# MacBook - Aluminum Unibody vs. White Polycarbonate



## hdh607 (Sep 8, 2008)

Any opinions on why Apple has kept the white polycarbonate version of the MacBook despite releasing the "updated" aluminum unibody version?

Are they trying to keep an entry level laptop that is "affordable" )) compared to other Mac products? Looks like they're under the $1000 mark in the US. And is the cheapest laptop Apple produces in Canada. Is that one of the purposes they are serving?

Any why in the heck would they not include FW in the Unibody model?  My view is that they are trying to separate the consumer and prosumer/pro user. Pushing anyone who handles video to go up to a MacBook Pro. 

The unibodies look cooler, but are they really that much better? Keeping the polycarbonate version makes me think that Apple is second guessing their design decisions.

Lets hear what you think.


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## IllusionX (Mar 10, 2009)

jobs said that the white one is an entry level, sub 1000$ laptop.


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

The white one is a much better value than the aluminum one, IMO.

The aluminum Macbook seems like a product line of little value. My policy with buying electronics is usually to either get the best one or get the cheapest one, the middle ground is usually a fools game of too many compromises. That's what the aluminum Macbook feels like to me, too many compromises. But, if you dress it up to LOOK like the Macbook Pros, you can trick people into paying hundreds of dollars more for the privilege of getting less.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

bsenka said:


> The white one is a much better value than the aluminum one, IMO.
> 
> The aluminum Macbook seems like a product line of little value. My policy with buying electronics is usually to either get the best one or get the cheapest one, the middle ground is usually a fools game of too many compromises. That's what the aluminum Macbook feels like to me, too many compromises. But, if you dress it up to LOOK like the Macbook Pros, you can trick people into paying hundreds of dollars more for the privilege of getting less.


I've owned both a 2.2ghz plastic, and current Unibody, and in construction quality alone the Aluminum one is head and shoulders better, plus, runs way cooler and has a better graphics chip. 

I couldn't disagree with the "little value" comment more.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Wrong on the graphics and no firewire on the Alum and poorer A/Port
It is lighter and cooler - 
a 2..0 White with 4 gigs and 500 internal runs about $1445 - damn fine value.

2.0GHz

* Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB DDR2 Memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
* Standard keyboard
* White polycarbonate shell



2.0GHz

* Intel Core 2 Duo
* 2GB DDR3 Memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
* Standard keyboard
* Aluminum unibody


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## DR Hannon (Jan 21, 2007)

Macdoc, there is no firewire on the Alum Macbooks!


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

MacDoc said:


> Wrong on the graphics and no firewire on the Alum and poorer A/Port
> It is lighter and cooler -
> a 2..0 White with 4 gigs and 500 internal runs about $1445 - damn fine value.
> 
> ...


Sorry, i was referring to the 2.2ghz that i had.


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## Freakin (Feb 3, 2009)

Between my girlfriend and I, we've had most of these in our house at one point. I used to have the 2.16 white MB, then moved to the older 2.2 MBP. She just moved from a G4 iBook to the newer 2.0 aluminum MB. When she was buying her MB a few months ago, we were playing with the idea of getting the older poly version instead of the newer one, but it ended up being the weight (it's noticeably lighter) and just the overall 'feel' of it that sold her on the newer version. The poly ones, like her older iBook and most MBs that we've seen tend to start creaking and showing their wear after a year or so, hence her decision to go with a metal case. She's not doing any video editing, so it's hard to talk about the lack of firewire, but I'm sure you've noticed that Apple has completely ditched FW400 from their product line. It's pretty hard to find FW400 devices lately as well. It seems like most people have either embraced USB2.0, went to FW800 or eSATA.

It would have been nice to see something faster for peripherals on the new MB, but so it goes. It really forces one to move in to the MBP if you want to do anything serious. That was the main reason that I changed over to the MBP was to get the express card slot, the FW800, better video card and larger screen for video editing. I've since moved in to a tower, but kept the MBP for on-set aquisition. That another reason why the old Powerbooks are still demanding a good chunk of coin. Everyone who's shooting with an HVX or other P2 cameras wants for for this.

