AA Design

My local apple reseller has the new MacBook in stock, and I managed to spend a couple of minutes with a white one (they didn’t have the black model on display).

The first thing I noticed is just how big the 13.3″ screen really is. While it’s the same height as my 12″ G4 iBook, the extra width makes a huge difference, and it feels like at least an extra 2 or 3 inches. The glossy screen is gorgeous, especially with dark colors (much nicer than any of the glossy PC notebooks I’ve seen), and it’s really really fast (Safari opens in a quarter of a second!!). I expected to be disappointed by the video performance, but checking the framerate of the iTunes visualizer, I have to say it’s more than adequate for most people, even a light gamer such as myself. In fact in some ways I even like the slower video performance for the reduced price, reduced heat, and increased battery life.

My only gripe is that, like the latest iPods, the MacBook has some sharp edges and is a little uncomfortable on your arms while typing, but it’s not too bad and I’m being really picky to even mention it.

And last of all, the keyboard is by far the best thing my fingers have ever touched, and on it’s own is good enough to completely remove any other mac from my wish list. To sum it all up, it’s not a new iBook, it’s a new PowerBook with less features and a lower price tag.

I give the MacBook 5 out of 5 stars, and I put it up there with the Intel iMac as one of the best two computers of all time.