Apple has always been known for their exorbitant prices, flashy products, and a small but dedicated fan following. That being said, they are slow inroads into the mainstream market. Their recent sales results report an increase of 4% over last year on desktops/laptops alone. This is a definite indication of adoption of their computer/laptops by the end users, especially outside the US.
Scouring the market for a good 13" notebook around 60k seemed tougher than I had initially anticipated. Though I was hell bent on the Dell XPS M1330 initially, thankfully my brain took over from the heart. I was not looking for a laptop for gaming, and I needed a good battery life to last sometime in college. After almost two weeks of contemplation, I took the plunge, and ordered the Macbook white with the following configuration :
Intel C2D T8300 Penryn @ 2.4Ghz
2GB DDR2 677 ram
Intel x3100 onboard graphics with 144mb shared memory
160gb 5400 rpm Sata hard disk
13.3" glossy screen
8x super drive
Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard preinstalled
Price Inclusive of taxes : Rs. 61,000
[BREAK=Packaging]
The packaging is typical of apple. It contains the bare minimum:
The macbook (duh!)
Magsafe power adapter
A very basic printed guide/EULA
2 restore DVDs
A lint free cloth/ Apple stickers
It’s good that Apple didn't clutter the package with unwanted manuals, cd's with junk, or too many guides. A very functional package though.
A word about the magsafe adapter: The connector is not the regular type that you see in other adapters. The magnetic connector snaps onto the laptop and does not seem very rigid. If someone trips over the wire, the connector dislodges itself, thus saving the notebook from falling. I have personally experienced my old Compaq laptop falling due to the same reason. The adapter is also fairly small, though a converter is needed for use in India.
[BREAK=Technical Specifications]
Color White
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 cache 3MB shared
System bus 800MHz
Memory 2GB (two 1GB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 160GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Video Built-in iSight camera; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
FireWire One FireWire 400 port (up to 400 Mbps)
USB Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Audio Built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/audio line out
Networking Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery
[BREAK=Initial Impressions]
The macbook isn't as light as one would expect it to be. It weighs in around 2.3kg, which is pretty standard. When compared to the XPS 1330, this will definitely feel heavy. The build quality is top notch - even though the shell is made of plastic, it is of high quality, and does not feel cheap. The hinge mechanism of the display is pretty sturdy and locks in the screen without issues.
On opening it, you realize the keyboard is very simple and uncluttered. Again, this is different from most notebooks which have special keys/media keys at the top. Apple has tackled this issue by combining the special keys with the function keys. More on that later.
The keys are very comfortable to use, although it may take sometime to get used to the differently shaped keys. They give out a nice tactile response, and should make the lives of touch typists easier. The trackpad is large and does not feel cramped. The presence of just one mouse button is definitely worth noticing, as that means no dedicated button for alternate mouse clicks. That problem is taken care in a slightly different way. To perform an alternate click, the user must put two fingers on the trackpad and then click the button. Or to make things easier, the trackpad can be configured to accept taps, which eliminates the need for the button. Taping the trackpad with one finger is the normal click; with two fingers is the alternate click. Also since there are no dedicated scroll areas in the trackpad, scrolling is performed but moving two fingers over the trackpad, either horizontally or vertically to perform the desired scroll.
[BREAK=First Contact]
The initial booting takes a bit under two minutes. The process is fairly similar to all the other OSes - you are asked to enter user information, set up time zones, etc. You also have the option of uploading your photo to your user profile, something that will give you the opportunity to check out the integrated 2mp camera. It does a fairly decent job.
Once done, you are greeted by the leopard - a different sight for Windows/Linux users. The desktop is empty, with all the essential links put on the dock at the bottom. The finder is the major part of osx, something comparable to windows explorer. The options are fairly simple, and a computer literate should be able to figure out how it works.
A word about applications in osx - All your applications/programs are installed in the applications folder. You will not find multiple system files, configuration files, executables, etc unlike Windows/Linux. All you will find is a single file for each app - just click on it to launch the application. To install an application, copy it into the applications folder. Nice and simple.
Dashboard is the main widget screen. And there are tons of dashboard widgets, of which quite a few are actually very good. Spotlight is the default searching/indexing application that is integrated into the OS. Pressing the command button and space shows up the spotlight search menu, and on can search almost everything on the hard disk, from applications to documents, images, etc. Although it is decent enough, advanced users may prefer quicksilver over it.