I guess this issue of missing FW400 is really only an issue for anyone who's shooting DV and HDV. Anything shooting on solid state should have another option to transfer. You could always keep an older unit around for ingesting then just move your footage around afterwards.

That was a bit of a rant, but you did ask what people thought of it.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

The same design over and over again gets old no matter how good it originally was or still is.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Form over function....sure  I'd take an original Apple ADB Pro keyboard over the current junk any day....and lets not talk about the Mighty Mess.....

A silver scooped Keyboard ala the 12" Powerbook would be a huge improvement over the black with no back lite and no contouring.


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

maximusbibicus said:


> I've owned both a 2.2ghz plastic, and current Unibody, and in construction quality alone the Aluminum one is head and shoulders better, plus, runs way cooler and has a better graphics chip.
> 
> I couldn't disagree with the "little value" comment more.


x2. 

My wife & I both upgraded from plastic MacBooks to aluminum MacBooks. I from a 2.2 BlackBook and she from a 2.0 MacBook. Both of us to couldn't be happier!

The new aluminum MacBook is cooler, quieter, lighter, brighter, sturdier, has longer battery life, and has a much more durable finish. whew!

It's like upgrading to a Lexus from a Toyota.

FWIW, the Airport reception on our's is at least as good if not better and we have not had any airport drops with our new aluminum MacBooks (which I cannot say for our previous gen plastic MacBooks).


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

maximusbibicus said:


> I've owned both a 2.2ghz plastic, and current Unibody, and in construction quality alone the Aluminum one is head and shoulders better, plus, runs way cooler and has a better graphics chip.
> 
> I couldn't disagree with the "little value" comment more.


The current white Macbook is not the same as your 2.2 was. It's been upgraded to contain essentially the same internals as the base aluminum one, including the fancy new graphics card. Plus, you still get Firewire and a matte screen.


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

bsenka said:


> Plus, you still get Firewire and a matte screen.


True about the firewire, (but I don't use it anymore anyway), and I'm not sure I would describe the Plastic MacBook as having a matte screen, our (plastic) MacBook screens where kind of a shiney wavy greenish colour that was also quite reflective. Our aluminum MacBook screens with LED backlighting are much better.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

Z06jerry said:


> x2.
> 
> My wife & I both upgraded from plastic MacBooks to aluminum MacBooks. I from a 2.2 BlackBook and she from a 2.0 MacBook. Both of us to couldn't be happier!
> 
> ...


:clap:

Agreed. Call me a flake, but I have no problem paying slightly more for the aluminum form factor. Toyota to Lexus is a great example.


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## maximusbibicus (Feb 25, 2002)

bsenka said:


> The current white Macbook is not the same as your 2.2 was. It's been upgraded to contain essentially the same internals as the base aluminum one, including the fancy new graphics card. Plus, you still get Firewire and a matte screen.


No Macbook ever has shipped with a matte screen. 

Regardless, i would still pay extra for aluminum. Get a refurb like i did and save some coin. Its been perfect since day one.


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## bsenka (Jan 27, 2009)

maximusbibicus said:


> No Macbook ever has shipped with a matte screen.
> 
> Regardless, i would still pay extra for aluminum. Get a refurb like i did and save some coin. Its been perfect since day one.


I'd still prefer the white one even if they were the same price. The glass glossy screen is horrible. I have it on my aluminum iMac, and it's the worst thing I've ever seen. I had to buy a second monitor just to make it useable.


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## hdh607 (Sep 8, 2008)

Sounds like people like both. 

Do you think Apple should continue with both models of MacBook or drop one?

Or maybe amalgamate the two models into one? What would you want it to look like?

Is it worth keeping the lower priced entry-level "Toyota" MacBook?


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## Eric0 (Nov 22, 2007)

Unless anyone is planning on keeping their laptops till they die, I can guarantee you'll get much better resale off of the Aluminum MB's. No one wants to buy designs that are way out of date.


