Why is Apple the only company that tries to make a sleek notebook?

[Chaoticknight16]

So i'm about to buy a new notebook, and I've done the research. I want 15.4" Widescreen, Core duo, and portablility. I've looked into dell, hp, toshiba, acer, asus and apple. And nobody execpt apple has a duo core close to 5.5lbs. and 1.0" thick. I've been a windows user, and it's not that I have anything against OS X, actually i think it's a decent operating system, I just like windows and my windows progams. Now that the macbook can run windows I'm seriously considering just getting a Macbook. I know I'd feel weird running windows on an Apple, and probably just end up using OS X (which they must be counting on) but I dream of a sleek thin, light 15.4 inch notebook with 2 buttons on the touchpad....

Do you think it's a good idea to run windows on a mac? am I missing something? What do y'all think?

 

[Xonoahbin]

With boot camp, it'll be easy to run Windows on your Mac, and you'll be able to dual-boot, giving you the benefits of both OSes. Hasn't been shown to screw anything up. Go for it.

 

[Brainonska511]

Other companies don't drastically underclock their graphics cards so they can throw smaller heatsinks on them (and therefore have a thinner design).

 

[AmigaMan]

Lenovo makes a great competitor to the MacBookPro called the T60p. Dollar for dollar it equals or beats the MBP in features, weight, looks, and performance. I chose to go with the MacBookPro because I wanted to try out OS X (I love it btw), but if I had to choose again, I might be tempted to get the T60p.
And as I type this, I'm installing Parallels Workstation with an XP image. I already have Bootcamp installed (playing Oblivion decently I might add). But I need the ability to quickly pull up Windows for some testing and rebooting seems kind of bothersome. Now I should be able to pull up XP within a window, do my dirty work, and close it all without leaving OSX.

 

[Trippytiger]

Asus, Sony, Lenovo, Sharp, Fujitsu, and Samsung (if you don't mind importing) all make some very sleek notebooks. Especially Asus - I can't get over how amazing their laptops look. Be sure to check them out.

EDIT: I see you've looked at Asus. They seem to be short on 15.4" notebooks, I guess.

 

[Commodus]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Lenovo makes a great competitor to the MacBookPro called the T60p. Dollar for dollar it equals or beats the MBP in features, weight, looks, and performance. I chose to go with the MacBookPro because I wanted to try out OS X (I love it btw), but if I had to choose again, I might be tempted to get the T60p.

Not true! I went to the Lenovo website and configured a T60p. A system with specs that match those of the $2500 15" MacBook Pro as closely as possible costs $2409, and the only reason it costs less is probably that it uses an inferior video chipset (a 128 MB X1400 versus the MacBook Pro's 256 MB X1600). The T60p also doesn't have any Media Center functions - not that this is what its target market looks for, but this is still part of the MacBook Pro's price.

So in short, feel good about your MacBook Pro purchase in terms of relative value, not just the OS.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Lenovo makes a great competitor to the MacBookPro called the T60p. Dollar for dollar it equals or beats the MBP in features, weight, looks, and performance. I chose to go with the MacBookPro because I wanted to try out OS X (I love it btw), but if I had to choose again, I might be tempted to get the T60p.

Not true! I went to the Lenovo website and configured a T60p. A system with specs that match those of the $2500 15" MacBook Pro as closely as possible costs $2409, and the only reason it costs less is probably that it uses an inferior video chipset (a 128 MB X1400 versus the MacBook Pro's 256 MB X1600). The T60p also doesn't have any Media Center functions - not that this is what its target market looks for, but this is still part of the MacBook Pro's price.

So in short, feel good about your MacBook Pro purchase in terms of relative value, not just the OS.

You didn't configure a T60p. It would have cost a bit more than $2400, and would have come with a 256 MB x1600 (workstation version).

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511
Other companies don't drastically underclock their graphics cards so they can throw smaller heatsinks on them (and therefore have a thinner design).

i'm pretty sure apple knows that gaming on os x is pretty much non-existant, so they are probably thinking "decent video in a much sleeker package".

i do have to say that two finger scrolling is the sexiness. i try to do it everytime i use my wife's dell and i'm disappointed.

