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0 pointslarrywright15y ago0 comments

My US$.02:

- Unless you need the higher processor speed or the Thunderbolt port, previous gen refurbished should be quite a deal.

- The 15" high res (1920x1080) is the sweet spot for portability and desktop use. I have a 17" now, and it's really just too big. When I bought mine though (late 2007), the 15" didn't have a high res display. If I were buying one now, it would be the 15" 1080p or the 13" Air (ultraportable).

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4 comments · 1 top-level

rosser15y ago· 3 in thread

Where are you seeing 1080p on the 15"? I have the last-gen 15" with the anti-glare upgrade, but was disappointed only to be able to get 1680x1050, so I was pretty excited at the prospect of that much higher a resolution. Looking at the site, though, the upgrade is still just 1680x1050.

I think I'll just continue to hold out hope that the rumored refresh of the Air line, offering Sandy Bridge chips, comes in June.

That said, I agree; if you don't specifically need quad-core or Thunderbolt (which does look pretty cool), the previous generation is very solid, and I'm quite happy with mine.

larrywrightOP15y ago

Good catch, I swore I saw that they offered 1080p on the 15" but Apples site says otherwise. That said, I have the 17" with 1680x1050, and it's plenty of pixels on a laptop.

daviding15y ago

Really interested in your feedback of the 1440 vs the 1680 on the 15" screen. I spend lots of time in iTerm/TextMate doing web dev. My current MBP 1440 is ok for me, but thinking I should go higher this time.

Will the fonts be too small? (hey, I'm not that old but concerned I'll be 'leaning in' to a screen where everything is too tiny).

rosser15y ago

Personally, I don't think they're too small. I moved to this machine from a ThinkPad x61 tablet (12.1", 1400x1050 -- just shy of 150 ppi, as opposed to 128-and-change on the MBP), so it's actually a step down in pixel pitch for me. FWIW, I tend to live in the terminal, too.

(That said, part of the reason for the upgrade was that I was starting to notice some "leaning in", myself...)

No direct experience with the 1440x900 screen, so I can't offer any sort of meaningful comparison, but you'd have to make a very compelling case (say, sub three pounds) for me to consider a screen with anything under a vertical kilopixel. (And even then, I'm holding onto a sliver of hope that the Air refresh will bring a higher-res display along with whatever other goodies...)

EDIT: sloppy proofreading.

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