
- Sleek and sturdy design
- Great LED backlit display
- Long battery life
- Improved graphics
- No FireWire
- No media card reader
- Expensive
Apple has issued two upgraded versions of its 13-inch MacBook laptop to largely positive reviews. Both feature better performance and improved graphics compared to their predecessors, along with an LED backlit display (which doesn't contain mercury or arsenic), a multi-touch glass trackpad and a stunning, sturdy and recyclable aluminum chassis. The more powerful version of the MacBook (*est. $1,600 and up) includes a 2.4 GHz processor, a slightly larger hard drive and a backlit keyboard, but is otherwise identical to the 2.0 GHz MacBook, and considered less of a value. There's also an entry-level version (*est. $1,000) with a white plastic case. However it's largely a carryover from the previous generation, and reports say that performance and graphics are a notable step behind.
Macworld is the only reviewer to test both the 2.0 GHz and 2.4 GHz versions of the 13-inch MacBook, and their report is nicely detailed and comprehensive. Other reviewers focus their efforts on the more expensive 2.4 GHz version, but also touch on the more budget-friendly 2.0 GHz MacBook. Good efforts can be found at PCMag.com, Laptop Magazine and CNET.
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Our Sources
1. Macworld
This comprehensive and balanced review tests both of the recently updated MacBook laptops, and benchmarks them against each other as well the white plastic base model MacBook and the new 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro. Jonathan Seff says that the new MacBooks are a big improvement over the last generation, as long as the lack of FireWire isn't a deal killer.
Review: Review: Aluminum MacBook Core 2 Duo/2GHz and 2.4GHz, Jonathan Seff, Oct. 22, 2008
2. Laptop MagazineDetails/Subscribe
This review focuses on the 2.4 GHz version of the MacBook, and Dana Wollman likes the laptop well enough to grant it an Editors' Choice award. That said, Wollman says that the 2.0 GHz version "offers better bang for the buck."
Review: Apple MacBook (2008), Dana Wollman, Oct. 17, 2008
3. CNET
Although most of the attention here is spent on the 2.4 GHz version of the MacBook, CNET is impressed enough to name it an Editors' Choice. Dan Ackerman calls the MacBook "an impressive value and an impressive feat of engineering."
Review: Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, Dan Ackerman, Oct. 16, 2008
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