Stunningly Beautiful

INTRODUCTION
As with most people who purchase their first Mac, I too was a long time PC user who recently developed a strong interest for Apple products. I've been following the Macbook Pro line for a while, and when they recently released the next generation MBPs with the new Penryn processors (better power efficiency and lower heat), I decided to give it a shot. Prior to purchase, what appealed to me was OS X's simplicity and power, the system's design and features, and the allure of Apple.

I bought the 15" base configuration for $1999, which in my opinion offers plenty of power for any task the average user can throw at it. The higher configurations simply are not worth the price difference.
The machine has the following specs:
* 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn)
* 2GB memory
* 200GB hard drive
* Double-layer SuperDrive
* NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB

EXPERIENCE

.:Design and Usability:.

Upon opening the package, which is neatly packaged in a simple, minimalist box, I carefully took out my new notebook. At 5.4 lbs and 1" thick, I found the system very light and easily maneuverable. All around the surface is sleek, and after inspecting the case, I could definitely see they had design as a priority. There are no ugly ports in the back, no vents or excessive seams on the bottom, and no messy multimedia buttons or stickers on the keyboard plane. One might think many compromises were made to implement a nice design. Fear not, as they cleverly thought of solutions to maintain the laptops simplicity. For example, though there are no vent holes at the bottom, they made their own solution by allowing air to be drawn in from the keyboard area to be expelled at the back area. This is innovation.

The LED display itself is very bright, brighter than any notebook screen I have used before. At 1440x900 resolution on a 15" screen, I find it to be a good balance between screen estate and text readability. The lid is a lot sturdier than most lids, but slight wobble is still present when comparing to business class notebooks like the Thinkpad.

The keyboard is a bit different from standard PC keyboards, and takes some getting used to. For example, the buttons are spaced slightly differently. But with some use this is no problem, and for the most part there is no flex and is comfortable to type on.

The touch pad is optimally responsive; in fact it is probably the best touchpad I have ever used. It is larger than most PC notebook touch pads, and contrary to popular thought, right click function is easy to use by tapping the touchpad with two fingers or clicking the button with two fingers placed on the touch pad. The button itself has good feel and is equally responsive. With almost all other notebooks I need an external mouse. With the MBP, using the touchpad is a real option.

Speakers produce good sound and volume for laptop speakers. They are loud enough to watch movies across the room with a group of people.

The case itself is very sturdy with absolutely no flex thanks to the aluminum casing. In all seriousness, the MBP design really comes second to none amongst the available laptops on the market. I could go on a lot longer discussing the design, but in the interest of time and space, I will move onto other topics.

The battery lasts about 3.5 hours with medium use, which is better than average.

.:Performance and Software:.

Performance on this laptop is truly amazing. Everything ran smoothly, and OS X is a spectacle to behold. Leopard/ OS X has nifty features such as Spaces (multiple desktops), Time Machine (easy GUI based backup solution), Expose (powerful windows management), and Dashboard (widgets).

The notebook was able to boot in about 40 seconds even with all my programs installed; while running 7 applications I experienced no lag or hangups. The notebook comes with iLife, which is a suite with DVD, photo, website, and music composing and editing applications. In essence, there is an absence of extraneous 3rd party software (bloatware), and the programs included are actually useful.

All of Apple's own applications run very fast, such as Safari and iWork (Apple’s equivalent to Microsoft Office). I noticed however that MS Office 2008 takes longer to start up than its PC counterpart (1 second on equivalent PC with Vista vs 4 seconds on the MBP), but once loaded performs very well.

For games, I was only able to test Unreal Tournament 2004 on full settings, which ran flawlessly. Most games should be no problem, since this system sports one of the most powerful mobile graphics cards (Nvidia 8600 GT).

I found the included hard drive to be of mediocre quality, as it has subpar performance and reliability compared to the top hard drives. I found it a bit disappointing from a company touted to only use the best parts. The standard 2 GB ram is really enough for most tasks. For additional ram, I suggest ordering through a 3rd party vendor, since Apple’s price mark up on ram upgrades is simply robbery (almost 500% more expensive than doing it on your own). Installing a total of 4 GB ram is the best way to future proof this system.

Overall, I am very pleased with the operating system, hardware performance, and preinstalled software. What more is compared to a PC, there is no need to spend hours reinstalling a clean environment, since it already comes clean. I ran the system without any antivirus software and noticed had no problems at all (thanks to OS X being UNIX based).

.:Features:.

The webcam captures decent photos and video, and is perfect for chatting or capturing quick profile shots. Many people post YouTube videos of themselves using similar cameras.

