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| $474.99 | Used
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| $475.00 | Used
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| $524.99 | Refurbished | | |
| $574.99 | Refurbished | | |
| $585.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| $850.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| Used | |
| $474.99 | Used
- Good | | |
| $475.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| $585.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| $850.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | |
| Refurbished | |
| $524.99 | Refurbished | | |
| $574.99 | Refurbished | | |
| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 129 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
75 of 77 found the following review helpful:
 Slender, lightweight -- and powerful Jan 01, 2008
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann
I adore my MacBook. Despite being a longtime Mac user, I almost did not buy a Mac when it came time to buying a laptop. I figured that I could buy a cheaper Windows machine that was just as powerful. Thank goodness I came to my senses! My husband had been through three laptops in the time that I had owned my Mac desktop, so that didn't portend well for those machines. And then both my daughter (a longtime Windows user who opted to go MacBook for college) and a few of my own college students convinced me to take a serious look at this computer. Wow.
Pros:
-- AirPort connectivity. On the road, while my husband is fiddling around on his Windows computer to connect to a new network, my daughter and I are already surfing the web. The MacBook also comes with Bluetooth capability.
-- OS X (now up to Leopard). Until you've used OS X, you have no idea what you've been missing. The users interface is so seamless that even the uninitiated can figure it out. You can create a Dock with all your favorite applications at the bottom of the screen -- all the time. Windows users have to be careful not to make things more complicated than they need to be. I know people who try to set up directories and files the way they do on Windows, when everything is SO much simpler on the Mac. Forget all that "My Computer" stuff to switch drives/discs. Everything is displayed all the time in the directory windows. Because OS X has so many features, I can't go into them here. Trust me -- you'll love it.
-- Size. I can slip this computer into an oversized handbag without a problem. While it's not as lightweight as some truly high-end laptops, the weight doesn't drag on my shoulder.
-- Keyboard. Large enough to easily use, it still allows a good-size area below the keys to rest your wrist.
-- iLife. The Mac comes bundled with iLife, Apple's lifestyle package that includes iTunes, iDVD, iPhoto, iWeb, GarageBand, PhotoBooth, and iMovie. These programs are part of what makes Macs so cool. All are intuitive, although GarageBand requires the most effort to learn.
-- Speed. Even with 1 GB RAM, this machine is blazingly fast compared to others in its category. (I recommend getting another GB of RAM, although my daughter says hers is fine with only 1 GB.)
-- Screen. The display is crisp and bright. Controls allows you to dim or brighten, depending on your preferences and the current lighting. Although the screen is glossy, I never have much problem with glare unless I'm in full sun.
-- Built-in camera. Although the camera isn't as powerful as a stand-alone digital camera, you can easily take shots for PhotoBooth fun or to upload to web sites such as Facebook.
Cons:
-- You cannot insert mini-DVDs. If you use them, look at a different computer.
-- Screen size. If a larger screen size is important to you, then get a different model. Of course, you'll sacrifice some portability with a larger computer.
-- It comes with only 1 GB of RAM. Although this is enough for most users, I still recommend installing another GB.
I've had my MacBook for a year now and haven't had any problems, so I haven't tested Apple customer service. A leading consumer magazine rates Apple's service as the best among manufacturers.
Highly recommended.
108 of 116 found the following review helpful:
Forget Vista - buy a Mac Nov 18, 2007
By R. King
Having used Macs through college and then into my career, I was forced to switch to NT when I took a job at Microsoft in the late 90s. Windows gets the job done, and I have enjoyed using it through XP Pro, but I have had nothing but trouble with Vista.
When it came time to replace my Sony laptop I shopped all the major PC brands and found them to be gimmicky. By chance I took a look at the new Macbooks and liked what I saw, so I bought one.
With 2 gigs of RAM I am running Photoshop CS3 and Nikon Capture NX without a hassle. Screen redraws are fast.
Installing programs is a breeze, you drag them into the Applications folder. That's it.
On boot up I am online in 35 seconds. Every wifi connection I have tried has been rock solid.
If you want a fast, stable, easy to use laptop, check out a Macbook, you won't be sorry.
