Apple MacBook review (plus video)

Does this silky silver lappie stand up to the T3 test? Read on...

Before the launch last week, the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines were separated by a couple of whopping features - namely, the aluminium body and faster processing power. Now however, with the entry-level MacBook range looking and feeling exactly the same as the Pros, there's very little reason you'd have to plump for the more expensive range.

The MacBook we tested far out-performs the top of the range black MacBook, with the hardware getting a complete overhaul. The aluminium body provides a more luxurious user experience, and there's now no chance of the corners cracking like the plastic cases are prone to doing.

See our photo gallery of the MacBook here

The black keyboard and matching glossy screen bezel, whilst controversial, at least ensures the dirt from your hands won't be visible like on the white keyboards of the plastic beasts. And the illuminated keys? Possibly the best trick stolen from the MacBook Air.

One of the disadvantages with an aluminium body - and what a pretty body it is, cut from a single piece of metal - is that it interferes slightly with Wi-Fi signals. When testing it, there were little problems with our three home Wi-Fi signals (yes, a little over the top perhaps, but essential for when BT drops out), however it could no longer connect to the pub's Wi-Fi next door, whereas our four month old black MacBook has no problem. Not a huge disadvantage to be honest, as we shouldn't be trying to steal the pub's internet anyway, but it may prove more troublesome for others.

Moving on - the screen. There's no denying the LED screen is more eco-friendly than the previous TFT one, and that it conserves the battery, yada yada yada. However, it's ever so reflective, and sometimes a real pain to use under strip lighting. Guess we've got to give a little in order to save the environment, eh Apple?

Still, watching movies are a treat on the 1280 x 800 pixel screen of our 13-incher, although occasionally the reflections do get in the way. It's far better than the previous MacBook's visual experience anyway, and undoubtedly the new GeForce 9400M graphics cards play a huge part here, as it's 5x faster than and noticeable it is - phwroar!

Further adding to the mixed bag of emotions with the new MacBook, the trackpad has received a lot of attention due to its, err, lack of buttons. Finally Steve Jobs can wreak his revenge on those who dared criticise the Mighty Mouse's one-button format! Admittedly it takes a good full day to get the hang of not having a button to press, but after a while, you don't even notice the button is missing, as clicking the bottom half of the glass trackpad feels as responsive as the previous MacBook's button.

Multi-touch functionality has been thrown into the glass trackpad mix as well, and what a treat it is. Using four fingers, you can slide down to enable the exposé screen, and sliding those four fingers from left to right brings up the various programs you've got open currently. Forget balancing your pint glass on your lower back - this is the best party trick ever, guaranteed.

Battery life is never quite what any notebook manufacturer promises, and here Apple claims the MacBook will deliver five hours of wireless productivity - in theory, it was almost four hours. Considering the new LED-backlit screen is meant to enhance the battery life, it's not much better than the previous incarnation.

Still, it's ever so fast. Have we mentioned the speed of the new processor yet? Because that's truly the best thing about these new MacBooks. It's made our four month old black MacBook hulk in embarrassment, and made us ever so productive when whizzing from the browser to iTunes, and over to the photo editing suite.

Whilst there are a couple of flaws with this slinky silver sliver of a notebook, when are there not at least two disagreeables in a product? The fact of the matter is, with the new MacBook you're gaining quite a few added bonuses, but are relinquishing the non-reflective screen and slightly better battery life of the previous plastic cases. A fair trade off, we think.

Link: Apple MacBook