Apple is scared - MBP design flaw

I posted this message in apple forums...They deleted it as soon as they saw it...They would not delete it if it was not truth - they are sure afraid of class action...

All MacBooks Pro suffer from design flaw.
That is when you close the lid - touchpad key and keyboard keys will touch your screen. If you are carrying notebook - then those keys will rub into the screen's TFT coating and will damage it.
In a consequence - all MBP's I have seen that are older than 12 months had visible damage.
I do not understand why Apple does not fix this - like it would be hard to put touchpad button 1 milimeter down - so it would not stick up so much?
Maybe apple should get some class action about this. Cause they know about the problem - but because that problem occurs mostly when warranty period finished - so it is very good for them...
Do you feel comfortable knowing that your screen will be damaged if you will carry your notebook?

 

Of course they would - anything that might result in lower sales, regardless of its veracity, would be heavily censored It's the Apple forums after all.

 

Make a test on your notebook - moisten your finger - and then moisten few keys with your finger on the keyboard. Then close your MBP - put it in a bag - put the bag on yourself - then remove. Lets see if it will have moist on the screen.
I repeate - all MBP i have seen (starting with G4), had screen damage. So it is not a joke...

 

Put two tiny felt squares in the corners of the screen. Problem solved.

 

OK, everyone knows about this issue. So much so that most people put a piece of wax paper or felt between their keyboard and screen. Its a retarded design issue if apple, They won't even sacrifice a mm to guarantee the screen won't scratch. And they sure as hell won't put rubber feet on the bezel, that'll ruin the "sleek look"

 

This worries me and I was wondering the same thing last night. I'm looking at my keyboard, which is obvious sticks up along with the trackpad button. Then looking at the screen, it's not indented at all so I'd imagine the keys and trackpad button have to be touching the screen.

Any MBP owners out there that have had theirs for a while see any issues? I wonder if anyone sells a large cloth that covers the entire keyboard and trackpad area to place between the screen and computer when you close it. A hassle, but worth it I think if it's going to scratch up the screen.

 

Re-read what I wrote. I wasn't disputing whether or not the problem exists. I was disputing your statement that Apple would not delete it if it was not true.

 

Sorry I agree with what you said...

 

All of this is old news.

Apple has always censored its forums. If you want to post an anti-Apple opinion, you may as well not even bother with the Apple forums. Truthfully, you probably won't find a lot of folks around here to sympathize with your cause, either, especially if you're talking about class action law suites.

BTW, this "design flaw" is a pretty common problem for laptops, not just Apple laptops. Why don't you just throw every other manufacturer in on this law suite of yours?

 

I had been wondering how come some other laptops needed padding on the bezel around the LCD (e.g. Dell Latitude D630) and why the MBP didn't have this. Now I know.

 

I would say it is not very common problem. And most affected notebooks are MBP's. The other notebooks that I know that might be affected are Sony SZ series. I owned plenty of notebooks and MBP is the first one that does this. So I am just worried that Apple knew about the problem and did not do anything. At least those people who have screen damage - could join together and get their notebooks fixed if they do class action. I just want to help those people. From the pool we will be able to see how huge the problem is...(of course if enough people witll be seeing this).

 

If you're really worried though and want more than a regular microfiber cloth for transportation, there's always this:
http://www.radtech.us/Products/wildeepz.aspx
http://www.radtech.us/Products/NotebookScreensavrz.aspx
Expensive "fix" though.

You keep mentioning this, but what exactly are you going to sue them for? Poor design is a mark of incompetency, but not something that's necessarily viable for a lawsuit. Even if you somehow found a viable argument and managed to serve them with it, the money they'd pay for the settlement would be so negligible compared to the people affected you'd get nothing out of it

 

Sorry to break the news to you, but this happens with just about any laptop.

Seriously.

Yeah, even with a business class notebook like a Thinkpad T60.

Easy solution: http://www.shaggymac.com/

 

Do not think so. I had HP n610, nc8430, IBM T20, T21, R50, Sony A180, S380, FS780, N180, Picturebooks. None of them had this problem - cause keys were not touching the screen...

 

My MBP is too new - I guess. I'm still using the little foam- ish insert that was there when I first opened the box.

 

I am using that foamish insert too. Just hope my wife will not throw it away sometime as rubish

 

well with my MBP there is a good mm or 2 between the keys and the screen while it is closed

 

Regardless of your experience, this is widely regarded as a common laptop problem, not an Apple laptop problem. Consider yourself lucky to have not dealt with this in the past.

