Over the last week, I’ve had a Black MacBook on loan from Apple to run some app tests. It was nice to be able to live with one for a week as well, and get a feel for it. Here are my stream-of-thought points.

Good:

• Nice size and weight – feels bit less of a commitment to pick up, move around or chuck in a bag.
• Built in iSights rock.
• Price. Much cheaper than a Pro model, and similar or same speed.
• Fast!
• Quiet… it’s more quiet than my Powerbook just idleing. Fans are about the same, but sound different.
• Great WiFi/Airport Reception. (compared to a 1.67ghz Powerbook or 700mhz iBook – in an area of zero reception for the others, the Macbook could see 4 access points)
• It feels really solid and nicely balanced. I noticed this with the Macbook Pro also – much nicer to hold when compared to past Apple portables.
• addition: I forgot to mention, when the overhead light was bright, such as being outside, the Powerbook was much harder to read than the glossy screen. The matte finish on the Powerbook, in a way, holds the light where it hits, thus giving the whole panel a lightness that makes it hard to see the image below. Very clouded is a good way to put it. So in some cases, glossy can be better!

Not so good:

• Shiney Screen – See photo below. Livable, but annoying. I had to constantly adjust the screen or move my head to avoid the lights behind me reflecting off the screen and obscuring words. However, see my point above on how gloss can be better.
• Black shows up finger prints easily – See photo below. This may ‘settle in’ over time, as the whole case builds up a layer of natural skin oils and other stuff. Sounds yukky, but true.
• Low res and small screen compared to PowerBooks and MacBooks Pro’s. Not sure why the screen doesn’t go closer to the outer edge of the lid.
• Keyboard isn’t as nice to type on as the PowerBook/MacBook Pro keyboard.
• The edge of the hand rest area is too sharp. It aggravates my hand pretty quickly. You could learn to not rest on that area, but one shouldn’t have to… it’s an obvious place to put your hand.
• Another Black specific issue is they seem to scratch easier, or at least show them up more. This loan model already had a few scratches on the back.

The below point was a ‘Not so good’, but I realised it was due to having ‘Ignore accidental trackpad input’ Ticked in the system preferences. Will leave here as a google-juiced tip.

• Trackpad pauses intermittantly, often after a keystroke.

So… Macbook or Macbook Pro?

Well, it really depends on what you do with your computer and what other computers you already own. It mostly comes down to – Do you have a big screen at your home or office, or do you need a bigger screen. For instance, I have a 20” iMac which i end up doing most of the design work on. Or perhaps you have a nice LCD that you can plug in.

Addendum: A month later, I’ve ended up ordering a white MacBook with Superdrive. I’ll upgrade the RAM and HDD via 3rd party means. There is a wait time of 2 weeks. Seems they aren’t keeping up to demand of the middle range machine.
Addendum 2: A friend has both, and in some cases, the MacBook is faster than his MacBook Pro, simply because the Pro gets hotter and winds down the CPU to reduce the heat.