If you had the money for a macbook pro, would you buy it rather than a macbook?

[islandman]

MacBook Pro all the way! Especially now that they have C2D.

 

[tominated]

17" mbp w00t! mbp's r 1337. if i was a 1337 haxX0r i'd get one for sure

 

[MacsAttack]

If one had money for a macbook pro, would one automatically choose the macbook pro over a macbook? Is there any reason why one would want a macbook rather than a macbook pro?

I was really considering a MBP. Right until I got to try out the keyboard...

With all that space Apple could have at least provided a full size keyboard. The cursor keys are pathetically small (I use those keys a lot on illustrator jobs). UK layout keyboard also has a stupidly small return key. Why Apple? Why? The rest of the machine has flair and polish - then they stick this abomination of a keyboard on it?????? (yes - I know they wanted to use the same keyboard on all the PPC Power Books - but they don't have to do that now).

Sad thing to say - but my 5 year old Dell has a far better keyboard than this pile of junk that Apple have chose to foist on its customers.

I' kind of praying that Apple will redesign the Pro a little and make use of all that space they have to play with.

 

[Sesshi]

There's a few possible reasons to choose the MacBook over the MacBook Pro, if you have the money for an MBP:

1) Keyboard. A preference thing, mainly, but if you prefer the MB keyboard, it would be a selling point over the MBP.

2) Smaller size. The MB is smaller than the MBP, and for someone who doesn't need the extras of the MBP, the MB would have some appeal on size alone.

3) Easily replaceable hard drive. This is conceivably something more of interest to pros than consumers, but at least as of now, it is much easier to swap out a MB hard drive.

4) Durability. The iBook/MacBook design is aimed at durability, and perhaps less "delicate" than the MBP. Not to say the MBP isn't durable either, but just in different ways. A good case of course makes that kind of irrelevant anyway.

Probably some other things as well, but these are the ones that come to my mind.

He summed it up the best out of all the posts I read.

The size is one of the key deciding factors, and it's not something you can immediately take into stock when you're at an Apple Store, blinded by the Jobs Reality Distortion Field. If you're going to cart around a laptop every time you use it, a 15" MBP is OK but noticeably heavier in extended carrying around. The MB is not hugely lighter but it does make a difference if you are always mobile with it.

If you're not going to spend a lot of your time carrying it around, a MBP makes much more sense as a more powerful, flexible machine all around.

It's the reason I got a Macbook originally, for fully/exclusively portable use. Unfortunately it turned out to be a hopelessly unreliable piece of crap - which is why I turned to Sony's vastly superior (except for noise) VGN-SZ2VP. It did cost almost twice as much as the Macbook, but (as ever for an upper-end Vaio) there have been no issues out of the box, it's far more portable than the Macbook and just as powerful as the then top-end MBP. For me it was cheaper and better than having two Macbooks - one as a standby spare in case it inevitably developed some fault or another.

 

[bigandy]

two words keep me in the MBP camp: backlit keyboard.

 

[ntsapp3]

.

 

[fotografica]

In regard to the size weight issue,if a six pound laptop is too heavy,unwieldy or too cumbersome for somebody,I think it's time to get to the gym Seriously,the weight/size difference between the two isn't as big as some make it out to be.Just lay a Macbook ontop of a Pro and you can see for yourself.I think it all comes down to personal preference/computing needs/$$$

 

[Karpfish]

If i had the money, i would have gone for the MBP. But i didnt, so i got a blackbook.

 

[Eraserhead]

Depends on what you want to use it for, I could probably have got a MBP but would rather spend the money on other things, especially as the MB is almost as capable (and smaller so it fits better in my bag.)

 

[shane-o-mac]

I actually had the cash for either the macbook or pro....after having my 15" powerbook stolen...I really missed it alot. However, with the revamp of the ibook into the new macbooks I was sold. The portablility and battery life ...not too mention the ding and dents my fragile powerbook fail victim too I decided to get a macbook because it fits my lifestyle better.....and it was hellah lot cheaper.

 

[dhc]

I went MBP, but now think I would've preferred a MB. I think it's the size thing.

 

[mick4394]

I actually had the cash for either the macbook or pro....after having my 15" powerbook stolen...I really missed it alot. However, with the revamp of the ibook into the new macbooks I was sold. The portablility and battery life ...not too mention the ding and dents my fragile powerbook fail victim too I decided to get a macbook because it fits my lifestyle better.....and it was hellah lot cheaper.

I'm with The Boy Wonder on this one.

 

[reflex]

I ordered a Macbook Pro, though I was interested in the black Macbook as well.

In the end what sold me was (in order of importance):
- the bigger screen
- the faster cpu
- the fact that I've always wanted a "Powerbook" (it's a design thing)
- the built-in videocard

 

[e12a]

What kind of question is this? if you have the money...do i need to even answer?

 

[junkster]

I could afford a MPB without worries, but in the end I got a white MB because:

* My primary reason for getting a notebook is so I can work on my projects wherever I want: on a lap desk in an easy chair, out in the backyard, on the road, etc. I value small size and low power consumption.
* The other big difference, besides screen size, is the fancy GPU in the MBP. This makes no difference to me performance-wise, but it generates more heat and decrease battery life. I'll pass.
* I think the MB is more aesthetically pleasing overall.
* This is a minor thing, but the power brick for the MB is smaller than the MBP. Again, less to lug around on trips.

From my point of view, both machines are complete monsters in terms of performance. I did commercial software development on a Power Mac 6100/66, a 400MHz Pentium II, and an 800-ish MHz Pentium 3. GPU aside, the PC I have on my dekstop right now (hot-running single core P4), which is used for very high-end software development, is slower than the MB. That I can have what amounts to two high-end processors and 2GB RAM in a notebook still blows my mind.

 

[iBookG4user]

I'm biased because I have a MBP.
But I would definitely go for the MBP because of several things:
- bigger screen
- Matte option (hate glossy screens)
- aluminum case
- dedicated graphics card
- looks A LOT better
- keyboard is familiar
- keyboard keys are nice to type on
- backlit keyboard