Customer Reviews

Apple MacBook MA255LL/A 13.3" Laptop (2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive)- White

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have owned several Apple laptops over the past decade, including a Pismo Powerbook G3, iBook G3 Tangerine, iBook G4 white (several models), and a couple of Powerbook G4's. Apple has a fantastic design and great feature set with the MacBook. Considering the feature set and huge performance jump over previous G4 portable Macs, this is Apple's best laptop to date.

WHAT I LIKE:
Size - 13.3" widescreen is not too big, not too small. Good for desktop use, and great for travel. Incredibly, the MacBook only increased .3 pounds vs. the smaller 12.1" iBook (4.9 to 5.2 lbs) and DROPPED .7 pounds from the 14.1" iBook (5.9 lbs)!

Features - fastest processor to date in a Mac portable at 2.0GHz core duo. I tested the DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter Handbrake, and my MacBook 2.0 Intel beat an iMac G5 2.1GHz desktop by over 4x the speed! Other great features include magsafe power connector, mini-DVI output, screen spanning (in iBook spanning required a hack), built-in iSight, serial ATA hard drive that is easily replaceable (I put in a 100GB 7200rpm), great new keyboard, long battery life (3.5-4 hours average) and the glossy screen. Yes, I was leery of the glossy screen before purchase, but images look great and glare has not been a problem in many different environments.

Cost - Good price at $1299 for the white considering the $1999 MacBook Pro only adds dedicated graphics, 15" screen, 20GB, backlit keys, and Aluminum shell. For the increased heat, size, and cost, the MacBook is much more appealing to me vs. the Pro model.

WHAT I DO NOT LIKE:
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I thought I would not like the integrated GMA950 Intel graphics, but the reduced heat and increased battery life of the integrated graphics are of much greater value to me than being able to squeeze more FPS out of a 3D game which I hardly play on a laptop. Apple's entry level laptop is not meant to be a gaming machine.

I originally purchased the white SuperDrive MacBook, but after seeing the black model in an Apple store, I spent the bucks and bought the black model and resold the white. Not that I didn't like the white, it's just that the black is THAT MUCH BETTER LOOKING. In my opinion, the black is worth the $150 premium ($50 for HD upgrade).

I am very pleased with my MacBook and would highly recommend the MacBook to anyone looking for a portable Mac. Just be sure to see them in person before you buy, as I think the black one looks better, so much so that I sold a new white one at a loss just to get the black one here on Amazon.

I am extremely happy with my new MacBook. It is my first Mac, and I have to say that I should have switched long ago.

Setting up the computer was a total breeze. When Apple says that "it can do it all right out of the box", they aren't kidding. All I had to do was fire up the computer, create a username and password, and I was in. I didn't even have to do anything for it to detect my wireless network connection. In fact, not only did it pick up the signal from mine, but several of the neighbors as well! All together it only took about 5-10 minutes!

The features that come on the Mac make all other computers pale in comparison. iLife '06 is included. Some other cool stuff bundled with the MacBook are Photo booth and iMovie, which you can use to take pictures and record movies right out of the box, without any cables to hook up.

Another great thing about the MacBook is its speed. You know how much of a hassle it can be to restart your PC, and it usually takes several minutes. Not on a MacBook. My computer restarts and is ready to use in less than a minute. Web pages and computer programs load faster than ever as well.

I had my doubts about the 13" monitor when I bought my MacBook, but I have to say that they have been disproven. It has an incredable 1280 X 800 screen resolution, and the glossy display is so good that you can see it from accross the room or at an angle; try that with a laptop PC and I guaruntee you'll get a glare.

The MacBook is also amazingly portable. It is very thin and only weighs about five pounds, so it is very easy to carry around the house.

One final feature I'd like to point out is Front Row. The MacBook comes with a remote control that can be used to access this amazing feature, which can be used to watch DVDs or listen to music from accross the room without have to go up to your computer to change the volume, access the DVD menu, ect. Front Row also offers all of the latest movie trailers very conveiently.

As you can see I am very satisfied with my MacBook, and I highly reccomend it. One other note: Mac now supports right-click as well, so be sure to get a two button mouse to go with your new MacBook!! I reccomend the Microsoft wireless notebook mouse which has a very small and portable snap in reciever.

I am a longtime Apple user, having owned a variety Apple's going all the way back to the Apple II+. In all these years I've had mostly great experiences with my Macs. The MacBook is no exception. As was the case with my last Apple, a PowerBook G4, my MacBook was charged and worked right out of the box. I'm certain that the new Mac user will appreciate the ease with which one can use a new Mac.

I ordered the glossy screen and am glad that I did as everything on the screen is so crisp, and well, glossy!

