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By 

S. Lacey “Cohete Loco” (Nashville, TN) –

  

Let me start with the good:
So awesome. Great OS, fabulous improvements to the existing line bumping up the processor speed and adding the thunderbolt port. This is my second MacBook. The first one I had was a 2006 model, not the Pro. I fell in love with it. This one has had the same effect. I had upgraded my old MacBook to Lion, so I kind of knew what I was getting, but hadn’t been able to enjoy some of the awesome new multi-touch features. The improvements to the OS have been relatively gradual, but substantive. The feel of this machine compared to the old MacBook is far superior. The Unibody construction is solid, sleek and beautiful. It is everything I’d hoped it would be from a look and feel standpoint, but somehow a bit more sturdy.

For the not so good, I got the stock screen – which is VERY glossy. I mean … REALLY glossy. It’s still beautiful and has better color reproduction than I could ever expect from a notebook. The reflectiveness of the display is only a minor inconvenience if you work in a controlled-lighting environment like me (I prefer it dark) or if you can crank up the brightness.

My real problem with it? The statement of 7 hour battery life is not just mere exaggeration — it’s a lie. I challenge anyone to show proof that through anywhere near normal use can get more than 2.5 hrs out of it. I’ve got the brightness all the way down to just one notch above ‘off’ and the keyboard backlight off. The first full charge of this battery got me only about 2 full hours. Enabling the battery timer is useless. The “Time remaining” goes from 4 hours plus to less than 2 hours over the span of about 10 minutes. It’s a joke. It’s so bad that I’m thinking I only got half a battery or something.

I have an extended battery on a Dell notebook that gives me 7.5 hrs of regular use, and had an extra “slice” battery that attached to a Compaq elitebook that gave me 7-8 hrs. I know what 7 hrs of battery looks like. This ain’t it.

My only other complaint is that it gets really hot. There’s a reason they aren’t called laptops. 🙂

If you buy this – don’t go into it expecting 7 hrs of battery life, and you’ll be perfectly satisfied.

All that being said, I think I’m done buying Windows PCs.

UPDATE:
With the help of some responders to my original review, I am seeing much better results from the battery – close to 5 hrs + of normal use. Leaving the original text of the review intact, but updating the rating to the 5 stars the product deserves. I’m extremely satisfied. Very happy Mac owner. 😀

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