77 of 83 found the following review helpful:
 Good Laptop, but not as polished as you'd expect from Apple. Dec 04, 2007
By Mac Fan
This review won't focus on the Mac OS and explain why it is so awesome. Like Louis Armstrong said (about jazz), "if you need to ask, you won't understand." The Intel chips are really fast, rest assured. The glossy screen is glossy, but the colors are rich. What really bothers me is how the quality control of the manufacturing is going downhill. My Macbook (from Amazon, Black Friday sale) had several "build" defects. There were some slight gaps along the left and right edge seams of the laptop. The hard drive kept making "chirping" sounds-- it seemed like the heads were trying to park themselves sporadically... every 10-30 secs or so. The plastic frame (or housing) around the LCD did not sit flush on the LCD Panel. When seen from the sides, you can see gaps between the frame and the LCD panel.
This is probably my 10th Mac I've purchased in the past 12 years or so (in addition to countless Apple accessories). I've also convinced friends and family members to buy at least another dozen. No joke. I am a die hard Mac fan. And for good reason. Design and build quality used to be a non-issue for anything Macintosh. That was why you happily paid a premium (and for the OS)-- because everything (even the Newton) looked polished and well built and intelligently designed. Titanium G4 Powerbook! Remember when that came out?! Made with real titanium! Sigh, those where the days-- Apple didn't mess around.
Well, all I can say is that this latest Macbook quality is disappointing. Aesthetically, it's a fine looking piece of hardware. But like the drunk guy/girl across the room, when you get up close and personal, the warts begin to show. Maybe it's because it's made in China, where the QC standards are harder to keep track of-- I'm not being racist. I'm Asian, first of all. Also, I'm a big fan of their food. I'm just stating a fact. None of my rock solid other Macs were made in China. Plus I've seen pics of these huge Chinese mega-factory complexes. They make Detroit assembly lines look like haute couture. Bottom line: I think Apple is cutting corners... sad to say. It was inevitable... they've grown exponentially in the past few years.
Anyway, the good news is that Apple usually stands behind their product... although recently it only happens after enough people get angry and make a fuss, heh heh. To be fair, in the past I've only had one very minor problem and it was resolved without issue. Like I said, Apple usually stands behind their stuff.
So, what's my conclusion? It's a good laptop. Would I buy it again? Sure, but not as eagerly and only after I checked out one of those sub-$500 Windows notebooks that seem to be in every big box store in America. Don't get me wrong, I would never buy said Windows notebook, but I'd check them out just to know that other options were out there... it's good to be informed.
Anyway, I hope Apple will take care of these defects for me. I'm with them for the long haul. Still, there's one thing that really bummed me out about this latest Macbook purchase: I missed out on the excitement of my "new Mac computer" high. After all, that's the best part about buying a Mac. Otherwise, we may as well run the Mac OS on an ugly generic Intel box.
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Oh, It Is Love Jan 05, 2008
By Alex Dodd
I am a PC user of many many years. I have been using PCs since the DOS days, and have owned a PC with every windows OS. I thought I was pretty much happy, until I made the switch. I won't talk much about OS X, except saying that "all of my wildest dreams came true" (I must've voted for Pedro). It is truly amazing.
So on to the unit itself. It is white. And beautiful. The exterior is fantastically glossy, the inside is matte and smooth. The keys are light and responsive, and well separated so I can type quickly without mistakes. The lid snaps shut with an unbelievably satisfying "clap" and all the look is one that is clean, complete, and well-finished. No QC issues here. The infamously glossy screen has proved to be more beneficial than detrimental and produces a crisp vibrant image that is noticeably reflective only in extreme conditions. The speakers are unusually located on the rear of the notebook and use the display bezel to reflect the sound. They're typical laptop speakers-don't expect much from them.
The computer is quick.... not just quick.... supersonic. Encoding video is a snap. Opening some programs (such as Safari) is instantaneous. I have not tried playing any games on it yet, and with the integrated video, I'm sure its able to but likely not as easily as it can with other tasks.
