Apple Thoughts: Aluminum and Glass: The New MacBook Pro

Product Category: Notebook Computer
Manufacturer: Apple
Where to Buy: Amazon.com [Affiliate]
Price: $1999 - $2499 ($2499 configuration tested, no BTO options)
Specifications: Detailed Specs Here

Pros:

• Solid smooth design;
  
• Powerful CPU and GPU;
• Excellent screen.
  

Cons:

• Trackpad is somewhat fidgety;
  
• A tad on the heavy side;
  
• Expensive.
  

Summary:
Apple has ditched the two-piece shell of the MacBook Pro, opting for a new single-piece shell they refer to as "brick." Is the new MacBook Pro a divine piece of masonry or an over-hyped marketing gimmick?

Introduction
I've never considered myself a "pro" user. My last two Mac purchases were a 17" iMac in 2005 and a black MacBook a few months before that. I bought my wife a black MacBook last year for Christmas, and no matter how hard I worked those machines, I couldn't get any of them to buckle. When the new MacBook Pros came along, I was hypnotized by the video that Apple posted of the manufacturing process. Oh sure it was very slickly produced marketing, but there was something about it that got my attention, namely the fact that they had built an enclosure that could stand up to a bit of thumping while in a bag.

The Brick
To say the new MacBook Pro is solid is a gross understatement. It is, in fact, the single most tightly engineered piece of computing I've ever put my hands on. Apple carved the entire lower half of the enclosure from one block of aluminum. This gives the case a much more precise and stiff feel. It is two pieces, not one (the bottom half of the case is cut away from the top to allow the insertion of components) but since it's cut from the same block, it's almost entirely seamless.

Figure 1: The top half of the unibody enclosure (Apple press photo).

The rubber gasket around the edge of the glass screen closes the MacBook Pro with a satisfying thud, and no matter how much you try there's not even a hint of "creakiness" to be found. Despite how much I loved my MacBook, the hinge creaked, the plastic case creaked from time to time, and overall it made plastic-like sounds. Not the MacBook Pro, however. You can't torque the case, and when you can manage to make it move around, it moves as one piece.

The edges of the case are sharp and feel precise. They aren't rounded, and the top area of the case where the keyboard sits has no taper to it whatsoever. The wrist rest is completely flat which may or may not be the most ergonomically desirable design, but in spite of the strange choice of not tapering the area where people have the most contact with their notebooks, I've had no complaints about the typing area.

Overall, the feel of the MacBook Pro is a big improvement over prior iterations. You can see for yourself in an Apple Store if you don't believe me. Compare the feel to that of the 17" MacBook Pro which hasn't undergone the "Brick" process yet and you'll understand exactly what I'm talking about.