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## Trevor W (Apr 6, 2009)

My wife just upgraded from a 2GHz white Macbook to the 2GHz Macbook unibody. She loves the new look, brighter screen, and more solid feel. The old ****** was getting creaky, had a small crack and was generally showing its age. I upgraded from a G4 Powermac to a new 2.4GHz Macbook Pro unibody. I couldn't be happier!  I think Apple is probably just getting rid of their stock of white poly shells.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> Unless anyone is planning on keeping their laptops till they die, I can guarantee you'll get much better resale off of the Aluminum MB's. No one wants to buy designs that are way out o


Tell that tall tale to people buying black Macbooks.

That's a very desirable look for many










Many don't like the chopped up look with the black keyboard on the Alum. The little 12" looked sleeker










which is why people run them into the ground, right size, right look excellent keyboard and full ports - no stupid dongles.

Lets see we've moved somewhere around 30 Black versus maybe a half dozen aluminum since the Aluminum came out.
$1550 for a Black 2.4 4 gig 500 with Firewire trumps $1400 for the base Alum 2 gig 160.....and they like the look of the black better.

White - still 2 to 1 over the Alum -


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## DrewNL (May 23, 2005)

In November I moved from a white 2.0 to an aluminum unibody MacBook. I'm going to try to relay my experiences while staying away from hardware comparisons, because I know there are physical differences between my new and old machines. In my day to day use, I find the new one to be a bit snappier, but thats to be expected with a better processor, better ram and better graphics (in my case)

White Poly:
My white poly MB had the top case replaced twice and the bottom case replaced once. The airport dropped constantly. I had repeated problems with the I/O ports (specifically the ethernet port) being formed too large and not constricting the cable connector properly. This lead to logic board replacements. The battery never did fit right and looked and felt awful. You could push it and move it in and out. The fit and finish on the bottom was terrible. This poly MB was also replaced entirely once. I cannot count all the downtime it has caused me. Before I sold it, I got a new top case and bottom case for it and a new screen, due to one of the backlights darkening. I was extremely insanely careful and when I sold it, it had scratches on both top and bottom and the battery didn't fit. I also have a friend that had a hard drive replacement go bad when the rubber "guides" inside both fell apart and the drive didn't fit properly. he had to completely disassemble the machine to fix the issue.

Alu Unibody:
I've had it since November. No scratches, no dings or scrapes. The screen is awesomely bright and clear and LEDs last a lot longer than the old backlights. No top case cracking (because there is not technically a top case), no top case turning brown. Top case is also not smoothing out and getting shiny. Speaking of shiny, I don't frequently use it in the yard, so I don't see the glass as an issue. If anyone has mentioned glare to me, I tell them to turn up the backlight. It hardly affects battery life. On the subject of battery, the bottom of this thing is gorgeous. There are two panels that fit together perfect. No battery protruding. If I want to remove the hdd there is a cable, not a cavern that I have to slide it into where I cannot see the sata connector, or where I cannot reach when there is an issue. Also, a nice feature is being able to see the battery remaining capacity without turning everything upside down. Aside from all this, its lighter and thinner and just feels better to me.

I'm happy with my purchase and I'm happy that I'm done with all the crap that caused me trouble with my white poly MB. Airport works consistently for the first time. The ethernet cables fit right. No matter whats on my hands, this thing doesn't look dirty. There is a rubber gasket around the screen so that its not just slamming into the body. The glass trackpad is awesome. I'm a huge fan. The dedicated iTunes buttons on the keyboard are useful too. I even love that there is glass covering the iSight and not an indent in plastic thats impossible to clean around.

The bottom line is that I'm satisfied glad I made my move. I don't miss the fw port because in all honesty, I used like maybe 3 times, and even then it was to use migration assistant, which I can do over ethernet. If I need a fw port, I'll use my wife's iMac....who am I kidding, I don't need it. I felt like I NEEDED AppleCare with the white one. Now it's just peace of mind.


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Just be careful tho you are comparing experiences with a 3 year old model. I'm comparing current or just eol models.

