help persuade me to buy a mbp!

i'm choosing between the sony fz and the apple macbook pro and i'm completely torn...

so these are my priorities:

1. i'm a writer who stares at text all day, so i'm looking for the best contrast screen and the sony fz hi-color xbrite screen wins hands down. even better than the mbp glossy (imho), which is also good, but seems to have a lot more glare. (at least as i saw compared them in the apple store and sony store.)

2. i like to work with the laptop on my lap, so i'm worried about both computers being too hot for that...but especially the mbp. also, the mbp definitely beats out the sony with respect to battery life, it seems.

other points: i don't care about using vista vs. os x since i'm just doing basic stuff...word processing, itunes, firefox. (and i never had problems in all my years using xp.)

please help me decide!

 

I love reading my matte MBP.

It's not too hot on your lap unless it's bare skin.

 

One thing to note about the MBP is the screen's hinge. The screen only opens to about a 135° angle. Some people complain about this, especially when trying to use the MBP on their laps. I'm not sure about the Sony FZ's screen, but here is a rather stupid YouTube video that illustrates the point I'm trying to make.

 

1) That is personal opinion...so since you prefer the Sony FZ's screen, then that is your choice .

2) The MBP isn't that hot. Yes, if you're wearing shorts and you put it on your lap, it probably won't be too comfortable, but if you're wearing jeans or putting the MBP on the table, its fine.

This question is something I never got a straight answer to: does the Sony FZ have a LED-backlit screen? I've been getting conflicting answers.

 

Wow, that is a STUPID video. What a jackass that guy is.

 

One of the primary factors for getting hot-lapped by the MBP is the HD. Lots of HD access causes the HD to heat up. However, if your primary use of the notebook will be word processing... this shouldn't be too much of a concern... especially if you customize it with the 4200 RPM HD (which would eliminate the hot lap factor altogether i believe).

Also, word processing can be accomplished quite well on a basic MacBook... why do you want to go Pro? Oh...wait... you want the glossy screen. Nevermind.

 

macbook also has a glossy screen, but i think it's dimmer than the LED macbook pro screen, which makes a difference when you're staring at it for hours. but i'm thinking mbp because it's a bigger screen, too.

i wonder if that hinge thing will be a problem if i'm sitting up in a chair.

 

Yes, due to LED-backlighting the MacBook Pro has a brighter screen than the MacBook, also it displays at full brightness immediately (it takes a few minutes for a normal display to reach true "full brightness"), so both are pluses.

You may also want to note, the MacBook Pro has a higher resolution than the MacBook, so it may also be a factor in choosing MBP over MB.

 

Buy one - it's great, and Steve Jobs will personally delivery (tax, title and delivery charges apply). Seriously, mine is one week old, and I'm ready to chuck all the PC stuff I have. I got the glossy screen, and love it. There's very little glare because the screen is so bright. (And the main places I use it have lots of windows!). The performance is outstanding. I was fearful that I would overbuy with the MBP instead of the MP, but now I'm very, very pleased that I did!

 

Don't discount the impact of the OS, Mac OS is a big difference from XP. Forget Vista, that thing is garbage.

 

I am pretty certain that the Sony FZ does not have an LED screen. It is, however, a VERY nice screen. I've never seen one side by side with the MBP, so it's a little hard to compare. Probably can't go wrong with either screen, though. The resolution on the MBP is a little higher than the FZ, so you would get a little more screen real estate on the MBP. Good luck with your decision.

 

If you're going off comparisons of the screen at the stores, keep in mind the environments are very very different - i.e. of course the glossy screen will seem to have an unnatural amount of glare (even for a glossy screen) in the unbearably bright Apple store that makes everything shiny - as opposed to the Sony stores which tend to be as dark as Apple stores are bright.

 

While I don't think vista is garbage (honestly it does a lot the same as OSX) I am really digging OSX.

I'll still have a couple vista boxes for games and windows obviously. OSX is a great OS too.

 

sigh...tough decision.

 

I think if it comes down to Sony FZ or Apple MBP, I'd definitely get the MBP, no bias to Apple. They're both nicely designed, but Apple's MBP has more power as well as features like LED-backlit screen (still not sure if the Sony FZ has this).

Also, I hear so many complaints with Sony's customer service. At the same time, I hear lots of praise for Apple's customer service.

 

The SZ Series uses LED, FZ does not. That's my understanding. You can read about each on Sony's product pages (for particular models) under the "Learn" tab for more information.

 

Sony's Canada website isn't that descriptive then .

 

Doesn't the highest configuration FZ with the hi-color technology have a BD-drive? That alone is a significant advantage.

 

well, in response to some of your comments...blue ray may be nice, but isn't a high priority. and as for the LED thing, i think the sony FZ (non-LED) has a better screen than the SZ (LED). So making sure the screen is LED isn't a priority for me. i guess what i'm saying is, despite (what i think is) a better screen, is the sony worth all the other drawbacks it has compared to an apple. i can't really say one way or the other. maybe not.

 

It seems you're leaning the Sony way, Jeremy .