 

[Corporate Thug]

i think sharp and fujitsu makes equally sleek stuff

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: Commodus

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
Lenovo makes a great competitor to the MacBookPro called the T60p. Dollar for dollar it equals or beats the MBP in features, weight, looks, and performance. I chose to go with the MacBookPro because I wanted to try out OS X (I love it btw), but if I had to choose again, I might be tempted to get the T60p.

Not true! I went to the Lenovo website and configured a T60p. A system with specs that match those of the $2500 15" MacBook Pro as closely as possible costs $2409, and the only reason it costs less is probably that it uses an inferior video chipset (a 128 MB X1400 versus the MacBook Pro's 256 MB X1600). The T60p also doesn't have any Media Center functions - not that this is what its target market looks for, but this is still part of the MacBook Pro's price.

So in short, feel good about your MacBook Pro purchase in terms of relative value, not just the OS.

You didn't configure a T60p. It would have cost a bit more than $2400, and would have come with a 256 MB x1600 (workstation version).

Yep, exactly.

Trust me Commodus, I agonized for several days over the T60p versus the MBP. The T60p you can get has a FireGL5200 which is technically equivalent to the x1600. The T60p had 1600x1200 in the 15" LCD and at the time was about $200 more expensive than the MBP. I believe everything else was equal. You did have to add in the MBP's $349 3 year warranty since the Lenovo comes with it standard.
They've since reduced their price and now the prices are neck and neck. It basically came down to me wanting OSX versus Windows (and Ubuntu). Plus the instant gratification I got by buying it at the local Apple Store.
Don't get me wrong, I love my MBP, but I'd love to know how that T60p would have performed.

 

[aceO07]

The T60P probably has better battery life.

 

[Chaoticknight16]

I'm really hooked on a widescreen notebook...

the t60p was actually my second choice, if only it had widescreen....*urg*


*I only game casually so the video card isn't my biggest concern, but I hadn't known they underclock for heat...

 

[lazybum131]

Even underclocked the X1600 in the MBP outperforms the X700, and significantly outperforms the low end cards (X1400, go7400). What you said is true, no one else makes a sleeker or lighter 15.4" even without a decent video card.

 

[Trippytiger]

It does look like there are very, very few thin and light 15.4" laptops besides the Apple. The only other one I could find is the HP Compaq nw8440, but it's probably very expensive and you probably won't be able to find one - it seems to be extremely new. 1.1" thick and a little less than 6lbs, though - worth a look if you aren't going to be buying right away.

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm...957-64295-89315-321838-f1-1839152.html

 

[Chaoticknight16]

nice trippytiger!

the apple was pushing the budget...and this just about breaks it, but it's cheaper than a macbook with the same processor.

I'll wait for some reviews and compare batterylife and the rest.

Thanks

 

[lopri]

You know, in the U.S. we love BIG things.. Big cars, big houses, big bellies, big.. breast augmentation, etc. I've always wanted a sleek and ultra-portable notebook but for the aforementioned reasons all we see are these gigantic and ugly DTR notebooks.. Yah like someone said above, if you look outside you can find real nice and thin notebooks. I think I've seen 0.7" thin notebook made by Sony somewhere.

 

[Gibson486]

Just go to China or Japan and you will see how they have much better laptop than the US. The US market is all about getting a laptop cheap, while the foriegn market is about getting the best possible.

 

[Gibson486]

Just go to China or Japan and you will see how they have much better laptop than the US. The US market is all about getting a laptop cheap, while the foriegn market is about getting the best possible.

 

[bigrash]

i have no problem running xp on my mac mini. it runs nicely and it's very easy to install

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: lopri
You know, in the U.S. we love BIG things.. Big cars, big houses, big bellies, big.. breast augmentation, etc. I've always wanted a sleek and ultra-portable notebook but for the aforementioned reasons all we see are these gigantic and ugly DTR notebooks.. Yah like someone said above, if you look outside you can find real nice and thin notebooks. I think I've seen 0.7" thin notebook made by Sony somewhere.

I really like the look of sony's lappy's. Especially since the sizes they come in definatly would be something I want.

However, isn't reliability always an issue with Sony's laptops?