Leopard is a very stable os. Having installed a lot of applications the past week, I have not experienced a single crash. That can be partially attributed to the underlying BSD kernel. Running multiple applications is very smooth, and definitely faster than windows xp/vista. Likewise, running the os over a period of days does not bog down the memory, something that was a very frequent problem in windows xp. Overall OSX is a different ball game - people who are open and willing to accept its rules will find it very productive and delightful to work with.
Since it would be impossible to touch every aspect of osx, visit the following links for a more detailed look and review of leopard.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: the Ars Technica review: Page 1
Macworld | Review: Mac OS X Leopard
[BREAK=Display Quality]
The 13.3†display is of fairly decent quality, although I’ve seen better. For such a premium product, the users deserve a really good screen though. And the panel comes with the usual LCD problem – backlight bleeding. I really wonder when panel manufacturers will fix this, considering LCDs are mainstream now. Having said that, the bleeding is apparent only at the bottom corners, where the speakers are placed. This may be due to the placement of the built-in speakers too.
The glossy screen does get a bit dull in bright sunlight, but not to an extent where you have to squint your eyes to see clearly. It does look great indoors and under dull light.
Although it comes only with onboard Intel X3100 graphics chipset, it does a fairly good job at rendering Full HD (1080p) without any issues. Yes, HD rendering is more CPU intensive than the GPU, but the fact that it can handle it comfortably is worth mentioning.
[BREAK=Windows On The Macbook-Bootcamp]
After apple shifted to Intel x86 processors, its become possible to install windows on the Mac. Currently, there are quite a few ways to run windows – running it within apple using software like VMware, parallels, etc; or installing it on the hard drive using bootcamp. I will be reviewing the second method here.
Setting up windows Is a very simple process. Just follow the instructions Apple - Support - Bootcamp , and you should have it running within a hour. Also, you will need a retail/oem copy of windows xp with SP2. It WILL not work on SP1 CDs. For support of windows SP3, you will need to update bootcamp to version 2.1.
Observations :
Screenshots
[BREAK=Battery Life/Heat/Noise]
Apple advertises about 4.5 hours of battery life with wi-fi on. I was surprised to see that it actually does last a little over 4 hours 15 minutes with a browser open, and running a few apps in the background. With wi-fi and bluetooth off and working on a text editor, battery life is close to 4 hours 45 minutes. This is a very good compared to other laptops with the same configuration. Watching a dvd gets about 3 hour 15 minutes of battery life, which is again pretty good.
The laptop does not heat up unusually when under normal usage. Thankfully, the arm rest and the trackpad do not get hot. With only one vent at the back, right under the monitor, it does get comparatively hot at the top left part of the keyboard (where the cpu is located). With heavy load, the heat is considerable, but again does not get hot around the arm rest. The single exhaust fan spins at 1800 rpm by default, and spins up and down as required. You would want to use an app like smcFanControl for extra flexibility. Noise is on the lower side, and it does not get out of control. Thankfully, the slot loading dvd drive also does not get as loud as the xps 1330, and is quite bearable.
[BREAK=Other Thoughts]
Must Have Software
1. smcFanControl
2. iSlayer.com
3. Growl
4. http://www.blacktree.com/projects/quicksilver.html
5. Raging Menace - MenuMeters
6. Titanium Software
Other open source alternatives can be found here
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Having used the macbook for about two weeks, i couldn't have been happier with the purchase. Its an entirely different beast, and those who are willing to give it a shot without preconceived notions will be pleased. There is more to the mac than just OSX. The entire design and functionality of the platform is focused on simplicity, and maximizing user productivity. The hardware is top notch if you don't want to play windows games on it. Overall, its a purchase I'm proud of.
Design : 9/10
Performance : 9/10
Features : 7/10
OSX : 8/10
Battery Life : 9/10
Warranty : 8/10
Value For Money : 8/10
Overall : 8.5/10
If you are looking for a 13" notebook around 60k and do not want discreet graphics for gaming, this is the best you can get!
P.S : This being my first review, mistakes are bound to occur.So kindly post your feedback, opinions and thoughts on the article
Cheers!