In the end, it really does come down to Windows or OS X. If you want OS X, its the MBP. If you don't want OS X, its the Sony. If you want both, its the MBP.

 

from what i've read so far, this is what i'd like....the sony screen and sony lower temperatures, and the mbp battery life and os x. can anyone manage that for me?

 

I can maybe help by telling you I wouldn't trade this matte LED screen for any laptop screen i've seen.

 

I think if you balance the two out, the MBP's strengths outpower the Sony's.

Lower temperatures; once again, the MBP isn't that hot. Its hotter than the Sony, but the components will not be damaged and its not like its unbearable. If you adjust the fans using SMCFanControl (a free application), you can get temperatures down 10 C from normal.

If you really dislike the MBP screen, maybe you will want to consider plugging an external monitor with your MBP whenever you can.

 

sam...you hit it right on the head. mbp has all the strengths, but i'm just harping on the screen. i used to have a thinkpad x40, which was a great computer for portability and everyone who has a thinkpad goes on and on about the keyboard. "can't get another computer because the keyboard is so great," they would say. and i'm thinking, we're staring at a screen for hours at a time, isn't the screen the most important thing and not the keyboard? apart from truly awful keyboards (like the sony sz model. ugh!) why does the keyboard matter? well, the thinkpads have awful screens and i bolded all the text to get more contrast. so i guess i don't want to make the wrong decision with the screen again.

btw, for those of you who adore the matte screen over any glossy...i will give you this: i was in an apple store comparing the two side by side, staring at them intently for like an hour... and i thought photo detail was actually better with the matte than with the glossy. i don't know why. maybe the darks were just detailed on the matte more rather than just all dark on the glossy. who knows. but for my purposes, it's all about how dark the text is on white background. and with the matte screen, the text looks kind of grey or fuzzy to me.

 

Why would you want to have maximum contrast on the text? High contrast for text doesn't make it easier to read... I also think there are options to increase contrast on the MBP if you really want to. Display calibration options are pretty elaborate...

What do you think about Mac OS X font anti-aliasing vs. Windows? Vista is supposed to be better for that whereas OS X looks fuzzy. It used to be the other way around, OS X way better than Windows, but that's technology for you. It changes.

I compared LED vs non LED (17") displays in the store as well and found the matte LED to be the best with the matte non-LED second. I thought the contrast / colors were only marginally better on the glossy displays and that didn't make up for the reflections.

Overall I think OS X will give you way less hassle than Vista.

 

contrasting colors (red/green, blue/orange, yellow/violet, black/white) make lines stand out and objects jump out at you...that's why artists like to work with contrasting colors. from my perspective, looking at low contrast greyish type on the screen is like looking at an sign in the distance...harder to read.

anyway, if anti-aliasing is better in windows, why would os x be better for me then? or are you just talking about all that other stuff outside of reading text?

 

FYI I am not trying to get you to buy a Mac - I don't sell or evangelize Macs, I just use them. I am sure you will make the best choice for yourself.

I was pointing out the font anti-aliasing differences because I thought it might be important for you. This is especially evident at small font sizes. If you found font rendering on OS X to be just fine, then it's probably not an issue for you. These things are pretty subjective.

That said - I never recommend Sonys to anyone because of their terrible service. They make good quality machines but Sony service has always been bad and I haven't heard anything that this has changed recently.

All the designers I know swear by color neutral displays... matte LCDs and CRTs.

 

If you do decide to buy the FZ, Sony offers Free Shipping every Tuesday - Thursday. They're a bit odd about that. And you should order on the phone, you'll get about a $50 better price than on SonyStyle.com.

I don't see what the big deal is though. I think the MBP wins, no contest. For the most part the 15" MBP and CTO FZ190 are very similar. I'm not sure which FZ model you're looking at though. Before I purchased a MBP I was looking at the FZ too, but you and I have different wants/needs in a notebook. Anyways, the main (most obvious) differences are the GPU, Display, and OS. The MBP trumps the FZ in each category:

• The display is subjective. However, the MBP uses LED and has a higher resolution (1400x900 compared to 1280x800).
• 8600m GT >>> 8400m GT.
• You said you really don't care about the OS. I can go Window or Mac; I'm somewhat neutral. Except I really dislike Vista, at the moment. It's XP Pro and OS X for me. Plus, with the MBP you get BOTH Windows and Mac, if you like.

MBP For The Win!

 

that's the one i'm still considering. you're right about all that, except for the screen...on paper the mbp is better, but looking at them side to side i disagree. if it weren't for that, i wouldn't still be considering the sony. i mean, geez, the sony unit i played with at the sony store even froze while i was there! that's not a good omen. it really just looked like a better screen and i want the best of both worlds. that's my problem.

ideally i'd buy the mbp and get a sony display, but they don't make displays anymore.

 

If you are so particular about the screen, exactly what are you using now? Surely anything you buy will be much better than what you have?

 

just sold my thinkpad x40. awful screen. now using a desktop with an old sony monitor which isn't bad. not as good as the new screens, though. maybe my eyes are just particular. or else my eyesight isn't doing too well.