use.

Let me say a few words about speed. I love fast machines. But get serious, even the slowest Mac is fast as heck. The only reason for getting a really fast machine is if you do video editing, and perhaps professional graphics people who deal with huge photoshop files–if you don’t then don’t delude yourself into thinking you need a really fast machine. Even so, these other machines will do whatever you want.

I would have bought the new 13″ or perhaps the 15″ if I didn’t have all the accessories for the 17″. While this 17″ is good for what I wanted–Video editing in the field. It is not very good for every day use. I’d recommend the 13″ or 15″ or even the MacBook Air for most people. I compromised and bought this and a new iPad. So I have something for general use to carry around, and a blazing fast laptop.

I bought each machine with the glossy display. I like the rich colors and most of the time I don’t use it in places with lots of reflections. I could have changed to a mat display and did not. Mainly because I felt the glass display was mechanically stronger, and I don’t intend to lose this laptop–I’ll have this one for ten years or more.

What else? Well so far in general use, I don’t find it to be any faster than my older one. I have not tried ripping a DVD to MP4 yet, that will probably be faster. The truth is, this MBP and the last generation are both darn fast machines. Either will blow your mind with how fast they are.

I did not get a SSD drive this time, because on my old machine, it was lightning fast when I bought it, but not much faster than a hard drive after a year’s use. Why pay for something that will just keep getting slower? By the way, I do not recommend the APPLE SSD’s. I love SSD’s. I’m hooked. I’ll just wait and try to find one that works better than the stock Apple Toshiba SSD’s.

As for the extra memory. Unless you are a power user, the 8GB or ram is a bit of overkill. I’ll probably update my memory when I have some spare cash and another machine to move the present 4GB of RAM into. I do think the combination of a fast SSD and 8GB of Ram will prevent swapping from taking place which will probably improve the longevity of a SSD.

As for this product or any of the Apple products, what sold me on these machines, is the touchpad. I had enough of pushing my pointer over to the side to find a scroll bar and move down the screen–it is tedious. The Apple touchpad interface ALONE, is the worth the purchase of one of these machine. It is so fast, so easy, so natural–so “got to have it and can’t stand the old way any more”.

The other essential feature is a backlit keyboard. Don’t get a Mac without that feature.

Battery life. I was getting 5-6 hours on my old 17″ MBP. I can’t say how long the new one will last, supposedly it gets 8 hours. That great, but rarely will I need that. Just be glad that Mac batteries last longer than you will need them.

I was a long time Windows user and computer builder–since 1983. I’ve been working with computers since the PDP-11 and used DOS, Windows, Unix, Linux, and OS-X. I’ve built dozens of computers for myself. I paid $1000 for one the first 386 motherboards!

While the new versions of Linux come close, no one has a better operating system than Apple. Anyone who has switched will agree with me. I switched over when Apple went to Intel CPU’s. These have been some of the happiest years in my life. No more viruses. I rarely have to reboot my machine. My Apple desktops have been running without rebooting for many months. My Mac Mini have not been shut off more than three times in three years.

Rebooting? Once in a while you will have to reboot this system for an Apple update. Never will you have to reboot for any other application. You might have to shut down Firefox, or some application to update hat one application–but you will not have to reboot to update an application or most Apple updates. How great is that? The one time I thought my system was locked up–guess what it was? My cordless mouse needed new batteries. This kind of reliatble computer problem I love. Apple computers don’t have problems.

OS X is a customizable as you like, or leave it alone right out of the box–it is nearly perfect.

So think about what you want. If you want a good laptop–get the 13″; need a bigger screen, get the 15″. Think you are big enough to carry the 17″, or using it mostly at home–get the 17″ but be wary. I tried using my 17″ in bed and found it uncomfortable. It is heavy enough, even with a folded up blanket under it, to hurt your chest if stood in edge to see the keyboard. It is too big for 95% of the people. If you get one, you will start thinking about getting a MacBook Air or iPad. You will be happier with the 13″.

One final thing: Get AppleCare’s extended warranttee on eBay for half the price.

Review by Cary Champlin for Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A 17-Inch Laptop
Rating:
Recently, I followed my college-age daughter’s advice and I walked into an Apple store. The staff had so much fun showing off and converting me to a MacBook Pro 17. They were enthusiastic and so smart; off-the-chart smart.

I believe Apple now builds the coolest hardware and software on the planet: Macbook Pro, i-touch/phone, i-pod, i-pad, i-tunes, OS X, Xcode IDE. They sold over two million i-pads within the first 60 days of its release. They recently celebrated their 10 billionth i-tunes download milestone and reported their most profitable two quarters ever. Their stock growth over the last five years is equally impressive. The trend is clear; Apple definitely rules this industry now.

So, what makes the MacBook Pro 17 the laptop to own?

Screen: 1920×1200 pixel resolution for a 17-inch display. Evenly backlit with LED technology that produces a crisp display. For the 17-inch display, there is a choice of flat or glossy screen finishes. I chose the flat finish to eliminate reflections.

Case: Lightweight, aluminum case. Features (such as microphone, camera, ports, on/off button, DVD slot) that should be small are small. No plastic cases that crack; no creaking lid hinges; no flimsy plastic DVD trays. The manufacturing is first class. It is analogous to being in a luxury car where everything just fits well. The MacBook Pro exudes engineering excellence in its design.

Battery: With a PC laptop, I needed to minimize usage to maintain on time. On a recent 3-hour airline trip, I tried to max out usage on the MacBook Pro as a battery test. Still had plenty of battery charge at the end of the flight. I also impressed the passenger next to me.

Trackpad: Based on multi-touch technology. Two fingers on trackpad and depress is similar to a right-click. Two-finger swipe is a scroll. Very nice human factors technology throughout.

Operation: Very quiet, no fan noise (does it even have a fan?). Fast start-up and login.

OS X (Snow Leopard): Stable, no blue screen of death. It is obvious that OS X has its roots from Unix. One of the features, Spaces, allows multiple concurrent workspaces to be used (Ctrl-arrows navigates through the workspaces). OS X also includes built-in software for folder/file encryption (file vault), version control software (CVS), and development (python, perl, php, gcc, apache web-server).

Fun stuff: Open the terminal window and type ‘say this is a great day to buy a mac’ without the quotes.