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If Apple does release a UP, do you want to be their beta tester?

daneoni

daneoni

macrumors G5
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
12,029
1,931
I was just thinking...so what if Apple releases an Ultraportable. It'll be their first generation and from experience Apple doesnt have a stellar record with first gen products.

PowerBook

The first PowerBooks (12, 15 and 17) all had their issues. The 12" overheated alot and had pitting issues, the 15" TiBook/AlBook. Also overheated alot and the hinges on the TiBook sucked and the first Albooks had build issues with wonky bases and keyboard, poor latches etc.

MacBook Pros

First gen MacBook Pros suffered from CPU whines, swollen batteries, yellowy displays, major heat issues-too much thermal paste applications, melting magsafes, overall lack in build quality due to rush out of factories etc

MacBooks

First gen macbooks also overheated, random shutdowns, again build issues with wonky plastic hinges, cracking cases, discolouration, distruction of media in superdrives, melting magsafes, razor sharp edges, cheap screens etc

iMacs

Faulty PSUs in the G5s

Summing up

Now these issues obviously didn't affect EVERYBODY but a significant number and also every manufacturer suffers the same fate of Rev A syndrome. I'm not here to bash Apple, in fact i'm a big fan and have owned a machine from each product line except the Pro Desktops since i switched a few years ago.

Im just saying from experience it might be better/smarter to wait till Rev B or even C before jumping on that wagon. Especially an ultraportable, which will feature delicate parts cramped into a small footprint

Basically being an early adopter means you have a high chance of beta testing for Apple and you might have your work cut out for you in an ultraportable......to some who like living on the edge, thats fine. Personally i'd rather not.
 
Food for thought. I try to avoid rev A products. That said, I did buy a rev A iMac and never regretted it for a second. I hope Apple gets their quality control under control in 2008
 
Kashchei said:
Food for thought. I try to avoid rev A products...
Click to expand...
The OP isn't asking about Rev.A products, but launch products. Are you saying you try to wait until the third incarnation of a product or misusing the term?
 
PS, This Thread is actually meant for the MacBook/MacBook Pro section since they're are the usual suspects.

If mods could actually move this over there i'd be glad.

Thanks
 
means you have a high chance of beta testing for Apple
Click to expand...

High?



Got numbers to back this up?


The Rev A thing is overdone.

I bought Rev A's that worked perfectly and a Rev C that had noise issues.

UP users are NOT beta testers. It is a released product. You may or may not have issues with the product just like all others.

Rembmer for every person that posts a problem there are far far more that don't both because it just works.
 
I've been saying this for weeks now. People are going to flock to Apple's newest beta (just like Leopard), and we'll have a slew of complaint threads to look forward to (just like Leopard) once they see they dropped two grand on a product that's not going to work properly for another six months and three patches. Oh well. Live and learn. Except for the beta testers. :^)
 
Bah humbug! There is no such thing as Rev A "problems". If I like what they show in MWSF then I'll buy it and won't read these forums to gurantee no problems suddenly emerging.
 
I like being a pioneer :D but seriously I would definately buy one if I didn't just buy a macbook for mobile use.
 
Don't forget the iBooks. At one point, the G3 iBooks had up to an 80% failure rate in the logic boards. See LowendMac for details on that. This was one of the few times Apple actually stopped ignoring a widespread issue (only to head off the lawsuits, of course).

And as long as you're talking about the Powerbooks, you can't ignore the horrific screen defects that plagued the 17" models. A quick search on youtube (or google) for Powerbook screen lines will show you all you need to know. Did Apple acknowledge those issues?

Do you even have to ask? Haha!

So yeah. Go for whatever beta Apple ships out in January. But please don't say you weren't warned. You were. You were just too greedy to listen!
 
My husband, a manufacturing engineer, taught me long ago to not purchase 1st gen *anything*, unless it was given to us for free (beta testing).

That advice has served me well and has saved me a lot of headaches (money). I am perfectly content to allow others to pay to be guinea pigs.
 
plumbingandtech said:
High?



Got numbers to back this up?
Click to expand...

No but historical pattern speaks for itself

plumbingandtech said:
The Rev A thing is overdone.

I bought Rev A's that worked perfectly and a Rev C that had noise issues.
Click to expand...

Like i said not everybody suffers the Rev A syndrome but a significant amount of people have

plumbingandtech said:
UP users are NOT beta testers. It is a released product. You may or may not have issues with the product just like all others.
Click to expand...

True, but with Rev As, the number of people that have issues would more likely be higher than in future revisions

plumbingandtech said:
Rembmer for every person that posts a problem there are far far more that don't both because it just works.
Click to expand...

Got numbers to back that up?

What about those who go to Apple stores genius bars? or simply return the item because they don't want to bother with repairs?. Third party resellers (returns and repairs)? or even those who blatantly just live with it because they dont know any better?

kamiboy said:
Bah humbug! There is no such thing as Rev A "problems". If I like what they show in MWSF then I'll buy it and won't read these forums to gurantee no problems suddenly emerging.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. Goodluck.
 
Its always annoying when a company makes a bad product and you get bitten for jumping on the bandwagon right away. I had the same thing happen to me when I bought an xbox 360; had it break 3 times, and they did NOTHING to compensate me. Its annoying, but I've learned my lesson: I will no longer buy 1st gen products. I'd rather wait a few months or more until most of the quirks are worked out.
 
Hmm lets see my last 4 apple purchase have been on the day they came out.

orange shuffle
first intel iMac
iTouch
Leopard

I have not had problems with any of them. I know there were a lot of iTouch problems with the screen but I had none.

I just like the feeling of ordering things right away and being the first to get to experience them.

This forum has corrupted me to wait for rumors and things to come out. I even told my mom that I did not want a rebel Xti for christmas because the newer models might be released in feb.

So for christmas I got a promise that my parents will buy me a camera that is not even released yet.

So yes if I was looking for a UP laptop I would order it on Jan 15th.
 
My last early adoption was the iPhone and I didn't regret that one, that said, I may wait a bit if Apple launches a UP or a new mbp just to make sure that things are o.k.
 
In an ideal world you'd wait until Rev Z.9, but by that time you may as well wait until the next Rev A :rolleyes:
 
It makes logical sense that a first generation product will have more issues than the same product after revisions. Revisions are made to improve upon, and add features to products.
 
heatmiser said:
I've been saying this for weeks now. People are going to flock to Apple's newest beta (just like Leopard)
Click to expand...

Leopard isn't a beta, its perfectly stable as far as I'm concerned, with the exception of the dodgy security update. Just because some users haven't done an Archive and Install doesn't make Leopard a bad product.
 
I will undoubtedly be their beta tester - when I buy one, whenever that might be in it's product cycle. If I feel like a beta tester when I bought an MBP that got superceded by Santa Rosa a week after purchase, I don't give a UP at release much chance of being anywhere near defect-free. Although for the first time I'm not actually seeing a need for a UP OSX machine in my stable. Might hold off on it.
 
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