Scouring the market for a good 13" notebook around 60k seemed tougher than I had initially anticipated. Though I was hell bent on the Dell XPS M1330 initially, thankfully my brain took over from the heart. I was not looking for a laptop for gaming, and I needed a good battery life to last sometime in college. After almost two weeks of contemplation, I took the plunge, and ordered the Macbook white with the following configuration :
Intel C2D T8300 Penryn @ 2.4Ghz
2GB DDR2 677 ram
Intel x3100 onboard graphics with 144mb shared memory
160gb 5400 rpm Sata hard disk
13.3" glossy screen
8x super drive
Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard preinstalled
Price Inclusive of taxes : Rs. 61,000
[BREAK=Packaging]
The packaging is typical of apple. It contains the bare minimum:
The macbook (duh!)
Magsafe power adapter
A very basic printed guide/EULA
2 restore DVDs
A lint free cloth/ Apple stickers
It’s good that Apple didn't clutter the package with unwanted manuals, cd's with junk, or too many guides. A very functional package though.
A word about the magsafe adapter: The connector is not the regular type that you see in other adapters. The magnetic connector snaps onto the laptop and does not seem very rigid. If someone trips over the wire, the connector dislodges itself, thus saving the notebook from falling. I have personally experienced my old Compaq laptop falling due to the same reason. The adapter is also fairly small, though a converter is needed for use in India.
[BREAK=Technical Specifications]
Color White
Processor 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 cache 3MB shared
System bus 800MHz
Memory 2GB (two 1GB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 160GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Video Built-in iSight camera; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
FireWire One FireWire 400 port (up to 400 Mbps)
USB Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Audio Built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/audio line out
Networking Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery
[BREAK=Initial Impressions]
The macbook isn't as light as one would expect it to be. It weighs in around 2.3kg, which is pretty standard. When compared to the XPS 1330, this will definitely feel heavy. The build quality is top notch - even though the shell is made of plastic, it is of high quality, and does not feel cheap. The hinge mechanism of the display is pretty sturdy and locks in the screen without issues.
On opening it, you realize the keyboard is very simple and uncluttered. Again, this is different from most notebooks which have special keys/media keys at the top. Apple has tackled this issue by combining the special keys with the function keys. More on that later.
The keys are very comfortable to use, although it may take sometime to get used to the differently shaped keys. They give out a nice tactile response, and should make the lives of touch typists easier. The trackpad is large and does not feel cramped. The presence of just one mouse button is definitely worth noticing, as that means no dedicated button for alternate mouse clicks. That problem is taken care in a slightly different way. To perform an alternate click, the user must put two fingers on the trackpad and then click the button. Or to make things easier, the trackpad can be configured to accept taps, which eliminates the need for the button. Taping the trackpad with one finger is the normal click; with two fingers is the alternate click. Also since there are no dedicated scroll areas in the trackpad, scrolling is performed but moving two fingers over the trackpad, either horizontally or vertically to perform the desired scroll.
[BREAK=First Contact]
The initial booting takes a bit under two minutes. The process is fairly similar to all the other OSes - you are asked to enter user information, set up time zones, etc. You also have the option of uploading your photo to your user profile, something that will give you the opportunity to check out the integrated 2mp camera. It does a fairly decent job.
Once done, you are greeted by the leopard - a different sight for Windows/Linux users. The desktop is empty, with all the essential links put on the dock at the bottom. The finder is the major part of osx, something comparable to windows explorer. The options are fairly simple, and a computer literate should be able to figure out how it works.
A word about applications in osx - All your applications/programs are installed in the applications folder. You will not find multiple system files, configuration files, executables, etc unlike Windows/Linux. All you will find is a single file for each app - just click on it to launch the application. To install an application, copy it into the applications folder. Nice and simple.
Dashboard is the main widget screen. And there are tons of dashboard widgets, of which quite a few are actually very good. Spotlight is the default searching/indexing application that is integrated into the OS. Pressing the command button and space shows up the spotlight search menu, and on can search almost everything on the hard disk, from applications to documents, images, etc. Although it is decent enough, advanced users may prefer quicksilver over it.
Leopard is a very stable os. Having installed a lot of applications the past week, I have not experienced a single crash. That can be partially attributed to the underlying BSD kernel. Running multiple applications is very smooth, and definitely faster than windows xp/vista. Likewise, running the os over a period of days does not bog down the memory, something that was a very frequent problem in windows xp. Overall OSX is a different ball game - people who are open and willing to accept its rules will find it very productive and delightful to work with.
Since it would be impossible to touch every aspect of osx, visit the following links for a more detailed look and review of leopard.
