Even though Apple released the first unibody Macbook in the fall of 2009, they recently provided an update to the Macbook in the spring of 2010, shortly after the company refreshed the higher end Macbook Pro line. Like the Macbook Pros, the updates to the Macbook were primarily in internal specifications, while the external design and price tag at $999 remained unchanged. Furthermore, the specifications of the new Macbook closely resemble those of the 13 inch Macbook Pro, which can be purchased for $1199. In fact, the primary distinguishing factor between whether Apple labels its notebooks as consumer machines vs. professional machines seems to be whether the machines are encased in aluminum or if they are encased in plastic. Additional differences involve the number of ports available, as well as which ports in particular are offered.

However, the Macbook still comes with an excellent operating system, a visually appealing and technologically sound design, an impressive amount of battery life, and a strong customer support system, which makes the Macbook a good buy despite its higher price tag in comparison to similarly outfitted PC notebooks. However, the relatively low price of the Macbook in comparison to its Pro siblings means you will have to sacrifice some features.

Specifications

The latest iteration of the Macbook comes with a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and runs the latest version of Apple’s Mac OS X operating system, 10.6 Snow Leopard. The Apple Memory supplied is 2 GB, while the hard drive has a 250 GB capacity. The graphics card is NVIDIA’s GeForce 320M. The notebook additionally comes with 8.0211 a / b / g wireless internet capacity, as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR for the price of $999.

Pros and Cons

In a nutshell, pros of the Macbook continue to include its unibody design, which can only be described as clean, elegant, and pleasing to the eye. Additionally, the Macbook comes with one of the two best touchpads available on any notebook on the market today, with its only competition coming from the Macbook Pro’s touchpad. Another strength of the Macbook lies in its impressive battery life, which is marketed as seven full hours by battery life. Additionally, the computer itself does not take long to boot up, which will be appreciated by people used to going off to make pots of coffee while waiting for their machines to become usable.

The cons of the Macbook tend to be passed on from generation to generation, and may be unlikely to change any time soon. Perhaps the biggest con is the price tag, which is not in line with what most consumers would expect when looking at the low end laptop of a computer manufacturer. Additionally, the price does not fare better when laptops from other manufacturers with similar specifications are compared to the Macbook. For the price, it would be nice to have an SD card reader, as well as at least one extra USB port, and ideally HDMI output.