RE: Which Apple Laptop?

Hi,

I'm a Securities Trader & i use the internet ALL the time to trade online.

Not sure how many types of Apple laptops are available in the market. Can somebody pls. recommend the ultimate Business Apple Laptop for my profession.

Is it MacBook Pro or iBook or...

I need SPEED, RELIABILITY & INTERNET CONNECTION !

Pls. advise - DC

 

You really only have two choices:the Macbook (either white or black) or the Macbook Pro.

The Macbook Pro is probably one of the best laptops in the market right now... it's got everything you really need (including stylish good looks). If you can afford it, get it!

 

The macbook pro is the more business orientated or power users choice. It has a dedicated video card and is therefore going to perform faster. having a 15 or 17" screen might also be nicer.

However for your use a 13" macbook could work as well as internet and most programs don't need a dedicated video card. The 13" macbook is smaller as well so it would be more portable.

 

The first thing you need to do is check that none of the sites you use for your trading require IE. Odds are that some of them do. If that is the case, then understand that you will need to run Windows in some way, either through Boot Camp or virtualization like Parallels or VMWare. The best way to check is to try them out with Firefox on your current machine and see how it goes.

As Aurora said, it is either MacBook or MacBook Pro, both are great and since your demands are not high, either will work great.

 

No question, MacBook Pro is the ultimate business laptop from Apple.

 

yes. and with all the rumors (well, probably more hopes than rumors) of an ultra-portable MBP in the works, maybe thats what your looking for. but please, dont ask us when itll come out, because we dont know, its just rumored. and im also pretty sure Sam has a comparison of the MB and MBP in the mac switchers guide. look through that it might make your decision a little easier.

 

Yes, stealthsniper, I do have a Choose a Mac section in the Mac Switcher's Guide, it may be of help to you, Maverick .

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=161784#post2386474

 

Two real considerations here:

1. As mentioned, the IE thing.

2. The screen resolution.

MacBook is 1200x800.
15" MacBook Pro is 1440x900.
17" MacBook Pro is 1680x1050 or 1920x1200.

The MacBook is the most portable and has the best battery life.

The things that make the Pro Pro don't really matter to you unless you think an aluminum case and a video card are worth $900. The video card would drive an external monitor a little bit more authoritatively, but, it moves the entry price point from $1100 to $2000. The Pro has a backlit keyboard, which is very nice when you make in the middle of the night and want to place a "buy" order.

The screen res can be solved with external monitors at home and at the office.

 

While there's no formal definition of a business laptop, in general, laptops sold as "business laptops" tend to have most of the following features:

- sturdy and durable (often with magnesium alloy chassis and lid)
- spill-proof keyboard
- hard-disk shock protection
- "business" styling (plain but professional-looking, not flashy)
- somewhat compact and portable
- matte (non-glossy) screen
- Internal Bluetooth
- Internal WWAN option
- decent keyboard with little if any keyboard flex
- pointing stick (in addition to touchpad)
- fingerprint reader option
- available docking station
- DVD drive can be swapped out for second battery
- PCMCIA card (a.k.a. PC Card) and/or Expresscard slot
- Next business day onsite service option

Unfortunately, by this standard, I'd have to say that Apple doesn't make any business laptops.

I mean, they offer a few of these features... such as a matte screen option and Expresscard/34 on the MBP. The Mac laptops have supposedly great hard-disk shock protection. And they all offer Bluetooth. And the Macbook (13") is reasonably compact. And their MagSafe power cord feature is great, and you won't find it anywhere else. But... that's about it.

Overall durability isn't bad compared to other consumer laptops, but it isn't at the level of a Thinkpad or Dell Latitude. And no spill-proof keyboard. Only 2 USB ports could become an annoyance. No docking station available.

Styling... the white Macbook doesn't really look professional, IMO. And the 17" MBP is just too big. So it's either the black MB or the 15" MBP. If you're on airplanes a lot, better get the smaller MB for the tray tables if you fly coach. If you're using it mostly in offices, you'll want the reduced glare of the 15" MBP. Want both? Sorry.

And that's not to mention the OS and file compatibility issues. They all have workarounds of course... but it may be another thing to deal with if compatibility with other business users is important. Or you could just run Windows on it... but I think most people here usually advise against getting a Mac for that.

Apple just hasn't gone after the business market much. While OS X is probably quite suitable for businesses (aside from any MS Office or IE compatibility issues), none of their laptops really cater to business users (with the features I listed above) the way that Thinkpad, Dell Latitude, or HP business notebooks do. (And the situation is even worse with desktops.)