I would strongly recommend an upgrade of RAM to the 2GB limit. I found a great deal online for $150. While I was already extremely impressed with the MacBook's lightning quick speed at 512, I was blown away by the additional speed with the 2GB memory.

Like many others, I work at a company with a Windows XP environment. I ordered and installed XP on my Mac. I paid a little extra money and went with Parallels instead of Bootcamp. I appreciate the ability to toggle between XP and Mac OS. The speed of XP in Parallels is very fast, even faster with the 2GB RAM.

I only have two issues with my MacBook. Both problems are those that have been discussed on various Mac support sites. The first is my somewhat annoying 'squishy' mouse button. While it works fine, it doesn't really click on the right side. Numerous people have reported this and exchanged their Macbooks within the return window. The second problem is one that might freak out novices or those unfamiliar with the MAC OS. On a few occasions my MacBook has started up with a colored vertical lines. I simply restarted my MacBook and reset the PRAM. This problem has something to do with one of the software updates. Since I last updated my software, I have not encountered this problem.

One other recommendation that I would make is to spend a little more and get additional harddrive space, especially if you plan on running Windows XP on your Mac. You'll find that the 60GB hard drive may not be enough.

First, don't let the specs fool you--this thing is quick. I upgraded from a 12" Powerbook G4 1.5Ghz to the white Intel dual-core 2.0Ghz Macbook and it's a screamer. I haven't found a need to upgrade the ram (yet!) either.

Also, I was hesitent about the MacBook because of the integrated graphics card--well, it plays Call of Duty at 30-40fps at 1024x768 w/out a problem. Granted it's not an ATI/nVidia card, but this computer can hold its own w/ graphics performance.

Pros:

- Battery life is nice and long
- Great keyboard
- Bluetooth / WiFi (better Wifi reception than my Powerbook had)
- Super quiet... I never really know it's on unless I put a CD in the drive

- Build quality is quite good. Very solid and sturdy
- Clear, bright screen.

Cons:

- When running on AC power, it does and will get warm. Put it on a desk.
- No modem, but in almost 3 yrs w/ a laptop, I've only used a modem twice.


I work full-time and take classes in the mornings and on weekends--the battery life will be much apprciated next Fall, as well as the range of features this little thing has. It's a little bigger than what I was used to, but have found it to be a good, comfortable size for me.

I use both both PC and Mac and happily own an HP Pavilion ZV6000 desktop replacement.

Which do I prefer? Both. I use my PC for gaming and occasionally for school, and my Mac is my daily driver. Use what works for you, but to tell the truth, I've found that working on Mac for long periods of time doesn't give you that "fatigue" you get from sitting in front of a computer for a long while.

Macs require much less knowledge on how to use a computer, in order to use it. PCs require more knowledge of things like "defragging" and "drivers". Granted, Microsoft has done an excellent job of making Windows more and more user-friendly, it still misses the mark that sells--make it easy and less complicated, and I think Apple has done a good job of sticking w/ that.

Having never used Apple computers, I was hesitant to make this purchase initially. However, I was a fan of their iPod technology (owning four.) On a trip to Chicago I visited the Apple Store and was able to test the new MacBook. I was looking for assistance with organizing digital photos and movies and the Apple included this in its basic package. I did choose the SuperDrive upgrade and choose to double the memory as I loaded the Windows dual platform on the system. Funny thing though, we haven't used the windows side yet. The wi-fi connections are strong, the Ichat is a neat tool, and the i-photo options offer so many choices that we'll spend many hours learning more of its capability.

Overall an outstanding piece of technology. A superb screen view in a light weight package.

Having owned a Powerbook G4 12" laptop for the past 2 years, I found myself very hesitant to upgrade to the Macbook 13" laptop. I loved my 12" Powerbook as it offered plenty of power and was compact enough to easily and comfortably carry around with me if need be. I put off buying a Macbook hoping that Apple might change its mind and release a 12" Macbook Pro, but once I began to realize that it wasn't going to happen, I decided now might be as good a time as any to go ahead and jump into the Intel Mac world. Now I had to decide if I wanted to black Macbook or the white one. Decisions, Decisions.

I went with the white after seeing both models at the local Apple Store, as the white one just had that sleek look to it and so many other laptops out there are black so I wanted mine stand out a little. After getting my glossy new Macbook three days ago, I've now realized that not only was it the best Mac-buying decision I've ever made, it is probably the best computer I've ever owned in my 24 years in the computer buying business - period!