The iLife suite, is, sweet. GarageBand is a blast that is quite easy to use after getting used to it. iMovie is almost industry standard (just below Final Cut). iDVD is truly one of the most underrated program in iLife. You can actually make incredibly professional-looking animated DVD menus and pop in your videos from iMovie and make a great looking DVD. Keep in mind, though, that this configuration does not have a DVD burner, so you will have to buy an external DVD burner (about $70-$150) to take advantage of this software. iWeb is pretty good too. It's nice for blogs, but not so much for web pages, and requires a .mac account. iPhoto is a great organizational tool, but its editing capabilities are limited, and many of the auto-fixes often don't work well or actually make the photo worse. I prefer Picasa's editing features.
Leopard, sad to say, is a lot like Vista-only in the fact that it provided few upgrades and had several reported installation woes. I love it. The quick-look feature, while a little over-hyped, is very useful. It allows you to preview most files, like a document right in the finder (large enough to read the contents). Spotlight is a fantastic search tool, and thoroughly and quickly finds things on your computer. UI is clean, interactive, and speedy, as expected.
Anyway, there are too many more features to list. I will say that the iChat/iSight setup is pretty amazing. The camera is sharp and I was able to videochat with several of my friends. There is also a screen-sharing feature that allows you to comandeer another persons computer (if they have Leopard) and control what's on their screen or vis-versa. Its quite useful. For example, my friend is somewhat inexperienced with computers, and I was able to get on her computer remotely and transfer her music from her iPod to her new computer.
Also, battery life is very good. I was able to watch 2 1/2 movies, write about 10 emails, burn a cd, and rip a cd all on one charge. Incredibly impressed. The MagSafe adapter is really innovative and handy too, and has already prevented my MacBook from taking a couple of tumbles.
So, the negitave (that I haven't already mentioned):
OS X and iLife take up a lot more space on the hard disk than I expected. With the hard drive formatting, the OS, and iLife, you are left with only about 50 gigs of space. Then after I put on all of my photos, videos, and music, I was left with a measly 13.5 gigs, and with the rule of thumb to leave about 10 gigs available for system tasks, I imagine I will be upgrading my hard drive in the near future.
The optical drive is pretty slow for a CD-R/RW only drive. It took me about 15 minutes to rip a CD. My PC with a combo drive and do it in about 9, and my other PC laptop with a DVD/CD-R/RW drive can do it in about 10-12. Not a big deal, just a bit of a disappointment.
Leopard eliminated the feature that allowed you to send/receive SMS messages from your phone via Bluetooth. This was a feature I was looking forward to.
The mini-DVI display interface is proprietary meaning you will have to buy a $20 adapter to attach an external display.
Integrated video: Although the X3100 is a pretty top-of-the line integrated setup, it still doesn't compare to dedicated video cards, and has many compatibility issues with games (such as Sims 2). But then again, this isn't a gaming machine. It just seems ridiculous to pay $1,000 more for a MacBook Pro, just (pretty much) for dedicated video.
Mismatched colors: One thing I first noticed (I'm pretty sure it's by design) is the display bezel, trackpad, and the wrist areas are light grey. This looks weird compared to the keyboard and rest of the case. I imagine this is to prevent dirt/grime from showing up but it still looks weird.
Sharp wrist edges: the edges around the top part of the lower case are cut very, err, straight. They cause red streaks on your wrist, and a friend of mine thought I was "cutting". Yeah, kind of a problem.
Well that's it in a nutshell. The Mac experience is INCREDIBLE, and this is a surprisingly capable and fast machine. Easily the best notebook for around $1000-1500.
22 of 23 found the following review helpful:
 Power and Style Nov 07, 2007
By V. Webb
"The Guru"
This is my first Mac, after many years of using Windows PC at home, work, and school. The main reason I went with the MacBook (over the Pro) was because I already have a powerful gaming laptop and desktop, but wanted something basic for homework and was always interested in trying out a Mac. I'm very impressed with both MacBook and OS X. I like how Apple hardware and software works.
I have found no problems at all, works beautifully as advertised. Upgraded the memory to 4GB (which I recommend, but not through Apple. You can get memory MUCH cheaper online from places like NewEgg and Amazon).
If you want a good laptop for basic productivity/programming, internet usage, email, and enjoy using Mac OS X this is a great purchase. If you want it in black or the bigger HDD, I would recommend this model (the main reason I got this particular one was because I liked the black over the white). If you're looking to do more (gaming, advanced video/photo editing, working w/ powerful 3D apps, etc.), check out the MacBook Pro.
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