Is the 15inch MBP considerably less portable than a MB?

Have pity on one who does not have an Apple store in his entire freaking city!

I've seen the Macbook at a 3rd party vendor and was very, very impressed. Am considering going for the MacbookPro once the Meron versions street, but having not seen a unit in person, I'm wondering if the incredible portability that impressed me so much with the MB will be totally lost if I go for the MBP. It's clear that the MBP is a better machhine in every othher way, but portability is a major factor for me as I will be travelling with it frequently. Can someone chime in with their much-needed two cents?

 

The MBP is only 0.4 pounds heavier, and you get the 15.4" instead of the 13.3" screen. It's one of the lightest 15.4" laptops around, and that includes the slot-loading optical drive. So if one looks at the weight relative to screen size, the MBP is actually the more impressive.

You can also buy the 60W power adapter, the one that is meant to be used with the MacBook, for travel. It will power the MBP, just not charge it as fast.

 

Size wise, they are quite different. This is pretty subjective though. As for Merom, all the latest rumors are that both MB and MBP will get the Merom upgrade.

 

Size wise actually they aren't really that far apart. I went to the Apple store and put a 13.3" MB on top of a 15" MBP, and the edges of the MBP only stick out a little bit........ it isn't significantly larger really.

 

Hmm. My MBP is MUCH thinner and lighter than my 15" eMachines was.

And it fits very nicely into my Targus nylon laptop tote. No problems at all.

I think mine is VERY portable.

 

The 15inch MBP isn't very much larger than the MB at all. Because the MB has a large bezel around the screen.

 

i have a macbook, my first laptop.

althogh it's very portable, i don't want to carry that thing, and say, roam around a city.

 

Really? So if it was always in your bag / backpack when you were out and about, you would find the weight daunting?

Thanks for everyone's replies, btw!

 

Macbook pro although it is thin, is suprisingly heavy. I had no problem carrying it around, but it all depends on your size. I am 6ft 200 pounds, catching my drift?

 

I have no problem carrying my MBP around, and I ain't that big. It is the most portable 15" notebook available IMO. I don't think you lose a ton of portability compared to the MacBook.

 

The size difference isn't really a problem . . .

 

Yeah, when I went to see the MB the MBP was right next to it, the difference in size was so small. I really loved that screen size of the MBP, the 15.4" one seemed to be perferct in portability, and it has amazing specs!

 

But the MB lasts at least an hour longer than the MBP!

Plus, the MB keyboard is nicer...keys have more travel and are stiffer. MBP keys are mushy, but screen is NICE. Dilemmas!

 

Oh yea.. MBP has backlit keyboard..

 

I had a 12" notebook before the MB. It was great for travel but the screen and keyboard got too small to use after awhile. And a 15" notebook seems a little difficult to set on a small school coffee table with books and things scattered around. The reason I bought a 13" notebook is because it's the sweet spot between portability and screen real estate.

 

The way I counter the issue of the smallness factor getting to you is this way.

Get an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Whenever you're at home just use those on a nice big screen, and when you get ready to go mobile or just to sit on the couch just remove em.

Anyways, removing and adding hardware is very simple, all it requires is plugging it in and your done, OS X will automatically detect it.

It still amazes me how fast OS X detects and sets up the hardware vs windows. I can plug in a flash drive and within a split second its up and ready to go, on XP well I gotta wait about 20-30 seconds.

 

But the bigger screen is definitely nice on the road. It is an inch larger than the MB in each dimension and the weight of the MBP doesn't really bother me, but I've narrowed it down to screen size versus 1 extra hour of battery life.

I've asked friends and everyone says they'd prefer the longer batt life. If Macbook really can get over 4 hours (4.5 hrs?), I may have to sway in that direction. I just remember being on vacation, using my girlfriend's laptop (1280x800 screen) and trying to map a few places...I was wishing for a larger screen then.

Why can't Apple come out with a MBP that gets over 4 hours? Maybe a OLED display would help.

 

Heh, I'd love to have a macbook with a 15" screen. I do like having a dedicated GPU, but I would probably get a 15" macbook depending on price.

I think they wanted to keep the weight down on the MBP so they didn't put in a high density battery in (like a 12 cell). We'll have to see if Merom improves that at all.

 

The merom won't improve it at all, having a higher TDP also means it can and will consume more power as well.

 

The TDP is set for the entire family of Merom processors.

The lower-end processors will, of course, not consume 35Watt.

 

I can easily press 4 hours out of my MacBook Pro. But in the end, how much time do you really need?

 

a few years ago, 15,4 inch was the standard for laptops

I'm wondering whether the MBP is much heavier then the MB? I think the MB is pretty heavy

 

The MBP is something like 5.6 pounds, and the MB is 5.2. I think the weight of the MB is actually perhaps more notable, since one expects it to be lighter than it is. I think to some degree this has to do with the materials used for the MacBook case compared to the alluminum alloy used for the MBP.

I think both are pretty reasonable, and even despite the weight, their slim dimensions I think make up for it from a perception standpoint.

-Zadillo

 

4 hrs with what settings? Can you quote screen brightness, bluetooth/wifi on/off, usage?

My friend just bought a MBP and can't get more than 3-3.5

4 hrs would be awesome. Ok, I guess it boils down to price, too MBP is $800 more?? Never thought of that...

 

If you think a MB or MBP is heavy, go to a computer store and pick up a fully loaded Gateway or Toshiba.

My eMachines (now Gateway) weighed at least 3 pounds more than my MBP. I was shocked at how LIGHT the MBP was for having a 15.4" screen!

 

Oh, and I get close to 4 hours on my batt if I'm on wireless, but just websurfing or chatting - no video intensive stuff (flash, movies, etc.) and no music - either itunes or CD's. With music/video, about 3-3.25 hours.