Sam Oliver

I was very happy with my existing MacBook Pro but we (Pigment) decided to give ourselves a budget of £750 each to buy something that would help us be more productive.

I’d already been considering an Apple Cinema Display for the office, but when I thought about what would make me most productive, in the end it had to be the laptop. I have an entry level Samsung 24″ monitor in the office, and as I’m mainly coding a super high quality display wouldn’t really make me any more productive.

I was really happy with my existing Macbook Pro and wouldn’t have changed it under normal circumstances. I’ve just been cleaning it, re-installing leopard and boxing it up - feels kind of sad in a way.

Having said that though I’m more impressed than I thought I would be with the new MBP..

• The build quality is amazing. On the downside it does look a bit more like a PC with the black keys and black screen surround, but the unibody case is so solid and everything is so refined and polished. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone in to it - it really is nothing like your average PC.
• It doesn’t get as hot - I can work with it on my lap for hours with no need for a pile of books!
• It’s noticeably quieter.
• The screen is SO bright compared to my previous MacBook Pro. Still not sure about the glossy, but as long as you have reasonable control over the ambient lighting, the brightness more than makes up for it.
• It’s a bit thinner and lighter.
• LED backlit display means it shouldn’t suffer from getting duller over time.
• The speakers are nicer - much more depth to the sound.
• My iphone headphones and mic work in the normal socket - nice touch!
• The trackpad is larger really really smooth.
• 4GB RAM plus other slight improvements all add up and it does feel more snappy. I went with the entry level 15″ at £1299 - so I’ll sell my old MBP to make up the difference.

The previous model is still a design icon and may stay more iconic to me - but there are lots of little improvements and refinements with this new model that should make it even nicer and even more reliable.

So in summary, I’m very impressed with this solid machine and expect it to last for years. But will miss my old trusty friend and first mac…