In the past I have bought, sold & replaced: 1x 15″ Ti PB G4, 2x 15″ Alu PB G4, 2x 12″ PB G4 and 1x 17″ PB G4 ~ I only have the 17″ PB G4 from this lot. Simply put, I can relate to the changes in the Apple line of laptops and this has to be by far one of the sweetest upgrades I have made.

The big changes compared to the more recent units that I really like, only after about two days use: the glass track pad with all the gestures is a great improvement. I also just bought a LUMIX LX3, upgrading from a two-year old Sony CyberShot; as such I am really liking the SD slot in the side as this means I do not have to mess about with the USB cord when moving photos across. I give this 5-stars!

Many will hear people talk about the Unibody enclosure, and having much knowledge in CNC and CADCAM (I’m an Electronic and Mechatronic Engineer myself) the benefits of this are quite clear – not only from a functionality perspective but also in terms of cutting costs and easing the process of manufacturing by Apple.

The new battery tech. was definitely a deciding factor as well. It is rather amusing to note that Apple once touted the MacBook Air’s battery performance. Right now, one can consider it to be a MacBook-lite, especially since it is also missing a Superdrive, and the only thing going for it is that it is about 700 grammes lighter than the 13.3″ MBP. Since the sealed battery is on the inside, the battery indicator on the side has been executed beautifully in true Apple style and is great. Gone are the days of flipping the unit over to take a look…

Following from its enclosure, I really love how the lid snaps close with no magnetic-clips, and as a result they have done away with the button altogether. And the best surprise I received when reading this review was that the display is no longer LCD based. Having one of the recent iMacs myself, I am no stranger to the ‘glossy’ screens and am comfortable with the change.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with this upgrade.

Kind Regards
Michael.