Digital Trends

Apple MacBook (2.4GHz, 2008) October 23rd, 2008 | by Nick Mokey

Performance

Our MacBook went from dead to ready-to-surf in a little over 40 seconds, which roasts almost any Vista-equipped laptop we've tried. Where it really shines, though, is in waking up from standby. Almost as fast as you can flip open its wafer-thin lid, it's ready to go. Both are stellar traits for a machine meant to be lugged around everywhere and popped open on a whim. 

Wi-Fi has traditionally been a sore spot for Apple's previous metal MacBooks, since their shells interfered with reception, but the company seems to have found a workaround for the latest version. While it still has some problems finding fringe networks, the MacBook did a respectable job sniffing out usable networks in residential areas, almost on par with conventional plastic-shell notebooks. It also outperformed most PCs in connection time, latching on to networks with a high signal very quickly and with minimal hassle.

As we've come to expect from Apple products, OS X responded to input quickly and smoothly, snapping open applications on demand and delivering seamless performance during most everyday tasks. While we were able to get it to choke up a bit under the load of many, many applications, a RAM upgrade would probably get it to handle this unusual workload in stride, and in general the system performed admirably.

Image Courtesy of Apple

Display

The MacBook’s 13.3-inch LED-backlit display looks sharp and vivid under almost all lighting conditions, although the extreme shine produces the usual reflections that can get distracting in certain situations. The gloss black bezel seemed to accentuate it by acting as an opal mirror in almost all lighting, though it has its charm as well. We especially liked how much easier the screen was to clean without corners for dust to get trapped in.

The LED backlighting was also refreshing, firing up the display to full brightness within milliseconds of resurrecting the notebook from sleep.

Unfortunately, the screen only cranes back from vertical about 45 degrees, which isn't quite enough flex room when you're contorted into certain tight situations. On the plus side, though, the full-length hinge then runs along the bottom of the screen feels sturdy, and offers just the right amount of friction to keep the screen locked in place most of the time. 

Audio

Notebooks in the 13.3-inch size class rarely score many points for sound quality, but the MacBook actually produced quite listenable tunes and sound effects, to our ears. Headphones will still be preferable under most circumstances, but for sharing a YouTube clip with friends or taking in few tunes while you surf at home, the the MacBook's speakers won't offend the ears nearly as badly as most other notebooks its size. We especially appreciated the volume, which could fill up a decent size room when cranked to max without turning into a crackly, distorted mess. 

Keyboard

Like previous MacBooks, the newest version uses "chiclet-style" keys, meaning they're recessed into the keyboard like individual buttons with aluminum filler between them, rather than with crumb-catching crevices, as on normal keyboards. This definitely produces a clean design, and Apple has complemented it with a respectably neat set of keys, but we weren't blown away with the typing experience. It felt more muddled than we were used to, lacking the crisp, clean feedback of a keyboard like those found on Lenovo's ThinkPads. It's very usable in every sense, but the satisfaction factor wasn't quite there as much as we've experienced on some our top-rated keyboards.

Image Courtesy of Apple

Battery Life

Curiously, the new MacBook's battery is actually smaller than the old MacBook's (it has a 45 watt-hour capacity compared to 55 watt-hour on the old unit) but the more miserly internal components manage to squeeze more battery life out of it. In testing, the MacBook clung to its limited reservoir of electrons quite admirably, but not enough to truly be called impressive. We were able to milk about three hours out of it under intense workloads like decoding movies, or about five (Apple's advertised battery life) under less demanding circumstances, like casual Web browsing without brightness cranked all the way up. Neither really makes it a viable as a road warrior for all-day computing away from outlets, but it's enough to sneak in one or two movies on a flight or surf the web all afternoon at a coffee shop.

Conclusion

A variety of aesthetic updates, including Apple's unibody frame, LED-backlit display, and multitouch pad make the latest MacBook sharper than ever, but it may not be enough to justify the $1,299 base price if style isn't part of your agenda. Though its 13.3-inch frame puts in a highly portable size class, its weight and battery life both speak against it as a truly road-worthy notebook, and many cheaper competitors are more up to the task. However, for style-conscious portable computer users who need a notebook that looks and feels as good as it performs, Apple's new MacBook truly is the total package.

Pros:
 
• Rock-solid aluminum unibody
• Bright, vibrant display
• Multitouch trackpad
• Snappy hardware

Cons: 

• Price
• Weight
• Glare
• Poor connectivity