Laptop and Computer Reviews

We all knew it was coming and we had a pretty good idea about what form it would be arriving in. The announcement was supposedly delayed for a week, and the tension building up to its actual release was thick despite the overwhelming amount of information readily available, albeit rumored, on certain websites. Once the MacBook was announced, Apple shut the door on PowerPC portable computers, completing a chapter of the transition to its Intel-powered future.

On May 16, the MacBook replaced the nearly seven-year-old iBook and brought with it a new era of consumer-grade portables from Apple. For the first time since the clam-shell style iBooks were discontinued at the beginning of 2001 is an Apple portable available in more than one color. Apple has been toying with the idea of offering both black and white devices since the iPod nano and subsequently the video-capable iPod, and now they’ve begun offering their consumer-grade portable laptop, the predictably named MacBook, in similar glossy black and white models.

The MacBook is a beautiful piece of hardware, the design and look is fantastic and I really like the keyboard.  This is all of course dragged down by the heat and crashing issues I’ve had so far.  However, we’ll assume that my early production system is an exception and not the rule and Apple will be able to replace it or figure out why my MacBook becomes a bit of a coffee warmer.  It’s a shame that I can’t recommend buying this right now due to the heat issues since that trumps all the other great things about this machine, if others could reply or chime in on their experience with this notebook and say they don’t have this problem, I would be hugely relieved and could then recommend.  If others are having these same heat issues, well, that’s a big concern then.

Technical Details
* 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4 MB shared L2 Cache
* 1 GB (two SO-DIMM) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); 120 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive; 6x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* One FireWire 400, two USB 2.0 ports, Mini-DVI port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video output (requires adapters, sold separately)
* Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit); built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme (802.11g); built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
* 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 x 800 resolution

Apple MacBook - black Reviews From pcw

Overall rating 4/5
Features 4/5
Ease of use 4/5
Value of Money 4/5

Apple MacBook - black Reviews From notebookreviews

PROS  :
• Powerful Intel Core Duo processor
• Glossy 13.3-inch widescreen display
• Includes remote and integrated iSight camera
• Excellent software bundle

CONS:
No memory card reader or PC Card slot
Black model costs extra

Apple MacBook - black Reviews From cnet

The good: Upgraded CPU for the same price; same great design; Leopard operating system.

The bad: Still no Express card or SD card slots; only more expensive models are available in black.

The bottom line: Apple has been content to issue minor periodic hardware updates to the 13-inch MacBook, but the modest performance gains and new Leopard OS keep it in our top tier of laptop recommendations.