New Apple hardware

Leopard

Amid all the hype about these latest Macs, Apple has carefully neglected to mention the fact that it's removed the Firewire port from this "improved" new MacBook.

The previous model at least had a Firewire 400 port. This one has nothing.

That omission makes it now a totally useless device for anyone who has an investment in Firewire equipment or who otherwise has need to connect their computer to a Firewire device.

(Just thought I'd point it out before anyone charges out to buy one. )

Bowling_4_Gold

13.3" LED Backlit display
Core2Duo P7350
2GB DDR @ 1066MHz
250GB SATA HDD
WiFi 802.11n
Bluetooth 2.1
DVD-RW
nVidia 9400 with 256MB RAM
Webcam
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
and all the software which comes in iLife (Garageband, iPhoto, iDVD

An alright(ish) competitor: the Medion® Akoya® E3211 Notebook MD97171. (£499.99 direct from Medion.)



Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Intel® Pentium® ULV processor SU2700
1.3GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, FSB 800 MHz
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
High Definition Audion with 2 loudspeakesr 13.3" TFT Widescreen Display
HD with 1366 x 768 Pixel
Home cinema experience, thanks to high definition pictures and super colours in 16:9 cinema format
320 GB Hard Disk
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
8 x Multi-Standard DVD-/CD-Writer with DVD-RAM and Dual-Layer support
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Draft-n with up to 300 Mbit/s. 802.11b/g compatible
Integrated 1.3MP webcam and microphone
4in1 Multicard reader
SD, MMC, MS and MS Pro
Gbit Ethernet LAN Port (10/100/1000M/bit/s.)

Ok, fair enough, not all that the Macbook is, but at a £300 saving, a jolly good piece of kit. Upgrade to Windows 7 for £20, or buy Ultimate for £70, still a massive saving. not LED backlight display, but not a huge compromise really - still HD quality.

Marty_J

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

An alright(ish) competitor: the Medion® Akoya® E3211 Notebook MD97171. (£499.99 direct from Medion.)



Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Intel® Pentium® ULV processor SU2700
1.3GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, FSB 800 MHz
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
High Definition Audion with 2 loudspeakesr 13.3" TFT Widescreen Display
HD with 1366 x 768 Pixel
Home cinema experience, thanks to high definition pictures and super colours in 16:9 cinema format
320 GB Hard Disk
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
8 x Multi-Standard DVD-/CD-Writer with DVD-RAM and Dual-Layer support
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Draft-n with up to 300 Mbit/s. 802.11b/g compatible
Integrated 1.3MP webcam and microphone
4in1 Multicard reader
SD, MMC, MS and MS Pro
Gbit Ethernet LAN Port (10/100/1000M/bit/s.)

Ok, fair enough, not all that the Macbook is, but at a £300 saving, a jolly good piece of kit. Upgrade to Windows 7 for £20, or buy Ultimate for £70, still a massive saving. not LED backlight display, but not a huge compromise really - still HD quality.

I'm sure it's a perfectly fine computer that many people would be very happy with.

But, I'm sure you can see why a MacBook is more expensive.

fox2319

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

An alright(ish) competitor: the Medion® Akoya® E3211 Notebook MD97171. (£499.99 direct from Medion.)


Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Intel® Pentium® ULV processor SU2700
1.3GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, FSB 800 MHz
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
High Definition Audion with 2 loudspeakesr 13.3" TFT Widescreen Display
HD with 1366 x 768 Pixel
Home cinema experience, thanks to high definition pictures and super colours in 16:9 cinema format
320 GB Hard Disk
4GB DDR2 SDRAM
8 x Multi-Standard DVD-/CD-Writer with DVD-RAM and Dual-Layer support
Wireless LAN 802.11b/g Draft-n with up to 300 Mbit/s. 802.11b/g compatible
Integrated 1.3MP webcam and microphone
4in1 Multicard reader
SD, MMC, MS and MS Pro
Gbit Ethernet LAN Port (10/100/1000M/bit/s.)

Ok, fair enough, not all that the Macbook is, but at a £300 saving, a jolly good piece of kit. Upgrade to Windows 7 for £20, or buy Ultimate for £70, still a massive saving. not LED backlight display, but not a huge compromise really - still HD quality.

Upgrade the processor, graphics card, operating system, software bundle, bluetooth...