I'm not exactly known as a big Apple cheerleader around here, and I don't even think you have a leg to stand on. You're not going to find many takers in these forums with your issue.

 

It is not my issue - it is a design fault - that everyone that is not blind can see. You do not need to be Apple cheerleader, but it would help if you would not be ignorant

 

The problem with that foamish insert is that it's so brittle vertically, so every time I take it off, I need to be careful how I store it. Eventually, it rips

Since you typically want a microfiber cloth to clean the screen anyway, might as well just get one that fits your keyboard and use that for protection and cleaning.

You can use the cloth for polishing your camera lens too

 

Right you are.

I'd suggest that the OP, and any MBP owner, not pick up your machine by squeezing the top and bottom of the machine together. That's what's causing the flex, and the byproduct of the flex is the marks on the screen.

Carry it more like a waitress would a tray of food, with your hand on the bottom.

 

What a novel food tray. I can just picture it: dinner is served!

But anyway, some people carry their MBP directly in with their books (NOT recommended), and this causes significant pressure on the lid. Some carrying sleeves tend to be snug enough to cause a little pressure too.

And then there was the Apple rep who demonstrated the flex of the 17" MBP lid by closing it and showing me how far he could press down on the back of the screen... ... ...

 

Definitely, I'm very careful with everything. It's amazing that I haven't even smudged my screen yet . I'm just waiting for the foam to rip and then I'll buy a ShaggyMac Screen Protector to serve that dual-purpose.

 

I'm not being ignorant. I'm being realistic. This is a common problem.

If you don't believe me, do a google search. You'll find more people with this problem than you can count.

I'm not telling you that it's right that this happens. I'm just telling you that this is not a MBP exclusive issue. I'll also point out that bringing class action law suites into your argument does nothing, but make a lot of people think you're the type of person that blows things out of proportion. For most of us law suites are the last step, not the first.

 

Well I just licked my finger and wiped it on the trackpad button and the spacebar. I closed the lid and even pressed down lightly on the spots where I wiped my finger and nothing transfered to the screen. The people with damaged screens must not care for their laptops like they should. Maybe they do, I'm just throwing it out there.

 

I got scared at first for reading this thread...but it does indeed seem to be a typical problem I would say with most portable notebooks. I just tried the experiment with a lenovo T41, and it too failed the test. Either way its really an easy fix if you buy a cloth. If it does somehow damage the screen, there is always applecare. Also this laptop is about 3 years old and he screen seems to be holding up just fine.

 

Uggh..saliva's on a laptop screen is so annoying...

I let a friend use my old Thinkpad once, and he was the equivalent of a loose garden hose when he talked - the screen was a nightmare after I got it back...

I'm sure you all wanted to know that though

 

Try this:

http://www.radtech.us/Products/Wildeepz.aspx

 

Lol, a fix for the warped LCD screen issue! Has anyone used these? I'm curious how much gap they add and if the Macbook Pro can still latch easily.

 

You guys that are worried about his should buy a shaggymac keyboard cover.

Even if your not, its handy to have around to clean off smudges/etc.

 

Zepto has a problem with this which is more widespread than Apple, and Thinkpads and Sony's have around the same amount of problems with this issue. The main reason is flex from the monitor to the keyboard when people are carrying them around and pressure is placed on both. I think most people know about it and it wouldn't change my decision to buy any particular computer.

I was also wondering, if you have a hard case to prevent flex, will this stop the problem? I looked at the ShaggyMac's and can't seem to find one on eBay.

 

The screen absolutely IS indented. take your damn finger and you can feel this.

This thread is BS

 

Speck designs hard cases for the MacBook Pro.
http://www.speckproducts.com/for-macbook.html

There's a review here on this site for the latest one as well. Unfortunately, while it does add some protection, it also makes the MBP heavier and thicker - taking away some of the primary appeal and selling points of the laptop. Also, some people have problems with putting the shell on and taking it off (i.e. scratching the MBP while doing so).

 

Bad wording on my part. Hardly indented is what I should have said.

Well, thanks for participating in the BS thread.

 

As others have said this is not unique to Apple, and the solution is to take care in the way you transport your notebook. Any pressure on the lid is going to smoosh it against the keyboard, so be careful about putting pressure on the lid, and look into investing some protection.

 

Or, you have screen damage because you probably close the screen roughly on the keyboard..


My friend has a macbook pro with the ATI X1600, he has NO screen damage whatsoever, he's had it for a while too. I can see your point, but for my friend and I, we've had no damage.

 

Well I bought a Marware keyboard cover knowing that the oils in your fingers can end up on the laptop screen. However for those of you with a Mac now. Should I get the full protector that covers the keyboard and touch pad? The entire screen?

