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Schizo macbook pro owner: I miss my MBA!
- Thread starter PDE
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Well, that was a very quick marriage, honeymoon and divorce! Received it yesterday, unpacked, booted up and immediately noticed that that LCD didn't look good - quite unevenly illuminated with the lower right corner darker and just a generally splotchy appearance throughout. Also the trackpad button felt terrible with the middle sound metallic, the corners not clicking at all and the lower edge with almost no give at all - the worst trackpad button I've used though I think something was wrong with it.
Packed it up today and am returning it. I also stopped by the Apple store to check out other displays and came across the Chimei 9c6F which I compared to the one I have (which is the most common one AUO XX73 or something) - there is a considerable difference in quality, with the Chimei being slightly brighter, much more evenly backlit and with none of the 'grain' (just drag a white window around and you can see the surface texture - on the macbooks, LED MBPs and the Chimei MBA displays you can't see any grain/texture) of the other displays.
So, that's that. Very anticlimactical , but I'm not paying that much without being totally satisfied and the display really was not nice.
End of my story....what a waste of time, but I suppose this settled my decision. For now, at least.
Packed it up today and am returning it. I also stopped by the Apple store to check out other displays and came across the Chimei 9c6F which I compared to the one I have (which is the most common one AUO XX73 or something) - there is a considerable difference in quality, with the Chimei being slightly brighter, much more evenly backlit and with none of the 'grain' (just drag a white window around and you can see the surface texture - on the macbooks, LED MBPs and the Chimei MBA displays you can't see any grain/texture) of the other displays.
So, that's that. Very anticlimactical , but I'm not paying that much without being totally satisfied and the display really was not nice.
End of my story....what a waste of time, but I suppose this settled my decision. For now, at least.
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It's interesting, I compared video playback on the MBA and my MBP matte (9c81) and I felt that the MBA was definitely better for that - more saturation and contrast that made it look great. Perhaps the glossy screen? During video playback the dark areas are not really visible so it looks amazing. The unevenness is mainly visible when working in any window that is light or white - essentially email, word processing and a lot of websites. Could I live with it? I guess, but I was already a little doubtful so this kind of sealed the deal. I love the MBA design and feel, but I might wait until the next revision...if I can! I just don't feel like replacing right now.
Oh, the screen was also not quite as bright as my MBP 9c81, but the difference was very very slight. To me they're both as bright as I'd ever want anyway.
I sold my macbook pro about a month ago to get a macbook air. I was so excited but had some issues that resulted in three replacements and finally my decision to ask for a refund and get one of the new penryn macbook pros. I just had bad luck and didn't want to keep replacing.
Today I was at tekserve and couldn't stop myself from playing with their demo MBA. God I miss it! My MBP is such a huge, heavy, clumsy machine in comparison! I miss the thinness, the build-quality, the weight and the unity of the machine - and the sheer excitement and fun of using it. The MBP is a great computer, but it feels much less solid in terms of build and design.
the MBA is one of those notebooks that pulls you in, entices you and begs you to use it. It's fun! Not many laptops can do that. I miss it tremendously, but I can't swap again because it will prove my insanity and mac addiction once and for all and my friends will leave me.
Get it. You don't need your friends. You need your Mac!
that's such a weird thing to say, even on a mac forum.
PDE: I know exactly what you mean about going back to the MBP, though. Hell, all I do is code Java and/or C (and study, study, study) so I really don't need the power, even-though I know the mbp is the more future-proof alternative, I just can't let go of this tiny little air.
So yeah, I ordered a replacement unit for now. If that turns out to be another lemon, a Macbook Pro and a broken heart it is.
that's kind of how I feel: a macbook pro and a broken heart. When I think more about it, I'm sure that in the not too distant future the MBA will be less of a compromise: one extra USB port, min 120gb hdd, a little better battery life, shorter charge time etc. At that time, it'll be easy to sell my MBP and buy a MBA without losing much money. The MBA will only get better!
