Recently I’ve been asked quite a few times what portable Mac someone should buy. Perhaps you’ve decided to switch to a Mac and give up your long standing affair with Windows PCs. It’s about time too because even though Microsoft has done wonders with Windows 7, Mac users, including myself, would claim that nothing is as stable and secure as Mac OS X, the operating system that runs on all Macs.
For now, let’s assume you’re looking for something portable. I’ll talk about Mac desktops in another column soon. With a portable computer you are mobile and can work wherever you are but you do pay more for less specifications. On the other hand with a desktop you tend to get more hardware for your money but obviously it should stay in one place and not be carried around.
In Apple notebooks you have a choice between MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
The white MacBook is the cheapest Apple notebook but that doesn’t mean it’s slow and without power. In fact, I often say that the MacBook is the most underestimated Mac computer available right now. It has a 2.4GHz processor, 250GB hard drive and a good graphics card from NVIDIA. Apple rates the battery life at 10 hours and although that may be a bit optimistic it’s not far from true. The white body is made out of polycarbonate, a hard plastic, and it’s very durable. Apple had problems with discoloration on earlier models but those problems seem gone now.
The 13-inch model of MacBook Pro is the same size as the MacBook but it has the silver-colored aluminum body. In specifications there’s not much separating the two. You get more RAM standard in the MBP, SD card slot and a FireWire port. Although the aluminum body looks better than the white I find that it dents and scratches much easier.
Stepping up to the 15-inch models gets you faster processor, larger screen and faster graphics. On the 17-inch model you again get larger screen but Apple also adds an ExpressCard/34 slot for expansion. Which size you pick depends mostly on whether you want the bigger screen or not. It’s tempting to go bigger but the extra size and weight is considerable.
MacBook Air stands out because it’s the thinnest and lightest Apple portable and it has no built-in optical drive. To read CDs and DVDs Apple will sell you an external SuperDrive. You can’t expand the 2GB RAM on the Air and doing any other kind of upgrade is hard if not impossible as well.
There you have the portable lineup fro Apple. It may occur to you that they offer no netbook. MacBook Air is the closest in specifications and form factor but it cost three to four times what most netbook costs. The simple fact is that Apple says they don’t believe in the netbook form factor and that anyone who wants a netbook with an Apple on it should buy an iPad.
This article originally appeared in Khaleej Times. The articles are published here one week after they appear in print. You can find all my Khaleej Times articles here.