Wha's better, shaggy or radtech?

My HPnw8440 has lil rubber spacers to keep the screen from touching the keyboard. However these end up touching the screen and leave dust marks. I clean this laptop every so often so it's not a prob, but it could be.

As for the issue of it being more prone to this problem than other laptops. I call that poor/cheap design. I would expect a cheap laptop to have this problem, but a 2.5k laptop ....my HP which I bike with in a backpack (I stick it in a sleeve, then put that in the laptop section in the backpack) goes with me to and from work everyday. If I don't bike its in a carrying case. Not a single sign of wear from the keys on the screen. In the backpack there are a ton of oter things on top of it. I have even put huge programming books on top of it... my t41p didn't have this issue either. My sony SZ (first gen) I believe would have . I never carried it around much and took good care of it. My p120 toshiba suffered from this, some worse than others...

I am disappointed as a whole with the decline in quality I see in many of today's electronics. I was thinking about getting a VX2s which I hope wouldn't have this problem...then again I saw it on portable one's site for 3k...I wanted a mac anyhow so the best thing I can do is take care of it. Apple isn't promising to make my laptop last a long time. Now with as well as I take care of my stuff...if something happens maybe I will have Apple care..but either way I wouldn't buy an Apple product in the near future. Says a lot about a company.

Like Alenas said...they have had this problem for a while..if they haven't addressed it or fixed it atleast to the point it stays ok with a shaggy/cover thing. Then apple loses huge points in my book. 2.5k is a lot of money to me.

 

I ordered the same thing.

 

Well, I had that problem with my old 12" powerbook. I use one of those keyboard rags with my new mbp. Hopefully it won't be a problem.

 

I just ordered the screensaverz screen protection from radtech. Thanks for letting me know!

 

hahahahha

this guy had me convinced that there was no indentation in the screen. i didn't even think to do the simple finger test. thanks!

 

Well said....BUT!
Who know how much personal devastation is caused by this, think of the thousands of poor soles who, because they were unable to afford a $5 screen protection cloth, must everyday look at a slightly indented /scratched screen... oh the horror... the humanity of it all. I'm surprised that apple hasn't had to setup a suicide prevention telephone line just to deal with the issue of what must be a huge number of seriously depressed and traumatised individuals. Perhaps a class action suit could help.. just a small bit to restore the balance and repair the hurt done by this horrific design flaw.
a

 

So your screen isnt even scratched? you want to sue them to compensate you for using the foamy thing?

 

well i just tried that test and no liquid transferred onto the screen and when i close the lid u can see that there is a space between keys and screen, taht said that may be the problem with any notebook that doesnt have the pads in the bezel's corners, and apple with their miimalistic approach decided not to put those .And this post got everyone scared and how do we know ur no a sales rep for one of those companies that sell all that junk for mbp. its like a guy says smoking is bad for u and tries to sell u a gum that helps quit smoking , and if this was such a problem that "every single apple notebook affected since g4 " it would have been all over the digg nation and that sort of sites , and why u waited till now to post this thread , apple sells more laptops that they ever have and some people try to ruin that,.

 

Okay...I can't believe I read that.

 

some people just don't value readability or legibility (in their own writing). its the curse of the internet. anyone can write, so standards are low and proper form is barely a consideration.

 

Yes my screen is not scratched - just because i bought the notebook 3 weeks ago, but 4 of my friends have MBP's with damaged screens already (and they did not vote here yet). And I do not want to be in their position when you have to replace your notebook every year (or pay $350 for stupid apple care, which might say that you were not looking after notebook properly). MBP is too expensive to have that kind of design flaws. And when more and more people are buying these notebook - there will be more perfection required. Especially if Apple wants to satisfy Windows crowd - then they have a lot of competition. They can try to sell **** for so much to Mac crowd - but not windows...

 

What kind of damages are your friends noticing? Indentations of the screen or scratches? My MBP, like yours, is about 3 weeks old and I don't intend on seeing damages anytime soon.

 

I saw those damages for myself. It is scratches. It looks like keybard would press into the screen permanently (edges of the keys scratch off the TFT coating)

 

If four of your friends really had so much trouble with MBPs, why would you buy one then? I mean, if 4 of my friends had the same digital camera and said the battery life was ass or that the thing took bad pictures, I know I sure wouldn't go out and buy the same camera. If four of my friends had the same HDTV and all four blew a fuse in the first year, I wouldn't think to myself "I'm going to get that exact make & model HDTV."