My 2nd 17 inch Glossy MBP and very interesting observations

[puddle27]

I received my second MBP today. The first one I received last Thursday and immediately sent it back after three days because of a broken screen. This new MBP is in top notch shape. But some things stand out.

1) Other than the screen having pixel issues on the first one (the part that was broken), it was also unevenly illuminated...as noted by many people here with their laptops. This one at first appeared the same way at the very bottom at first, but then an hour later it was gone!!...so maybe the screen just needed a warmup? Tomorrow, when i turn on my computer for the first time of the day, I'll see if i can see some unevenness. perhaps the screen just needed an initial warmup? either way, the uneven illumination was only noticeable with certain solid colors on the desktop. other colors or images you can not notice anything. this screen does not have the very noticeable bright line at the bottom of the screen.

2) Unlike my first MBP and as noted by many, there is no gap between the screen and the base. it is shut tight!!! another big plus.

3) Unlike my first MBP and as noted by many people, when the screen is angled down, like 45 degrees or more, the weight of the screen will not close it shut!! it stays open. at whatever angle!!

4) Unlike my first MBP and as noted by many people here, this computer does not get hot!!...sure it's warm and depending on what i do that fluctuates. But there's still a big difference. The first one got hot but not dangerously hot. but hot. it got as hot as my old laptop and my sister's year old Sony laptop. this one is a lot cooler and I am doing the same things with it as i did with my last computer before i sent it in to apple (i had my first MBP for three days and i messed with it till i sent it back).


So conclusions...though my first computer had a messed up screen (it would get pixelated and fuzzy), the other issues noted above other people had similar problems with their MBPs.

So did Apple finally fix the MBP problems even though only a week went by since my first and second MBP arrived? Did Apple send me a 'good computer' because i sent back the first one (you know...from the good factory with a superb track record or from a batch that had tight quality control)? Or is it really just hit and miss...depending where your computer is made and when? What i find interesting is that a lot of things seem different, especially the lack of a gap and the screen not tipping shut when it is angled low. it's like a different factory made this computer. even the viewing angle is better i think. people noted about this too.

Also there are no busted pixels on this screen. I am very happy with it.

 

[oldwatery]

So did Apple finally fix the MBP problems even though only a week went by since my first and second MBP arrived? Did Apple send me a 'good computer' because i sent back the first one (you know...from the good factory with a superb track record or from a batch that had tight quality control)? Or is it really just hit and miss...depending where your computer is made and when?

No and yes!
No....I doubt that Apple has fixed the problems....too many, some inherant design flaws and others that no one has yet figured out ( mainly the display issues)
Yes.... If your machine went back to Apple Engineering then they have sent you a replacement cherry picked out of their own private stock.
Did it seem like the computer had been opened prior to delivery to you? If so then they have unboxed and run all the QC tests on it before sending it out to you.
This is what I am in the process of doing and now that I have read your post I am feeling very optimistic about the outcome.

 

[puddle27]

i take things back

ok...on second observation...the screen is not evenly illumintated. i thought last night things looked good but today i am looking at it more closely and now i see one very noticable horrizontal line whre the screen is darker..and i notice a few notceable darker bands on teh left, a thin one down the middle and the most apparent one on the right side. i can only see it with solid colors since it gets too copmlicated to see such things with pictures. also the brightest area seems to be slightly off center and to the right near the top. the spot bleeds down. the upper left is a lot darker. even when i move my head to adjust for the limited angle of view lcd screens have, i can still notice this.

a good way to check for this is too dim your screen to the lowest possible. and presto, you can start to see the difference in areas. though i still see the difference with the screen lit the way it should be.

I am going to send the computer back for a refund. I am not going to spend over $3000 for a computer that has such a noticeable problem. the fact that so many people are compliang goes to show there is a problem.

though this computer is better than my first MBP, i am not satisfied. tomorrow i am calling apple and requesting a refund. i'll wait til after the new years to decide what to buy next. I'll come back here and check to see if the screen problems go away. I can only assume Apple realizes there is a problem but is 'stuck int he corner' due to the holiuday season. what are they supposed to do, tell people there is a problem with their top selling laptop at the biggest shopping time of the year? my guess they may just quietly fix it. hopefully they are working on it right now.

what i don't understand, has there been media reports about this? has this concern (more than a rumor) been posted on the front page of MacRumors? Let it be known!!