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I have more time to play with two MBPs 15" and also take them apart.
Here's my take:
15" with 1440x900 resolution is too large. (I have 12" and 14" 1400x1050 laptops, I hear there is 1680x1050 15") Screen is nice though glary
Bottom of machine is made of ABS plastic and on one half of screws are missing. This reeks of cheapness. A machine costing so much should be built better. (Compared to my T60p it looks like Fiat vs Range Rover). Rigidity of the case is good and the fact motherboard is not screwed to the bottom of the case is good. HDD mounting is also OK.
Keyboard is actually not bad considering that key travel size is significantly shorter than a Thinkpad. I like the keyboard
You need pentalobe screws to replace battery but actually replacing an HDD is not harder than on say HP. Still the Unibody one requires whole bottom to access HDD and the split in the middle one requires half of bottom unscrewed to replace/upgrade RAM.
Screen wobbles as you type. I can tip Thinkpad by pressing on top of the screen and the bottom part (where trackpad and IBM logo are) lifts up.
Slot drive ate CD and if you don't hold option key long enough for it to find CD it doesn't show option for booting from CD.
There is no warning or error message in BIOS if HDD is dead. I guess it's designed so users take it straight to genius bar if it doesn't boot.
Apple support for Windows is terrible. There are no model specific drivers to install like other laptop makers. OK, I understand you have those on bootcamp, but do Windows users bring you media that came with computer when you need to fix it? Also bootcamp installs everything in one lump without letting me pick what to install.
Clicky trackpad is so-so. (I'm biased to trackpoints and disable trackpads)
Only 2 USB ports on 15" and only on one side. Consider also that since trackpad is not good enough for most people one of the ports will be occupied by mouse most of the time. This leaves you with one USB port.
Cooling is so-so as machine gets very hot. Acoustics is OK, since fan is not too loud.
I don't like L shaped edge of case as it cuts directly into my wrists as I type. I much prefer < shape of Thinkpad.
5400 RPM drives in anything calling itself pro and costing north of 1800 EUR is a rip-off. If you design a machine that will get very hot and not be so quiet you might as well stash at least 7200RPM drive in it, if not SSD. All my Thinkpads had originally came with 7200 RPM drives.
Overall it does seem like a pleasant and aesthetically pleasing computer. I also got to play with 13" Air which is also very nice machine and not as overpriced as MacBook Pro.
Here's my take:
15" with 1440x900 resolution is too large. (I have 12" and 14" 1400x1050 laptops, I hear there is 1680x1050 15") Screen is nice though glary
Bottom of machine is made of ABS plastic and on one half of screws are missing. This reeks of cheapness. A machine costing so much should be built better. (Compared to my T60p it looks like Fiat vs Range Rover). Rigidity of the case is good and the fact motherboard is not screwed to the bottom of the case is good. HDD mounting is also OK.
Keyboard is actually not bad considering that key travel size is significantly shorter than a Thinkpad. I like the keyboard
You need pentalobe screws to replace battery but actually replacing an HDD is not harder than on say HP. Still the Unibody one requires whole bottom to access HDD and the split in the middle one requires half of bottom unscrewed to replace/upgrade RAM.
Screen wobbles as you type. I can tip Thinkpad by pressing on top of the screen and the bottom part (where trackpad and IBM logo are) lifts up.
Slot drive ate CD and if you don't hold option key long enough for it to find CD it doesn't show option for booting from CD.
There is no warning or error message in BIOS if HDD is dead. I guess it's designed so users take it straight to genius bar if it doesn't boot.
Apple support for Windows is terrible. There are no model specific drivers to install like other laptop makers. OK, I understand you have those on bootcamp, but do Windows users bring you media that came with computer when you need to fix it? Also bootcamp installs everything in one lump without letting me pick what to install.
Clicky trackpad is so-so. (I'm biased to trackpoints and disable trackpads)
Only 2 USB ports on 15" and only on one side. Consider also that since trackpad is not good enough for most people one of the ports will be occupied by mouse most of the time. This leaves you with one USB port.
Cooling is so-so as machine gets very hot. Acoustics is OK, since fan is not too loud.
I don't like L shaped edge of case as it cuts directly into my wrists as I type. I much prefer < shape of Thinkpad.
5400 RPM drives in anything calling itself pro and costing north of 1800 EUR is a rip-off. If you design a machine that will get very hot and not be so quiet you might as well stash at least 7200RPM drive in it, if not SSD. All my Thinkpads had originally came with 7200 RPM drives.
Overall it does seem like a pleasant and aesthetically pleasing computer. I also got to play with 13" Air which is also very nice machine and not as overpriced as MacBook Pro.
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