Apple 13-inch MacBook Pro Review Discussion

Fully agree there. Many people don't how to set the right profile or disable blue tooth. I would not rely on user reports for battery life.

Can't agree there. Unless you're referring to light use a.k.a. browsing the web. That's something else than 'normal use' in my book.

 

Rachel: There are always reports of low battery life from inexperienced users, from what I've seen. My Sony SZ I've seen multiple reports of 2-3 hour battery life, and I consistently get 5-6. My X300 I've seen reports of 1-2 hour battery life, and I consistently get 4-5.

If you read any of the posts you linked to, none of those people seem particularly "experienced" in any way. Simply the fact that most of them complain that their battery meter isn't reporting a lot of battery life is proof of this.

But there could be hardware variation like I said, so it will be interesting to get some more reviews from experienced laptop users who know how to use a battery properly for normal use (aka not full brightness, blutooth on, running a DVD, watching movies, and editing videos)

Edit:

Sadly, I've seen this to be true over and over again. And with Mac OSX it could be worse since many Mac users don't know and don't care to know any technical details about computer performance optimization.

Well for me normal use isn't very much - light web browsing and word processing, so for this it should be about 6 hours. Heavier use (lots of videos) probably more like 5. Light use (word processing only + music) 7, maybe 8 as some reviews seem to have achieved without much effort.

 

That sounds about accurate. 5-6 hours with normal use. Excellent battery life by the way.

 

A lot of people seem to be reporting battery life in the area of 5hrs and like i said i was taking the average. I didn't link to every single post. Of course some will be higher and some lower etc.May be some of these people don't know how to use their computer and i already stated that for those 3hrs scores.

I look at user reviews as well, i find it helpful for my own purchasing choices. I kind of take a medium average from their scores.

Edited to add:
There needs to be a thread started in this forum so we can see what everyone here is getting.

 

Done: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=393388

 

Just a lil update, the SATA 150 thing has been corrected with a firmware update.

 

Does anyone know how MacBook Pro screen compares to other 13.3"/14.1" screens at similar (or lower) price tag? T400 and etc

 

It's much better. Contrast is much higher and richer colors. For detailed screen reviews check Notebookcheck.com and Notebookjournal.de

The High Brightness screen on T400 is supposed to be better than the normal T400 screens.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4946

But I doubt it rivals the MBP in contrast or colors.

 

This thing should be outperformed by the Dell Studio 14z, right? And by half the price...is this worth it?

 

I just configured the Dell Studio 14z. With a better 8600 processor, 3 GB of memory, and all around better specs, (aside from the 9400 GS), the Dell came out to $864. So that is $335 less than the Apple.

I also configured the Studio XPS 13, I was curious about that one. It ends up being about $1,000 with better specs and the 9400 GS, plus the Dell Mini 10 included. Free shipping as well.

 

With equal CPUs they perform the same.

The 1366*768 screen will be blown away by the Apple screen in contrast and color gamut.

The 1600*900 on the Dell is better, but I'm not sure if it can rival the MBP display.

The Apple has a lot better build quality than Dell, it's basically aluminium vs. plastic.

The touchpad on the MBP is superior to Dell Studio. It's larger and supports several two and three finger gestures. It just works smoother.

Battery life on the MBP is superior, 7 hours on the standard 6 cell. But it can not be removed. This is a pro of the Studio 14z, the battery can be removed and upgraded to 9 cell. (which only gives 5 hours).

PS. I own both Studio 15 and 13" MBP (and am selling them both).

 

oh...well good to know

But I thought that since the 14z can use a faster CPU, it would perform better, right? And it should be lighter, since I find that the 13MBP is heavy.
About the battery, I just read from some user that in saving mode, he can reach the 6 hours with the 6 cell....

But I agree with the MBP having a better touchpad and higher BQ.

 

I'm not sure about the real weight of the 14z with 6 cell. I guess it will be close to 13" MBP.

 

Dont you find that the MBP13 is heavy?
I think I feel it as heavy as my 15 inch Dell Vostro 1000...could be a misperception, but if the 14z is that heavy, then it is not an ultraportable...

 

MBP 13" is exactly 2.0 kg. It's not very light no.

 

Phil, is there anything you didn't like about the Studio 15? From my previous horrible experiences with Toshiba's Satellite A70 and HP's dv6424ca, the Studio 15 seems pretty good apart from the quirky BIOS bugs.

 

It's a very good performing system. I got lucky with the AUO 720p panel, which is a bit better than the Samsung. What's not to like: Some keyboard flex and build quality isn't all that. It's normal for a consumer laptop made out of plastic. It would not bother me. But it's a different league to the excellent build quality of MBP.

 

The 13" MBP weighs 2.05kg so 4.51lbs.
Of course there are ways to boost the battery life of the Dell 14z, just by using better power management and taking steps like turning Aero of and getting a flash block/minimising flash ads will help. It could help to add around may be 45 minutes or more of battery life just taking the last two steps. It boosted my battery life by 1hr anyway.

If you use FF and a flash block on a Mac or heavily restrict flash ads of course your battery life will be better than someone that does not take these steps and surfs quite typically.

 

I tend to trust Notebookjournal's scale:
Gewicht inklusive Akku 2.000,00 g
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/review-apple-macbook-pro-13-3-zoll-937

 

Trustedreviews always weighs notebooks and they had the weight down as 4.51lbs and i tend to trust them as well with weights.

Edited to add:

I see that the weight given is 4.51lbs in this review as well.
PC Pro seems to have weighed it at 2.03kg so 4.475lbs.
Notebookcheck also weighed it in at 2.031kg.

So far notebookjournal.de have got it down weighing less than any other review i have seen.

 

Everyone has different

 

As always, excellent review!

I'd like to know how Apple achieves this outstanding battery life using the same hardware as the competitors (with more than +2h extra battery life)?

 

I believe the use of Lithium Polymer contributes to that.

Also, Apple/OS X has very good power saving features.

Sony Z gets about 6 hours battery life out of a Lithium Ion battery.

 

is the 7 hour battery life under full load? or moderate load. By full load i mean playing games and movies etc.

 

Light mode. Surfing the web on wifi with dimmed display.

 

Is there anyway of getting a 9 cell battery for the macbook pro?

 

why? isnt 7 enough>

 

Nope, I don't think so. The battery is built into the laptop.

 

And removing the battery voids the warranty IIRC

 

Hi Phil,

Just a quick question: why also the 13" MBP, and what did you buy in alternative?

 

Well I buy and sell laptops quite often.

The 13" MBP is close to perfection, except for the weight and OS X. I prefer Windows 7.

 

Get an Envy 13...it is a very nice little laptop, and it is quite powerful I must say.

 

I like the Envy 13. Except for the touchpad and price.

Right now I'm considering Asus UL30A and Acer 1810TZ. Much more value for money in my opinion.

 

The touchpad is very nice in fact. At least, in my hands it worked flawlessly!
The price is quite high, I agree, but the higher res, the switchable and the light and thin design are very nice.
I really liked it when I grabbed it and got to play around with it, and it even made the Z and the SR (sitting on each side) look like bricks!

 

How is the screen on this better than the one on the older 13" alum Macbook ?

Also, typically when mailing the laptop (say buing/./selling online), we take out the batteries in other laptops.
How does that work in the MBPs with the non-removable battery ?

 

The screen has a 72% gamut, while the first alu macbooks had a 45% gamut.

Contrast is much higher, black levels deeper and colors appear more vibrant.

Detailed measurements can be found on notebookcheck.com