So, where do you suppose the extra £300 went? You can get a cheap PC but its not quite the same thing

Bowling_4_Gold

Marty_J wrote: »

I'm sure it's a perfectly fine computer that many people would be very happy with.

But, I'm sure you can see why a MacBook is more expensive.

Err... not really... I mean, yeah the specs are not exactly the same, but it's not particularly ugly, and it's made by the Germans, who ,we have learnt from another poster, are renound for their product's build quality and reliablility, no? In fact, atm I am using a Medion PC (with 512mb RAM :rotfl:) running Vista flawlessly... so they're not all that bad...

Bowling_4_Gold

fox2319 wrote: »

Upgrade the processor, graphics card, operating system, software bundle, bluetooth...

So, where do you suppose the extra £300 went? You can get a cheap PC but its not quite the same thing

Fair enough, but you can get a GIANT 18.4" Lappy...

• Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T6500.
• 2.10GHz processor speed.
• 2MB cache.
• 4GB DDR2 RAM.
• 18.4in screen size.
• Resolution 1680 x 945 pixels (HD).
• 16:9 Widescreen.
• 500GB SATA GB hard drive.
• Blu-ray player /Multi format dual layer DVD RW optical drive.
• nVidia GeForce 9600M GS DirectX® 10 with Hybrid SLI® featuring HybridPower™ technology and HDMI digital audio/video output
• VRAM 512MB GDDR2graphics memory.
• Media card reader - compatible with SD, MMC, MS, MS PRO.
• 3 + 1 eSATA/USB 2.0 USB ports.
• 1 Gbit Ethernet LAN 10/100/1000 Mbit/s.
• High definition audio with 2 integrated loudspeaker and 1 subwoofer Dolby Home Theatre® certified.
• 1.3MP webcam with microphone.
• Wireless LAN 802.11b/g/draft-n.

Not made for portability, but still £100 cheaper than 13.3" macbook...?! Add £1.59 for Bluetooth and more for whatever software you want, and hey presto... (don't know why I'm sticking with Medion tonight...)

fox2319

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

Fair enough, but you can get a GIANT 18.4" Lappy...
< etc>
Not made for portability, but still £100 cheaper than 13.3" macbook...?! Add £1.59 for Bluetooth and more for whatever software you want, and hey presto... (don't know why I'm sticking with Medion tonight...)

Much better. Now we just need to upgrade the processor, add Win 7 Ultimate and some other software. Yes you can get bluetooth for £1.59 but they don't always work well (I've been through a few on my PC) and there's something to be said about having it internal.

Marty_J

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

Err... not really... I mean, yeah the specs are not exactly the same, but it's not particularly ugly,

While I'm sure looks contribute to the cost of a Mac (the world's best product designers don't come cheap), there are other things to consider. Build quality for one. The screen is another - Dell charge £90 to replace the regular screen with an LED one on their 13 inch laptops. Battery life is yet another. The MacBook has a much better processor, and faster RAM. The multi-touch trackpad also adds to the cost of the MacBook. Even the power connector on the MacBook is more expensive, as it's a special magnetic design. Custom parts are more expensive than off-the-shelf ones.

and it's made by the Germans, who ,we have learnt from another poster, are renound for their product's build quality and reliablility, no

I'm not sure German computers are held in such high regard as their automobiles.

In fact, atm I am using a Medion PC (with 512mb RAM :rotfl:) running Vista flawlessly... so they're not all that bad...

I didn't say they were bad. I said "I'm sure it's a perfectly fine computer that many people would be very happy with", and I meant it.

Marty_J

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

Fair enough, but you can get a GIANT 18.4" Lappy...

And one can see why it's so inexpensive.

It has a pretty slow processor, slow RAM, and a not very high resolution screen (the smaller 17-inch MacBook Pro has a 1920 x 1200 LED screen). Lord knows what the battery life is like on it.

Again, I'm not saying it's a bad computer. But the only reason Medion don't charge Apple prices for their computers is that no one would pay it.

BikerEd

I popped into the local Apple store while I was passing yesterday and had a quick look at the new machines. I'm not that impressed with the new Macbook - although it's a nice machine. I do like the new iMac, especially the larger screen. But my goodness I'm lusting after one of those magic mouses!

I like that Apple have now gone 100% over to LED screens. When I got my new 15" MBP a couple of weeks ago I sat it side by side with my old LCD model and ran through identical sets of photos. It made my older, but much loved, MBP look pale and washed-out in comparison.