MBP 13" - typing comfort?

Rainmaker

Rainmaker

Rainmaker

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I've just decided to get my backside in gear and sort my degree out. I started seven years ago but my terrible health held me back. I got first class honours all the way through my first year and absolutely loved it, but I missed the end of year exams due to surgery. :mad: Since I'm still ill, I decided to go down the Open University route as it's much more flexible and will accommodate my health. That way once I'm qualified I have much better options regarding employment and can still work around my illness.

This is relevant, bear with me lol... Basically I have severe issues with my muscles and joints, including cramps, nerve pain, weakness etc. I'm looking to get a decent laptop, and have spent ages checking out different models (everything from Acer to Sony Vaio, HP to Samsung) and they all have one thing in common: cheap build quality. :(

Either they have great keyboards and a strong chassis, but a god-awful display that makes you want to scoop your eyes out with a rusty spoon; or they have lovely displays with keys that are already wonky and falling off in the shop. :o

I then tried a MBP and fell in love. Great keyboard, obviously solid unibody build, and the screens are gorgeous, basically. The specs are ample for my needs, as 90% of the time it'll just be used for the web, reading ebooks/journals and essay writing etc. A Core ix would have been preferable, but they don't seem much the worse for wear having a Core2Duo given the 4GB of DDR3 and the nice 350M gfx.

The point of this wall of text is to ask your experiences. Please try to leave out your fanboyism. It's a lot of money to spend, and my own usage needs and physical restrictions count for more than the fact that 'OMG it's a Mac so I jizz when I even think about it no matter how bad it actually is underneath'. :p

Basically I'd love to hear about your experiences with typing (especially for long periods) on the 13" MBP. From a few minutes' testing in the shop it seems great, but that obviously doesn't replace months of real-world experience with it. I do touch type, so bear that in mind. Is it comfortable? Any gripes?

The only other bug-bear is the trackpad. I really prefer the 'normal' trackpad style. This huge "all clickable" design is very alien to me, though I guess I'd soon get used to it. Does the massive trackpad not get in the way of serious typing? It's right where you'd imagine a touch-typist would be resting the hands to reach the keyboard, from the looks of things. Do you get a lot of accidental taps?

I was initially put off by the price tag, but £858 (HE discount) including 3 years of AppleCare is pretty good, especially considering the resale value in 18 months to 2 years. 13" is a nice size to trade off between real-estate and portability, so I'm pretty much in love with it.

The only thing I hate about OS X (yes, I have experience of Snow Leopard) is the fact it's so damn awkward for non-Apple formats. For example even with Perian the intergration for MKV is woeful and I ended up using VLC for everything, which means no GPU hardware acceleration. :(

TBH I'm tempted to buy the MBP and put Windows 7 on there (sorry guys lol). I'm a long-time Linux user so that's not just "Windows blindness" - I just would genuinely find use in things like DXVA and the ability to play the odd game.

Anyway I apologise for boring you, and look forward to any feedback. Thanks in advance. :)
 
The MBPs have a bit of an edge on the case where you might rest your wrists, but I only find this a problem when I'm slouched on the sofa. If you're sat on a chair at a desk it might not be an issue. I touch type and find the MacBook keyboard fine but I generally don't have a problem adapting to new keyboards.

I don't think I've ever had an accidental click on the trackpad while typing. If anything, I think the trackpad requires a little too much pressure to register a click. Also, I'm pretty sure the trackpad software has the capability to recognise accidental palm movement.

Have you ever tried the Windows speech recognition? I've heard it's quite good and worth a look at least.
 
theheyes said:
The MBPs have a bit of an edge on the case where you might rest your wrists, but I only find this a problem when I'm slouched on the sofa. If you're sat on a chair at a desk it might not be an issue. I touch type and find the MacBook keyboard fine but I generally don't have a problem adapting to new keyboards.

I don't think I've ever had an accidental click on the trackpad while typing. If anything, I think the trackpad requires a little too much pressure to register a click. Also, I'm pretty sure the trackpad software has the capability to recognise accidental palm movement.

Have you ever tried the Windows speech recognition? I've heard it's quite good and worth a look at least.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. :) I know the actual pad needs a decent amount of pressure, but that drives me crazy. In the shop I had to change the options to recognise 'taps' rather than actual presses of the trackpad (I can't remember the exact name of the option).

I've never tried speech recognition software, but tbh I don't really need it. Provided I use a decent keyboard and take appropriate rests etc it doesn't really bother me, hence asking what the MBP is like for 'proper' long-term typing. I think I'll get one and see how it goes. Maybe a little trip to the Apple Store first, just to try one out properly (great excuse, no? :D).

