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8 out of 10 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"CNET Reviews from the Twilight Zone?..."
Pros: Rock Solid, Beautiful Design, Runs XP and Mac OS, Fastest Laptop on the Market, 2 GB RAM, 802.11n ready, Virus & Malware Free (on the Mac side), built-in video conferencing out of the box, and more..
Cons: None significant (with the exception that CNET refuses remove their PC-centric beige colored glasses), Oh, and it doesn't weigh 10oz, have a holographic display, or help me lose weight.
Summary: Like one of the earlier reviewers, I too and am getting kind of tired of CNET's mediocre reviews of Apple Computing hardware. I'm not a rah-rah, "everything-Apple-is-perfect kind of person," and yet calling a top of the line laptop "very good" is just silly. I look to CNET and PC World and other sources like that to review Apple in light of all of the other products in the market. I like the fact that they are not purple KoolAide drinking MacHeads who can't see anything wrong with Apple. I'm a MacHead who likes a balanced report AND still loves the vast majority of the products an acknowledged innovator like Apple is bringing to market. We all know that computing today would be (quite frankly) a dismal place without the efforts of Apple for PC vendors to copy. Same goes for that OS most folks run on their PeeCees.
My point is not to rant. My point is that CNET's ratings of Apple's products are consistently low to the point where I just wonder what they heck Apple could come up with to get the 8.5 - 10 rating some of their computers deserve. These new MacBook Pros are amazing and I cannot wait until I get mine in hand. They're not perfect, but they're better than anything else out there.
My other problem with this review is that it is poorly researched. The wireless card in the new MBP supports the 802.11n standard, as well as being backwards compatible with the b and the g. Are the larger hard drives truly slower, the same, or faster? What does it mean that Apple chose not to offer a 7200 RPM HD? Why not report on that? Didn't include a media card? Oi-Vey! They're like 20 bucks. Go buy one if you need it. The slot it right there and Apple assumes that its Pro consumers already have one or would not be happy with the one they bundled. And the "price premium?" It's time to really compare similar systems if you can find them. For a top of the line laptop, this is priced competitively and when was the last time you heard Lexus or BMW owners talk about the price of their cars? If you want to crunch price, compare the MacBook, the consumer laptops, and compare them to similarly configured systems from Dell and HP. They might be slightly higher, but certainly not enough to factor into deciding which one is going to last longer.
90 days of free Telephone support is not a long time, I agree. I would like to see Apple extend that to a year too. However, most smart consumers will buy the extended Apple warranty ("AppleCare") on their laptop which gives them unlimited telephone support for 3 years along with an unbeatable warranty covering parts and labor.
I hope CNET can become a place that gives us some really juicy, balanced, unbiased reviews of Apple's hardware. MacHeads need a place to go to get a second opinion when one is warranted. This review just never explained why the product was rated so poorly on the basis of an unnecessary accessory (try to say that 3 times fast!) and 90 days of free tech support. Just kind of smacks as an agenda of some kind and that the review was written by someone unfamiliar with BOTH Macs and PCs.
I look forward to better reviews in the future that can be "groovy" and helpful in purchase process.
Peace,
Mick