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: the Ars Technica review: Page 1
Macworld | Review: Mac OS X Leopard
[BREAK=Display Quality]
The 13.3†display is of fairly decent quality, although I’ve seen better. For such a premium product, the users deserve a really good screen though. And the panel comes with the usual LCD problem – backlight bleeding. I really wonder when panel manufacturers will fix this, considering LCDs are mainstream now. Having said that, the bleeding is apparent only at the bottom corners, where the speakers are placed. This may be due to the placement of the built-in speakers too.
The glossy screen does get a bit dull in bright sunlight, but not to an extent where you have to squint your eyes to see clearly. It does look great indoors and under dull light.
Although it comes only with onboard Intel X3100 graphics chipset, it does a fairly good job at rendering Full HD (1080p) without any issues. Yes, HD rendering is more CPU intensive than the GPU, but the fact that it can handle it comfortably is worth mentioning.
[BREAK=Windows On The Macbook-Bootcamp]
After apple shifted to Intel x86 processors, its become possible to install windows on the Mac. Currently, there are quite a few ways to run windows – running it within apple using software like VMware, parallels, etc; or installing it on the hard drive using bootcamp. I will be reviewing the second method here.
Setting up windows Is a very simple process. Just follow the instructions Apple - Support - Bootcamp , and you should have it running within a hour. Also, you will need a retail/oem copy of windows xp with SP2. It WILL not work on SP1 CDs. For support of windows SP3, you will need to update bootcamp to version 2.1.
Observations :
- Booting windows on the mac is a bit slow. Takes about 1 min 10 seconds without anything installed.
- Tapping the trackpad does not work.
- Battery life is also marginally lower on windows.
- All drivers are included in the installation dvd 1 and all devices work without problems.
- With SP2, only one cpu core is identified. But with SP3, both are recognized.
Screenshots
[BREAK=Battery Life/Heat/Noise]
Apple advertises about 4.5 hours of battery life with wi-fi on. I was surprised to see that it actually does last a little over 4 hours 15 minutes with a browser open, and running a few apps in the background. With wi-fi and bluetooth off and working on a text editor, battery life is close to 4 hours 45 minutes. This is a very good compared to other laptops with the same configuration. Watching a dvd gets about 3 hour 15 minutes of battery life, which is again pretty good.
The laptop does not heat up unusually when under normal usage. Thankfully, the arm rest and the trackpad do not get hot. With only one vent at the back, right under the monitor, it does get comparatively hot at the top left part of the keyboard (where the cpu is located). With heavy load, the heat is considerable, but again does not get hot around the arm rest. The single exhaust fan spins at 1800 rpm by default, and spins up and down as required. You would want to use an app like smcFanControl for extra flexibility. Noise is on the lower side, and it does not get out of control. Thankfully, the slot loading dvd drive also does not get as loud as the xps 1330, and is quite bearable.
[BREAK=Other Thoughts]
- The macbook is a fingerprint magnet. Everywhere you touch, you leave fingerprints and small scratches. Its impossible to keep it scratch free even if you keep wiping it regularly, and carry it very safely.
- The inbuilt webcam and microphone are pretty decent. The webcam does upto 30fps and video chats are smoother.
- The battery charge indicator under the notebook is pretty cool.
- Charging the battery does take a long time when compared to other laptops.
- An extra USB port is an absolute necessity.
- It comes with one year standard warranty, and a 90 day free telephone support.
Must Have Software
1. smcFanControl
2. iSlayer.com
3. Growl
4. http://www.blacktree.com/projects/quicksilver.html
5. Raging Menace - MenuMeters
6. Titanium Software
Other open source alternatives can be found here
[BREAK=Conclusion]
Having used the macbook for about two weeks, i couldn't have been happier with the purchase. Its an entirely different beast, and those who are willing to give it a shot without preconceived notions will be pleased. There is more to the mac than just OSX. The entire design and functionality of the platform is focused on simplicity, and maximizing user productivity. The hardware is top notch if you don't want to play windows games on it. Overall, its a purchase I'm proud of.
Design : 9/10
Performance : 9/10
Features : 7/10
OSX : 8/10
Battery Life : 9/10
Warranty : 8/10
Value For Money : 8/10
Overall : 8.5/10
If you are looking for a 13" notebook around 60k and do not want discreet graphics for gaming, this is the best you can get!
P.S : This being my first review, mistakes are bound to occur.So kindly post your feedback, opinions and thoughts on the article
Cheers!
Though I would like to see more of OS Screenshot 
