Apple Macbook Late 2008 Review

Apple updated its Macbook line of notebooks second time in 2008 with the earlier one being in January. The new Apple Macbooks also called as unibody Macbooks as they have been carved out of a single block of aluminum. There has been a complete makeover of the new Macbooks right from the design to the chipset used.

Apple Macbook Late 2008 specializations :

• Dimensions : 12.78″ x 8.94″ x 0.95″
• Weight : 4.5 lbs
• Display : 13.3″ IFI active matrix
• Display resolution : 1280 x 800
• Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
• RAM : 2GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066 MHz
• Hard Drive : 250GB SATA-I 5400 rpm
• Graphics : Nvidia GeForce 9400M
• Optical Drive : 8x slot-loading SuperDrive
• Other features : Multi-touch trackpad, Backlit keyboard
• Battery : 45-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• OS : Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
• Warranty : 1-year limited warranty
• Approx. price : $1599

Apple has changed the way Macbooks are manufactured and gone with a new process which uses a single block of aluminum and makes way for keys and ports. This has various advantages as its more sturdy as various pieces do not have to joined by screws. This also lends strength to the overall structure as its one piece. Aluminum Macbooks are so much better looking than the older plastic Macbook. The older plastic Macbook is still available at a discounted price of $999.

Apple has made both the Apple Macbook and Apple Macbook Pro same and there is no visible difference apart from smaller screen size and absence of Firewire port. The absence of Firewire port in the Apple Macbook has drawn flake even from Apple fanboys. Firewire has become very popular off-late and many manufacturers have gone with in their devices. If you own a Firewire device then either you have to go for the expensive Macbook Pro or buy a adapter.

Another big change has come in the form of Nvidia chipsets. The Nvidia chipset has replaced the Intel chipsets that were previously used in the Macbook. The new Nvidia chipset still use Intel processors though but now have much better integrated graphics in the form of Nvidia GeForce 9400M. This is definitely a step towards Snow Leopard which utilizes more graphics processing.

The display now is made up of glass which extends across the screen corner to corner. This does appear better than the plastic used earlier but has only worsened the reflections. The reflections are as bad as ever and if you have daylight coming in to your room or cabin matters get extremely worse. There is no option to choose between glossy and matte either. The display is a beauty to work on with its awesome color reproduction. The display uses LED technology that leads to brighter images and less power consumption.

The trackpad has got a complete makeover as well. It surprisingly does not have any buttons. The trackpad itself acts as a button and can be pressed down as a whole. A great innovation to save space by Apple. The trackpad initially has issues registering clicks but that seems to have been sorted by a fix released by Apple recently. The trackpad is made up of glass although it does not feel so. Apple has done a lot of research on the perfect material to be used to make the trackpad and it has paid off. The trackpad works like a charm and one can certainly forget about buying a external mouse to use with the Macbook. This is more so because the trackpad had multitouch feature with not only two finger but four finger gestures supported too.

The keyboard is similar to the Macbook Air with every key separate. Also in the higher model of the Macbook, you get a backlit keyboard too. Typing is easy due to separate keys with good gaps between them. Typos are very few due to the layout. The starting model of the new Macbook does not have a backlit keyboard though.

Coming to the ports, the new Macbook has given Firewire a miss. This was hugely unexpected and has raised eyebrows even among the Apple community. Firewire has been an integral component of Apple products for a long time now and leaving it behind without prior notice leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. The new Macbooks have the MiniDisplay Port as the standard video port with no DVI port in sight. Again something that one did not expect from Apple. There are only a couple of USB 2.0 ports you would have to contend with.

The graphics capability of the Macbooks have got a big boost due to the shift to Nvidia chipsets. The Nvidia chipsets come integrated with Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics. According to Apple, these deliver upto 5x faster performance than older Macbooks. In reality you can expect to run games at low settings on your Macbook.

The performance of the Late 2008 Macbooks is much better than the older ones due to faster DDR3 RAM used along with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor. Multitasking is a breeze and Macbook is a fully productive and there is no reason for you to go for the higher Macbook Pro unless for a bigger display or powerful graphics. You can also expect to do some casual gaming due to better integrated graphics. Apple claims to give Macbooks a full five hours of wireless productivity, but it falls short by half an hour. Still the battery life is nothing short of great.

Pros :

• Unibody aluminum
• Solid, sturdy
• Glass display, excellent clarity
• Improved integrated graphics
• Multitouch trackpad
• Backlit keyboard
• Good performance

Cons :

• Highly reflective display
• No Firewire port
• No DVI,VGA,HDMI ports

Final Thoughts

The Apple Macbook Late 2008 is nothing short of a revolutionary product but it too suffers from drawbacks. No Firewire port and only MiniDisplay Port as a video port as its biggest drawbacks. The glossy display is great but reflections are worse. The multitouch trackpad takes trackpads to another level with no buttons and four fingers gestures. You also get a backit keyboard in the higher version of the Macbook. The performance is good and it also better integrated graphics. Overall the Macbook  Late 2008 forces you to upgrade from your existing Macbooks or for that matter Windows laptops.

Rating : 4/5