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June 10, 2009

Apple MacBook 2.13GHz (white) review

Product Code: MC240lla

If price plays a greater role in a shopper's buying decisions during tough economic times, Apple's recent updates to its entry-level laptop, the white, £749 MacBook, should help push some cost-conscious consumers over the laptop-buying fence.

As the least expensive laptop in Apple's MacBook family, the white MacBook is popular in the education market and with consumers looking for a lower cost Mac experience.

While keeping the same inexpensive price tag and white polycarbonate shell, Apple has quietly bumped the speed of the laptop's Core 2 Duo processors from 2GHz to 2.13GHz and increased the hard drive capacity from 120GB to 160GB.

The white MacBook now includes faster 800MHz DDR2 memory than its last iteration, which used 667MHz DDR2 RAM. These updates amount to not only a better performing entry-level MacBook, but also a system that's faster than the 2.0GHz aluminum unibody MacBook that Apple sells.

Aside from the outward appearance and price, these updates to the white MacBook bring its specs up to the same level as the aluminum MacBook. Both systems have Core 2 Duo processors with 3MB of shared L2 cache. They both include 8x DVD-burning SuperDrives, 160GB hard drives, and 2GB of RAM. They both have glossy 13.3-inch LCD displays (a non-glare option is no longer available for the white MacBook) and both have 1066MHz system buses and use Nvidia GeForce9400M graphics.

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Despite the similarities, differences do remain. The aluminum MacBook costs more, features the new unibody design, includes the new mini DisplayPort connector, and uses 1066MHz DDR3 memory. The aluminum MacBook also uses an LED backlight and has glass covering the screen for an even glossier (some would say mirror-like) screen.

The new white MacBook uses the older polycarbonate shell, has the older mini-DVI port and is the only current MacBook to include FireWire. As a person whose job requires wiping and installing software and operating systems on Macs almost daily, the lack of FireWire on the aluminum MacBook frustrates me to no end. On the other hand, the unibody design generally seems to be more durable over time.

Although we did not see any problems during our short time with the white MacBook Pro, buyers may want to consider some of the documented durability issues reported by users of the polycarbonate model.

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Independent customer reviews from

Apple MacBook 2.13GHz scored:
9.2 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 16 reviews:

08 Sep 2009 Laura, Aberdeen

10

Good Points

Brilliant laptop. So easy to use and stylish too. Does everything I need it to and more. The Snow Leopard operating system is an improvement on the great Tiger OSX. There are new application as standard, like Garage Band, which is so much fun. iChat is brilliant and makes video conferencing and IMing really easy. Anyone could use a Mac and have great fun with it. I bought iWorks to go with my Mac and it is the perfection addition for all your publishing needs, from reports to invitations and even finance projections. I would highly recommend the macbook. I would be lost without it now.

Bad Points

Apart from the text on websites appearing a little small on the 13" model, there are really no bad points. If there is a way to make it bigger I haven't figured it out yet.

26 Jul 2009 Gordon, Gloucestershire

10

Good Points

Very impressed both with the build quality and the Mac operating system. Far superior than the old Windows OS, hence the higher price tag.

Bad Points

The new Snow Leopard operating system doesn’t support Mobile Broadband, no mention to this before upgrading from 10.5 to 10.6.

See more Apple MacBook 2.13GHz reviews on Reevoo.com

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