Gigabit Ethernet comes as standard, so you can connect to compatible networks at up to 1,000Mbps. Wi-Fi, of the 802.11a, b and g varieties, makes an appearance, too, as does the faster 802.11n standard. However you may need to jump through hoops to use it. It works fine with an Airport Extreme router, but you'll need to pay a £1.50 activation fee if have a non-Apple router. As before, There's no integrated modem or 3G datacard, so you'll need a broadband router to connect to the Internet.
As before, the MacBook ships with Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, which includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player and Xcode Developer Tools. You also get Front Row and iLife '06, which consists of iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb and GarageBand.
Performance
The previous MacBook offered relatively strong performance for a thin-and-light laptop, and as expected, this is slightly quicker. It completed CNET.com's Adobe Photoshop CS2 image processing test in 4 minutes 36 seconds, which is 69 seconds quicker than the 2GHz model. Likewise, it took 2 minutes 17 seconds to encode music in CNET.com's iTunes test -- 13 seconds quicker than the 2GHz model.
Despite being faster, the 2.16GHz MacBook offered slightly better battery life than its predecessor. It lasted 3 hours 36 minutes in the battery-drain test, versus the previous model's 3 hours 30 minutes. Forget about gaming though -- it could only manage 4 frames per second in our Doom 3 test, which is an unplayable rate.
Conclusion
The MacBook is now a more attractive proposition than ever. It's faster, better-equipped and therefore better value than its predecessor. It's not as light as equivalent PC-based laptops such as the Dell XPS M1330, but if you're a stickler for style and you love the OS X operating system, you'd be a fool to overlook it.
Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews7
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the unholy 1 31 May 2012
Good: Almost everything
Bad: small chip 2 the right side trackpad, also the fans r quite loud after a short period of time
Comment: Runs fast, even tho my internet con is bad, good graphics quality, etc every thing good apart from the above mentioned faults. the chips on the laptop r very common apparently, otherwise all very good. I would definitely recommend this 2 some1 looking 4 a good laptop
ex-mac-user 30 January 2009
Good: Only the operating system
Bad: Read the review
Comment: I had my 13' Macbook for over 3 years. Through out the whole time I had nothing but bad experience. 5-6 months after the purchase I had noticed a chip on the right side of the keyboard panel close to the mouse pad. It was impossible to fix and because I did not have a warranty I could not return it; the plastic quality is appalling. Some half a year later I had my hard drive replaced due to a fault in many Mac. Unfortunately, I discovered the scale of this issue only when it affected me. Read the blogs online, you will be surprised. The replacement didn't cost me anything (as one would expect), but a lot of my personal data was lost, which had a great sentimental value to me. About another year later I had to buy a new battery, because the old one just would not last for more than 15 minutes! Again, a fault common in MacBook.
Another 4 months or so later, my hard drive failed again. This time I lost about 2 years worth of photos, a lot of my academic work and research documents.
READ THE REVIEWS ONLINE BEFORE YOU BUY.
baeta 29 November 2008
Good: Ultra fast boot up, crisp screen, slick OS, epically good keyboard
Bad: slightly heavy, only two usb ports
Comment: I'd only used windows pc's until a couple of months ago. However I decided to switch to mac. It is the best investment I have made since. The mac operating system is far superior to windows. It is faster, more secure, easy to use and has a wonderful GUI. It boots up fast, is well put together and has a decent battery life.
If you are thinking about buying a mac, DO IT. Its the best decision you will have made- live a virus free life!
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