 

dont know if im allowd to comment here as im still just "getting" a mac, in fact im going to wait until newer ones come out, so i can have either the latest or the current PRO at a reduced price. in my opinion the 13" is too small, that would be the reason to go PRO for me...
on the subject of spill proofing keyboards, how difficult is it to make the keys on keyboards, with no gaps between them, not very IMHO ( i dont know why they dont....), im sure they could be designed to be enclosed keyboards (but still come apart if needed, slightly more expensive im sure), that could be another USP for the mac!!!...
i guess its the same reason why they dont put covers on other ports, covers on CDs (there was a design in the 80s were CDs had cases/covers which they would come out of when you placed them in servers) ... if they covreed them up as well then they could safely say "we're splash prooof"....being innovative, and the best PRODUCT I.E. screen (no not marketing best) im sure mac knows, is what will keep mac above the rest
if you go into a retailer (best buy us, pc world uk or whatever) all the laptop screens look the same accept for macs which IMHO look far better... that is what they need to concentrate on, were better, other screens cause eye strain if used for more than 30seconds etc.

 

Thank Folks - i'm very appreciative of the advice.

Thinkpads, Dells & HP have been consistently been quoted as the 1st choice Business laptops. The only reason that i've singled out a MacBook is 'coz of it's superior OS X. I'm shocked o learn that MacBook isn't as DURABLE as DELL or ThinkPad. I have a friend who's been using a Mac Desktop for the last 10 years & still runs like workhorse.
My local supplier tells me that only 1 out of 7000 Macs get returned for malfunction !

As i've mentioned, i need a laptop for purely NET access, SPEED & Durability.
Most brokers are USA based & since MAC is US origin, i'm pretty sure that the Tradng software will be Mac compatible !

MacBook Pro is quite expensive machine to invest in. The extra features is of no use for my purpose.

Mave

 

Another quick qtn.

Is there a software that i can use on MacBook that will allow me to use MS Office WITHOUT having to partition the hard disk to install Windows O/S ?
I want to stick to Mac OS X Leopard !

 

Dell's consumer notebooks (Inspiron class) aren't that durable...its the Dell business notebooks and HP notebooks and Thinkpads that are built great. And the MacBook is also a consumer notebook, and not built as well...

And while I say that the MacBook doesn't have fantastic build quality, doesn't mean that it will need repair (I'm responding to your quote of 1 in 7000 Macs need repair). Just something like the lid around the LCD isn't perfectly flush against the LCD. That is a sign of "not-so-good" build quality, but its not necessary for repair. So I wouldn't worry about repair and malfunction issues with the MacBook, but if you expect the MacBook to still work after you drop it on the floor a few times, that's a different story .

 

There is Microsoft Office for Mac, so you can just use the Mac version of Office. It has the same features as Office for Windows, and is fully compatible with Office for Windows. I think its best you use Office for Mac, to stick with Leopard but still have Microsoft Office.

Wait for Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 to arrive, in January 2008. Office 2008 is the equivalent of Office 2007. The current version of Office for Mac, 2004, is equivalent of Office 2003, and runs slower because it was written for PowerPC Macs and need to be emulated to run properly in Intel Macs. So wait for Office 2008.

 

Ya it's called MS Office. They make a Mac version. Also, don't assume your trading software will work with a Mac, it is very likely you may hit a snag with it. I would double check before making the jump.

 

Thanks Sam - of the 3 Business laptops i.e Dell, HP & ThinkPad, which do you think has the edge over the other ?!

Mave

 

I like Thinkpads still, even though I think their quality may be slipping, they are still the best. My wife just got a z61 and it is really nice.

 

Thinkpads used to be the clear winner, but lately there have been some issues...some of the HP business machines (like the 8510P/W, that thing is awesome) are very nicely built. If you can afford the 8510P/W, then definitely that one. Although it is expensive, around the same price as MBP, I think.

I'd say its a split between HP business and Thinkpads.

 

No Mac Mini for your wife, Cash?

I don't know why, female Mac users always seem to get the Mac Mini. I guess they think its cute.

 

Actually she really wants an iMac. The Thinkpad is from her work, so no choice in the matter.

 

Microsoft is also US origin, so that doesn't mean much. Make sure that it actually is compatible. A suprising amount of services still requier Internet Explorer/windows. Assuming could be your downfall. Then again, there are ways to make windows apps work on os x (most notably parallells).

 

Only you can decide if your preference for OS X outweighs the issues I mentioned earlier. I think that's the biggest choice to be made here.

The HP 8510p/w is certainly a nice machine, but if you're not going to go the Mac route anyway, and you're interested in portability, I'd suggest a 14" instead. 14" is the most popular size for business laptops since business users tend to carry them around a lot. So the 14" version of that HP is the 6910p. It doesn't have as powerful 3D graphics capabilities as its big brother... but I doubt you need that anyway. Dell Latitude D630 and Lenovo Thinkpad T61 would also be good choices. (Which one to get is mostly a matter of personal preference.) If it's mostly going to stay on your desk, then sure, get a 15.4" like the 8510p and enjoy the extra screen space.

 

def get a higher res screen, which means ordering one, since Brest Buy/Circuit City rarely have higher res screens...

14" 1440x900
15" 1680x1050
17" 1680x1050, 1920x1200

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