Anyone own a MacBook???? Update

[Minnie]

My HP business notebook is several years old and needs replaced.

We have several Apple products in our home and love the ease of use and want my next notebook computer to be a Mac

What I'm struggling with is which Mac product to purchase and I'm hoping that Mac users here might be able to help this hopefuly Mac user out I'll admit to being a numbers person not a techie so please forgive "newbie" questions

I've narrowed it down to 3 possibilites - price appx. w/ company discount:

13" Macbook - $800
2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
2 GB RAM

13" Macbook Pro - $1100
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
4 GB RAM

Released this week:
15" Macbook Pro - Range $1700 to $2000
Intel Core i5
2.4GHz OR 2.53GHz
320GB Serial ATA Drive@5400 rpm OR 500GB Serial ATA Drive@7200
15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display OR Hi-Res Antiglare Widescreen
4 GB RAM

Main uses - Disboards , Pictures (scrapbook), Video, spreadsheets/word

Any help figuring out which one to purchase would be appreciated! I need to make a decision soon and I'm strugling with whether spending the extra money is worth it?

I've added a poll to try to figure this out... Thanks for all the help!

AND the winner was.... 13" MacBook Pro

Thanks everyone

 

[dcentity2000]

I have a 15" Macbook Pro w/2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and it's been a solid piece of kit ever since I got it, which was quite a while back.

Put simply, it rocks!



Rich::

 

[DawnCt1]

I have an old Mac PowerBookG4. I love it. Don't ask me why but sometimes it just dies and I think, this is it. I dig out the Sony laptop, keep the Mac plugged in, and every now and then just poke the start button and it comes back to life! I love it. If it stays dead for more than a week, I will have to replace it. I love the widgets on the front, the ease of use, I just love it.

 

[dex08]

My 2 cents:

1. You want a MB Pro, not just the plan MB. The plain MB has a shorter battery life and doesn't have an SD card reader (if that matters to you) and is, well, plastic.

2. The new 13" MB Pro has a 10 hour battery life!!
3. If you prefer a larger screen then get the 15" MB Pro. It's battery life is still at least 8-9 hrs.

4. The hard drive size between the 13" and 15" MBPro are both large, but if you are storing many huge HD format video files then you may want a larger hard drive.

Personally I prefer a lighter weight model and the 13" Macbook Pro would be fine for me.

Be sure to get the Apple Care add-on! It has saved me numerous times in the past. My Superdrive went bad after a year and then my hard drive went bad right at the 3 year mark and Apple Care paid for all of the repairs!

 

[tinytreasures]

I bought a new macbook pro on friday I love it
we went to the apple store with my old macbook and paid them $99 to take all my stuff off my macbook and move it to the pro then they updated the macbook and my dh is happy as a lark
(we only did this because his PC died a awful death thursday, I think he did something on purpose because he has been begging to get a mac for a while now)

 

[Minnie]

I have a 15" Macbook Pro w/2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and it's been a solid piece of kit ever since I got it, which was quite a while back.

Put simply, it rocks!

Rich::

Why did you decide to go Pro? Was it to get the 15" screen or another reason? Thanks!

I have an old Mac PowerBookG4. I love it. Don't ask me why but sometimes it just dies and I think, this is it. I dig out the Sony laptop, keep the Mac plugged in, and every now and then just poke the start button and it comes back to life! I love it. If it stays dead for more than a week, I will have to replace it. I love the widgets on the front, the ease of use, I just love it.

I keep reading this - Macs just work Hope to love the new Mac as much as our other Apple products

My 2 cents:

1. You want a MB Pro, not just the plan MB. The plain MB has a shorter battery life and doesn't have an SD card reader (if that matters to you) and is, well, plastic.

2. The new 13" MB Pro has a 10 hour battery life!!
3. If you prefer a larger screen then get the 15" MB Pro. It's battery life is still at least 8-9 hrs.

4. The hard drive size between the 13" and 15" MBPro are both large, but if you are storing many huge HD format video files then you may want a larger hard drive.

Personally I prefer a lighter weight model and the 13" Macbook Pro would be fine for me.