The new glossy widescreen LCD is stunning. There's not much more I can say to convey the sheer quality of this display. The Macbook also sports a brand new keyboard that makes typing on the it a dream. The keys have a lot of spring to them and have a nice little amount of space in between each of them that keeps you from accidentally hitting two keys at once. Next up is the trackpad. Apple already had one of the best trackpad input devices in the business, but now they also have one of the largest. This thing is huge and makes moving around the screen a breeze, whether you're right-handed or left-handed.

As if all these new innovations weren't enough, Apple has even thought to include a built-in iSight camera that resides in the middle at the top of the LCD display. This makes chatting with your fellow iChat AV users an entirely new experience with the ability to see each other via the camera. I personally don't find myself using it much, but there's something comforting about knowing it's there. The final new touch of the Macbook is the mag-safe power connector that uses a magnetic force to hold the power connector onto the computer. The functioning behind this idea is that if you were to accidentally catch your foot on the power cord it wouldn't pull your shiny new laptop off of the desk and break it. It's not much, but a nice safety touch nontheless.

The main question on people's minds is, "Is the new Intel Macbook fast enough or should I go for the Macbook Pro or Desktop model Intel Mac?" Well, to say the Macbook is fast would be the understatement of the century. This little thing is a speed-demon. From booting OS X Tiger up, to running many of the native applications like Safari and Mail, you'll be shocked at just how speedy the Macbook is. Even running non-native apps like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop is still pretty solid in the speed department. With the built-in 512MB of RAM, the computer is still faster than the previous Powerbook G4 models, but if you want to see what the Macbook can really do, bump your memory up to 1GB or even 2GB. This will turn your Mustang into an Indy car.

As I mentioned above, if you want to get the most out of your Macbook, bump up the internal RAM. Another thing you might want to consider if you decide to go with the white Macbook is installing a larger, and possibly even faster, hard drive. The white Macbook comes with a 60GB hard drive, which for many people, will be plenty but for those of us who tend to fill those drives up quickly, you might want to add something bigger. I added a 7200rpm 100GB Seagate Momentus hard drive that added not only 1800 more rpms than the stock 5400rpm drive included, but also 40GB more of storage space. Even this small speed increase has already paid dividends with my video useage.

At the end of the day, you won't find a more powerful or affordable notebook computer out there. The little Macbook rivals some workstations out there at the moment and proves that laptops are getting just as powerful as many desktop computers in the industry. No more having to sacrifice power and function for smaller size. If you want what is possibly the best laptop computer ever made, and one that will run not only the amazing Mac OS-X Tiger but also Windows XP, then look no further. You've hit paydirt with the Macbook.

I wanted to switch to the Macintosh platform for many years, and finally the MacBook allowed me to do it: the right combination of price and product. I'm quite happy with the result, although there is one big thing in the midst of my happiness that doesn't allow for complete satisfaction, or a 5-star rating for that matter.

Let's get the negatives first: there are issues, significant issues, with a number of MacBooks. Apart from the mooing or the staining, finally minor things in the great scheme, the problem that it's potentially deranging is the Random Shutdown. My MacBook, bought from Amazon, is experiencing one of the potential Random Shutdown Situations: the cold one. Almost inevitably, when starting up or waking up after a long while, it shuts down without warning. After a while, I turn it on and let it get warmer, and works like a charm.

A charm indeed: this is a powerful, flexible and elegant computer, with marvelous graphics, great speed and easy-to-understand organization. It allows for productive usage almost right on and leaves very little to be desire, but for a little better case, since the connections between the sides and the top case / keyboard are rather unconfortable unless you have your hands clearly over the top, and not on it as many do. Besides that, the only compliant, and it's really nothing, is the fact that many parts of the case don't fit together perfectly and feel like they are a little loose.

Then again, many users complain about more serious random shutdowns, including getting to the point that the computer is almost useless (not my case). So, beware. When mine works, and it does most of the time, it is a wonderful computer, working with a consistency, elegance and speed that shames Wintel machines. It boots fast, really fast, and it's ready for work almost inmediately, unlike those tortoises running XP; updating the OS is rather unobstrusive; using external devices is quick and simple; ditto with installing new software. All in all, even the pics included for desktop images are great.

What is not right, besides the real problem of the shutdowns? I'd like another USB port, since two are too few; I'd also like an standard Video Out connector, not the MiniDV thing that requires an adapter; certainly I'll prefer an internal modem instead of an external, USD 50 one. And the internal speakers are poor in quality. And I'd have fitted the parts more precisely, with less wiggly room between them.

My recommendation? Read Apple's discussion boards, and if you can wait a couple more weeks, do take your time till there's a clear solution to the many different Random Shutdown scenarios, that apparently are in the neighbourhood of 5% of the installed base. If you need the computer for mission-critical apps, do wait. If you live in a place without easy access to AppleCare, the post-sale maintenance service, be extra-careful. If it's not the case or you are just really willing to try it, take the plunge. Do buy one. It is a great computer and for the majority of users that have a perfectly working computer, the experience is extraordinary.