Backlit keyboard is beautiful, and makes the Mac experience all the more enjoyable. Working in the dark is no problem (important for frequent fliers).

The light sensitive feature is also pretty neat, as it automatically adjusts the display brightness depending on the ambient light. I found it to be convenient since I did not have to constantly switch the brightness depending on day/night conditions.

With the Penryn processors Apple implemented the multi touch touchpad to the MBP. For the most part, it works exactly as its counterpart in the Macbook Air. Don't expect any miracles though, as it is far from the functionality found in the iPhone. In terms of practical use, most people will use the swiping as back/forward functions and pinching for zooming. Note that much of the software lacks native support so some tinkering is needed to get it working on most programs. It’s more of a nice to have but not critical feature.

.:The Ugly:.

The lid was slightly warped, preventing it from closing flush against the base. There was a 0.5 centimeter gap, which is unacceptable on a product with a premium price from such a boastful company based on image. Not only is it cosmetic, it is functionally detrimental, as it allows large particles to enter and scratch the screen when carrying it around. I have looked into this issue and about 70% of current MBP owners have this problem.

Another is a slight discoloring on the lower portion of the screen. It is tinted a murky yellow, which again is unacceptable on a premium product. About 30% of MBPs have this problem, but most users who have the problem won’t notice unless they look for it.

Unfortunately it doesn't end there. The audio output produces a hissing sound with low impedance (but otherwise high quality) headphones. This problem is present on almost all if not all current MBPs. Fortunately, the hissing is low enough that some people are not able to hear it, and headphones/ speakers with high impedance are able to cancel the sound. The problem stems from faulty design on their current motherboards.

Finally, the case conducts a slight current. This is a potential health hazard. A solution would be to use a 3rd party "sticker" on the palm rest area as an additional protective layer to prevent direct contact with the metal. Some, but not all MBP users experience this problem, and I guess different users have different sensitivities to electricity.

There are also the following cons, which are not defects but are present by the nature of its design:
-Difficult to replace hard drive (have to open up the entire system to do so)
-Case can dent more easily than plastic counterparts (but to be fair, does not scratch as easily)
-The heat is still uncomfortable with heavy use (the Penryn processors have done a lot to reduce the scalding heat from before, but it's still there)

*Comment on heat: Due to the nature of the metal case, it absorbs heat from the system parts and releases it to the surroundings, like a heatsink. During normal use, the system is usable, but when the machine is pushed to do heavy work, then the heat can soar. The case material is only partly at fault; the other half is poor design. Another system that also uses aluminum casing, the XP 1530 from Dell, maintains a much cooler average temperature.

There is definitely at least some validity to the current claims that Apple's quality control has dropped.

CONCLUSION

Despite the defects, the MBP is absolutely stunning. I can say with confidence it has the best design compared to all the other laptops in the same class.

The OS is simple, clean, and easy to use, and everything ran without problems. Since the OS has all the customizations made from Apple itself, there are no driver and compatibility issues found on some Vista systems. Additionally, there is less of maintenance and upkeep to do with Macs, as they do not require defragging (automatic defragmentation), spyware scans, and antivirus software.

If the defects aren't something you would worry about, and the price is within budget, then the MBP is a solid choice.

PERSONAL ADVICE

Unless you absolutely need a notebook right now, I would wait until Apple's next revision on the MBP, which should happen by fall. I am hoping for a case re-design, where they fix the warping, sound issues, defective LCDs, and heat problems. These are things that the customer deserves, especially when paying a premium price on the notebook. Similarly configured PC systems go for about $700 less. $700 just to use OS X is way too much. For a highly reliable system with excellent design and fantastic features, $700 is a bit more reasonable.

If the only thing stopping you from using a Mac is software compatibility, then have no fear. A lot of popular PC software has Mac based equivalents, if not direct counterparts. Also, there is also the option of running Windows virtually (VMware) or through BootCamp (dual-booting option).

Best option for people with a lower budget who want a Mac: buy the much lower priced Macbook or iMac (if portability is not needed), and install 3rd party ram by yourself (plenty of online tutorials on how to do this). There is also the option of buying refurbished systems directly from Apple (I hear refurbished systems go through quality control even more rigorously than new systems), or buying used systems from Ebay. The Macbook lacks a few features of the MBP, but none are really critical for everyday use. Additionally, it has a smaller screen and lacks a dedicated graphics card, but accordingly is about $800 cheaper.

For people who are still on the line and undecided between Macs and PCs, and don't need a computer at the moment, there is the option of waiting until Microsoft's release of their next operating system, Windows 7 (expected to be released by 2010). Hopefully by then Apple fixes their quality control issues as well.