Be sure to get the Apple Care add-on! It has saved me numerous times in the past. My Superdrive went bad after a year and then my hard drive went bad right at the 3 year mark and Apple Care paid for all of the repairs!

Trying to decide if the new i5 technology is worth the money - available on the 15" only. The battery life on the 13" Pro is amazing! I get 4hrs max on my HP and maybe 2-3 on my work Dell.

I bought a new macbook pro on friday I love it
we went to the apple store with my old macbook and paid them $99 to take all my stuff off my macbook and move it to the pro then they updated the macbook and my dh is happy as a lark
(we only did this because his PC died a awful death thursday, I think he did something on purpose because he has been begging to get a mac for a while now)

Which one did you purchase? I wish we had a apple store closer than 3+ hrs away! I would love to see these in person. If I go with the 15" I'm not sure if the high res matte is worth the $150...

Go cheap, mid level, or toward the high end.... I need to order soon

 

[dex08]

Trying to decide if the new i5 technology is worth the money - available on the 15" only. The battery life on the 13" Pro is amazing! I get 4hrs max on my HP and maybe 2-3 on my work Dell.

You most likely wouldn't notice the difference in the i5/i7 processor compared to the Core2Duo unless you are doing a lot of extreme video editing.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I bought the 15 inch macbook pro two months ago, it is my third one! I also have a year old 24 inch imac! LOVE my mac's!!

 

[tinatark]

just bought a 13 in MacBook Pro yesterday! I am transitioning from a pc, so it's a bit of a learning curve, but so far so good. One reason for the Pro vs. the regular book - the Pro has a backlit keyboard - great for night time use! I'm still working on file transfers - may pay Apple to do it.

 

[LBAK]

I also have the mac pro 13" and love it. I paid to have my files transferred, it was money well spent! I wouldn't go back to a regular PC. I love my mac.

 

[crz4mm2]

Some Best Buys have Apple..... just saying.

I have a 13" and LOVE it! It DID take some getting used to though. Just so you know that if you have never used a Mac before.

I won't go back.....

 

[LaraK]

I also have the 15" macbook pro....like others have said, there is a learning curve, but I LOVE it!

 

[dcentity2000]

Why did you decide to go Pro? Was it to get the 15" screen or another reason? Thanks!

It was the larger screen and the faster processor. I think I made the right choice.

However, my brothers both have MacBooks (not Pros) and they both love 'em just as much



Rich::

 

[lilmissdisney216]

LOOOOVE my MacBook. I'm actually typing on my MacBook right now!!!

 

[travelbug]

I have the MacBook Pro 13" and I love it! The long battery life is awesome.

 

[travelbug]

LOOOOVE my MacBook. I'm actually typing on my MacBook right now!!!

Me too!

 

[Minnie]

Added a poll with the prices of the options to see if that helps make this decision easier. Thanks so much for all the opinions everyone

 

[tinytreasures]

I got the pro 13
the only reason I got it over the mac book was because I have a lot of pictures so the sales person said it would run fast with the bigger memory
he was right this one runs a lot faster then my mac book

 

[sunshine girl]

I have the MacBook Pro 17" .... it is a great computer.

When I was purchasing, I debated between the 17" and the 15" but am so glad I got the larger screen. I recommend it, if it's at all a consideration (though I'm guessing not, because the 17" wasn't an option in your poll!).

 

[skuttle]

I have a regular MacBook. I've had it for about 1.5 years now and love it. I bought the cheapest one they had because I didn't need anything fancy. I just use it for the internet and word processing for work (I'm out of the office a lot). I didn't need all of the other features of the MB pro. My old HP laptop had a larger screen than this one, but I'm glad I got the smaller screen this time because it makes the whole thing smaller.

My DH bought a MacBook a month or two before I did. He bought a regular MacBook as well, but the one that was more expensive than mine. He's happy with it, but said next time he'd get a MB pro because he doesn't like the plastic.

I've love my computer. My work uses all PC stuff and I haven't had a problem converting my pages docs to word docs. I can also access my work desktop through the Citrix program and haven't had any any problems doing that with my Mac either, even thought all of the programs on my desktop at work are PC/Microsoft programs.

We also bought a time capsule, so I save everything (pictures, word docs that I'm done with, etc) on there.