I am a consultant who is replacing a 3 year old PowerBook G4 867 MHz. Since I don't need the advanced graphics of the MacBook Pro, I got the 2.0 GHz MacBook. It didn't feel that fast with the stock 512 MB RAM, but has performed beautifully since I upgraded it to 2 GB RAM. Universal applications (Mail, Safari, DayLite, OmniGraffle) all snap open and run quickly. Non-Universal applications (MS Office, QuickBooks) also launch quickly and have run very well. Using a FireWire cable to transfer over from my old PowerBook was pure simplicity, and even the search terms I use in Safari copied over (I was stunned).

The only complaints I have (and they are minor) is (1) the keyboard has taken some getting used to, and (2) Front Row performs surprisingly sluggishly. On the second point, since all other applications have performed near-flawlessly, I will assume Apple still has some work to do on Front Row.

From a business standpoint, using Office and QuickBooks on the Mac, and having the ability to load Parallels to run Windows if I encounter an application not native for the Mac), means I can operate in a largely Windows world without having to worry about viruses, malware, etc. (at least, for now).

Now that Apple has finally stepped up to the plate in terms of more universal software applications I have made the switch from PC to my first Apple Mac. So after a little research I purchased this shiny new 2.0 Intel Dual Core MacBook. Decided on the middle bracket MacBook model as it had the full power processor and superdrive that the lower-end model lacked for $[...] more. I considered the famed "black beauty" but came to the realization that 20 more gigs on the harddrive was not worth an additional $[...]. (I'll spend that on dropping 2 gigs into the RAM). Furthermore, after visiting the Apple store and holding one I quickly realized that I did not like the matte finish of the black anyways (a glossy black would have been much more sleek). Very remeniscent of the old-school IBM thinkpads and such.

My first conclusions of this laptop were:

A) "This laptop has cool features like no latch, webcam installed, magnetic AC, and the OS seems very efficient and comparable to Windows"

B) "This laptop is not as fast as I thought it would be; only slightly faster than my 2 year old $[...]Toshiba."

C) "Heavier than I thought it would be and...wait, is that my pants on fire!? This thing runs HOT!!!" (In fact overheating was my main excuse for ditching my Toshiba and dropping $[...] on a new Mac)

The heat is bearable but it worries me because; extremely hot laptop+longterm usage=broken laptop. This is my main reason for not giving this unit a 5th star. So a quick rundown:

Pros:
-Glossy shell and glossy screen make for beautiful laptop inside and out
-Powerfull new processor
-cool features such as webcam, dvd writable drive, magnetic latch and power cord, spaced out keys for my big hands
-reasonably priced for what you get
-long battery life compared to previous laptops I've owned
-Supports a wide range of software including Microsoft Office and Windows. (Though I have read that many programs are not yet equipped to handle the dual processor such as Adobe apps. and Final Cut but this will only be temporary)
-Same processor as the base model MacBook Pro for way less $

Cons:
-At $[...]+ It should really come with at least an 80 gig harddrive
-Constantly runs hot and I fear an emminent meltdown in the future :(
-Not as fast as I had been led to believe but I think adding aftermarket 2 gigs of RAM will remedy that for under $[...].

Would I recommend this laptop to the novice/intermediate, "frugal" comsumer?
Absolutley! Good Luck!

I traded in my 12" iBook for one of these tantalizing sirens. It is thinner, much faster, brighter, bigger screen--really, a gorgeous screen even at less than full brightness; not an issue at all with the new glossiness--with more features like integral trackpad functionality and onboard bluetooth. The trackpad functionality is sooo nice (tap for click, two finger scrolling, etc., customizeability, out of the box).

My only gripe is that the lower edge along which one tends to rest one's wrists is a bit on the sharp side, as mentioned elsewhere. When my wrists tilt down past parallel, it is distinctly sharp in comparison to its predecessor, the iBook. Parallel and above, not an issue.

However the hooplah over the hot battery is overblown in my opinion and not much worse than the heat generated by the iBook. I use it all the time on my lap with bare legs and it has not bothered me. The redesign of the keyboard is very nice and the key action is more positive than the relatively mushy iBook's was.

Really nice price point for a great little package overall. I have not upgraded the memory yet, but will soon, so cannot comment on the purported performance gains that many say come with this, but I am looking foward to an effortless swap over due to the new and improved access to both the memory and the HD, which upon a cursory glance looks to be much improved.

Great package. Nice $[...] rebate from Amazon didn't hurt either.