Today I was going out and had packed my backpack and just as I was going out (and be out running around all day in NYC) I decided to take out my MBP because it felt too heavy! With the MBA I wouldn't have done that. Less weight and bulk is a HUGE advantage in New York City.
What issues? I had my MBA since it first came out and not a problem and the majority of the owners will agree to this. The posts you see here about MBA problems are a small percentage of total MBAs sold. Might I add, these are problems reported by very delicate people.
What issues? I had my MBA since it first came out and not a problem and the majority of the owners will agree to this. The posts you see here about MBA problems are a small percentage of total MBAs sold. Might I add, these are problems reported by very delicate people.
By very delicate people? You mean very discerning customers? Customers who ask for what they pay for....
I never quite understand those who have defect-free machines generalizing about all machines and stating that those who are experiencing defective products are just being sensitive and picky. Why is it so difficult to believe that it's cheaper for Apple to deal with individual customers' complaints (even when it means multiple replacements) than to ensure that most machines are of the highest quality out of the box? I don't know what the percentage is, but I'm sure that Apple coldly counts on a large percent of defects never being noticed by the average customer and that that is part of their strategy to reduce costs. For us who do care about quality and don't want to accept things like uneven backlighting, yellowing of displays, core shutdowns, wobbly MBAs and and other quality issues, Apple's calculation means a waste of our time and money as we replace and repair over and over again. It's really a poor long-term strategy on Apple's part.
If there were a better company to deal with, I'd switch in a heartbeat. and I hope there will be in the future. But that doesn't mean that Apple is satisfactory in terms of quality assurance, just that others are often worse.
BTW, if you received it, would you accept the LCD I posted above?
I won't disagree that the MBP may be a better choice (and probably is for most people). But let's be fair, the only problem you encountered was the screen. I would have agreed and returned the unit. However, you could have gotten another rather than given up. It's fine to say that the MBA is not for you, but it's misleading to quote all these problems. For the record I don't know of anyone complaining about yellowing on the MBA screens like on the MBP screens. The overheating and shutdown of cores is legendary on boards like this, but try like I might I have not even seen a core shutdown on mine. Fans at full speed, yes, core shutdowns, no.
On the one hand, I agree with PBE, for this kind of money, you want a flawless machine. If I want a run of the mill ultraportable, I would've picked up an EEEPC.
I actually had three MBA previously (I mentioned that in my first post), before I switched to the MBP and then tried again....so while it was 'just' the display, I've already been through a few so didn't have much patience left. I'm fine with that since I have the MBP to go back to, but I do believe that Apple quality control could, and should, be much better. I should be able to count on getting an almost 100% good unit rather than having to worry I might not. And that 100% should be objective - anybody, picky or not, should be able to pick it up and not find any immediate defects. I admit that my experience is both with MBPs and MBAs and that my main issues have been with the MBP LCDs rather than the MBAs. That's not to say I haven't had a lot of issues within a short period with the MBA.
Anyway, I'll just a wait a little to regain excitement and then try again.
hey,
i have the same issue with my led screen as in the picture above..but not that bad. i had a second unit at home...and the seconde one had not this problem BUT black was not black anymore (too bright)...so i went with the first mba. i just love how black black really is
if i work i can't see the litte prob with my screen...so i don't care at all..after all it is just a laptop which was build to use!
i have the same issue with my led screen as in the picture above..but not that bad. i had a second unit at home...and the seconde one had not this problem BUT black was not black anymore (too bright)...so i went with the first mba. i just love how black black really is
if i work i can't see the litte prob with my screen...so i don't care at all..after all it is just a laptop which was build to use!
i remember when the original macbooks came out i went through 4 of them. I lust after a MBA too, but unlike most of my apple lust, I can't actually pull the trigger for some reason. It has nothing to do with the product I guess, It has and intended an useful purpose, but i guess the price is just so not worth it for what I would use it for. I guess maybe its just not meant to be for you. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Look out for a used one or a refurb in a few months, or wait a year or so, it just don't think it's 'there' yet.