Current poly MacBooks are very different than yours. ( and Apple acknowledges the cracking issue on the white just as they knew they had some issues with the Alum early on. )

Alum have not been without teething problems are well tho the cases are certainly solid

Apple fixes some late-2008 (unibody) MacBook issues with dual updates - MacFixIt

There have been mini-port issues as well.

I can't tell you the level of demand for non Unibody MacBook Pros...it's just insane.
These are first gen and for first gen not bad.

Many prefer previous gen. especially in the pro line.

The new 17" unibody we consider second gen and they are really top notch.
We are glad Apple delayed release and approve of the matte option.


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## Eric0 (Nov 22, 2007)

I can definitely understand for the Pro models why people would want the older one. 

DVI and Matte display have me sold.


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## Z06jerry (Mar 16, 2005)

MacDoc said:


> Just be careful tho you are comparing experiences with a 3 year old model. I'm comparing current or just eol models.


FWIW, in post #11, I was comparing our late '07 Santa Rosa Macbooks (2.0 & 2.2) with the current Aluminum MacBooks (2.0 & 2.4).


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## DrewNL (May 23, 2005)

MacDoc said:


> Just be careful tho you are comparing experiences with a 3 year old model. I'm comparing current or just eol models.


I thought I WAS careful. I stated that there are obvious hardware differences, but I'll ignore them, for the simple fact that its not fair to compare. Also, how do you know which models I was comparing? I don't recall telling you which iteration it was.

Apple can improve the poly ones all they want. The palmrest/top case will still crack and will still lose it's finish. The hard drive enclosure is still annoying to deal with if anything goes wrong. The battery still doesn't fit right. Its still not LED backlit.

I feel my comments were sound.


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I own a BlackBook, and I love it, but I'm getting tired of the graphic chipset choking on the "sparkle" effect in Keynote.*

*I don't generally use this effect myself, but it's a popular demo effect and I do a lot of demo'ing.

I will be happy to move up to the MacBook Pro when I feel the time is right. I've played with them sufficiently to know that they will do what I need them to do better than the beloved BlackBook -- and I'm glad to hear my BlackBook is in high demand, so I won't end up paying much for the MBP!


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

> I don't recall telling you which iteration it was.


You think I don't know..

How many dozens of top cases do you think we have dealt with in 1.83 and 2.0 CoreDuo.
They dealt with the discolouration.....the cracking - annoying.
By an large 3rd Iteration and forward very successful still - with the 9400 and Firewire - a bargain.

•••

Yes the graphics chips were weak, the 9400m a big improvement tho running it up into a $1800 iMac seems a tad optimistic.

We get calls 3-4 times a week for previous gen MacBook Pros....only a few 17's around tho we do like the new 17s they are $$.


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## hdh607 (Sep 8, 2008)

macdoc said:


> how many dozens of top cases do you think we have dealt with in 1.83 and 2.0 coreduo.


753 :lmao:


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

a reasonable guess


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## DR Hannon (Jan 21, 2007)

I have a MacBook 2.1 ghz (2006). I have had no problems or cracking. The only discolouration was from my son. He coloured it in with a pen. I was able to get most of it out. It has been a great machine. I think I would go with a macbook pro next. But, this machine is a joy.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

DR Hannon said:


> I have a MacBook 2.1 ghz (2006). I have had no problems or cracking. The only discolouration was from my son. He coloured it in with a pen. I was able to get most of it out. It has been a great machine. I think I would go with a macbook pro next. But, this machine is a joy.


Did you try toothpaste?


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## DR Hannon (Jan 21, 2007)

HowEver said:


> Did you try toothpaste?


Ya, that was the only reason I was able to get that much out. Thanks for the tip though.


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## mkolesa (Jul 22, 2008)

*~*

why do they still sell the white macbook? undoubtedly because it makes sense business wise... they might have done a sales analysis which forecast greater profits continuing to produce a base model with a polycarbonate case (where they've already amortized the production expense) versus using the aluminum unibody where the start-up costs are still high. because of that the white macbook makes sense as a 'loss leader'...


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## MacDoc (Nov 3, 2001)

Apple doesn't do "loss leaders". 

You can buy a 17" Dell for the same price or less than the entry level white MacBook.


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