I have been using my new MBP 13" for the past week and it has been a wonderful experience. This is the fourth Macbook Pro I have being previously owned a Powerbook 17" which has lasted me for a good 5 years before it fell down to the floor and replaced by another two Macbook Pro 15" which I am still using it at work. The reason for me to get this new MBP is for its solid Unibody and the SD card slots as I needed something portable and tough for my photography trips plus I needed something which can last me long hours as I do not always get the chance to charge it. I feel that my trusted MBP 15" is not too portable and solid for me to carry around for my journey so it has always stuck on my desk hook up to an Apple Cinema Display like a regular desktop.
I have read many good reviews about this beast especially when it comes to the battery life. When I first booted up the machine after fully charging it, I have only got around 3 hours plus and I tell myself this is way too short comparing to what has been advertised and the reviews I have read. After a few days usage the time remains about the same after fully charge. I was beginning to feel cheated and I thought why not try re-calibrating it by letting it run flat before I make a full charge. Lo and behold after a few days of usage I get it bumped up to 6 hours. Sweet!!!!
Many people has complain about the battery not being removable and I do have the same feeling initially, but after thinking about it I thought to myself, when have I ever take out the batteries to swap to a new one for my previous models and I haven't. I think by the time you need to get the battery replaced, you would have already move on the newer generation of MBP, so I am fine with it that it is built-in. This MBP 13" is also much cooler comparing to the old MBP 15" or Powerbook 17" I have and I hardly hear any fans kicking in even when running CPU intensive applications like Lightroom and Photoshop.
The new glass trackpad is a joy to use. Since getting the hang of it I hardly need to use a mouse anymore. I love to be able to zoom in and out of the screen and by a few gestures, i can run through expose with ease. Flipping pages backward and forward in Firefox is smooth as if I am handling an iphone and with some tricks you can even flip from tabs to tabs.
Nothing is perfect in this world and I do have some gripes for this machine. The thing missing for me is the FireWire 400. I do have external Hard-drives that uses a FW400 instead of FW800 and I guess I have to stick to USB ports if I needed to hook them up. And for the display, although is crispier, I do miss the matte screen that comes standard on my previous MBP. The glossy screen is simply too reflective and a magnet to finger prints and dust.
All in all, I think I have make a sound investment and I do feel Apple hit it right by making the 13" a "Pro" version.
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