Thanks again.
 
Had my MBP 2 weeks or so:

theheyes said:
The MBPs have a bit of an edge on the case where you might rest your wrists, but I only find this a problem when I'm slouched on the sofa. If you're sat on a chair at a desk it might not be an issue. I touch type and find the MacBook keyboard fine but I generally don't have a problem adapting to new keyboards.
Click to expand...

Agree with this, the edge of the case is a bit sharp but it's no big deal.

I don't think I've ever had an accidental click on the trackpad while typing. If anything, I think the trackpad requires a little too much pressure to register a click. Also, I'm pretty sure the trackpad software has the capability to recognise accidental palm movement.
Click to expand...

Same here, requires a fair bit of force to 'click'. No accidents. Plus my hands rest either side of the trackpad and not on top of it, so its no problem...

Love the keyboard personally, I'm still getting used to it, but my type speed is pretty fast and importantly - accurate due to the separated keys.
 
I have played with a 13" MBP in the store, and I think you will be fine. I personally have the 15" and it is probably the best laptop keyboard I have ever used. I have never mis-clicked the trackpad either.
 
Thanks a lot apeZ and SiriusB, that's pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear. The whole idea of a laptop was so I could use it in bed or lying/reclining on the sofa when I was too sore/stiff to sit at the desk, so the edge thing shouldn't be too much of an issue due to the angles I tend to sit at. :)
 
Whilst I can't deny that the Apple stuff has nice build quality (good to see you're addressing the main flaw of Macs - the OS), have you looked at the Dell Studio range for something that would tick your boxes on a lesser budget? The glossy full HD screen on the 15" variant is nothing short of stunning, the keyboard is a pleasant medium-firm action, with no rattle, and the screen hinges are sturdy and a good stiffness. The only possible improvement I would maybe like is a metal as opposed to plastic case, but that's a rarity among PC laptops full stop really.

Anyways, given your original post I hope that's of some use OP, best of luck with your studies :).
 
Thanks a lot Makhaira. :) I did look at some Dells but the build quality wasn't all that (Inspiron range). If the Studios really are better I'll take a look, but trying to get like-for-like (same kind of specs or better) puts them into the £900 bracket on Dell's site so the MBP is actually cheaper AND includes a 3 year warranty.
 
The Dell Studio laptops are nice to use - I have set up several for a client as most of their employees use laptops as opposed to fixed machines.

I wouldn't trade my MBP for one though! :p
 
SiriusB said:
The Dell Studio laptops are nice to use - I have set up several for a client as most of their employees use laptops as opposed to fixed machines.

I wouldn't trade my MBP for one though! :p
Click to expand...

I've just specced up a Dell Studio 17 through their site, with a Core i5, 4GB DDR3, 500GB hdd etc and it came in at just over £800. Basically MBP money but a bit better specs. On balance I think the MBP is a better buy, not only on build quality but the long warranty and resale value.

At the end of the day, without wishing to sound crass, at this price even if I hosed the HDD and put Win7 on there I've got a brilliant laptop for the money so I think I'd be daft not to get the MBP. I'll have a look at some Dell Studios in person first though. Thanks for the tip. :)
 
Personally I would go for the MBP too. I wouldn't get rid of OS X though, as it is a great OS. I run Windows 7 in a VM via Parallels. It is free to try so worth a go. VMWare also do VM software for OS X too.

The beauty of both Fusion and Parallels is the "seamless" mode they both use. Basically you run Windows programs like they were running in OS X. It is not quite perfect, but it is bloody good!

Best of both worlds is fantastic.
 
I can confirm (having owned both) that the Studios are indeed much nicer than the Inspirons.

If it's coming out more expensive though, and the MBP does everything you need AND you prefer it, go with the MBP. Bear in mind the cost of a W7 license too.

Oh, and for typing comfort, as a tip, have a think about getting a tilted laptop cooler, might help you on any laptop!
 
I've got the latest 13" MBP model and I love it. I use it a lot for coding, so I do spend quite long periods typing on it. I actually prefer the keyboard mechanics on the MBP to that of a regular keyboard. My only gripe about the keyboard is that it's missing a few special characters keys that are used a lot in modern programming languages, making coding slightly more laborious.

The trackpad is great too. I still click in the lower-lefthand corner to left click and I've set the lower-righthand corner to function as a right click. The size and multitouch feature of the trackpad make it a joy to use. You'll never be able to go back to another manufacturer's trackpad ever again.

I've also set mine up to dual boot Mac OSX and Windows 7. I must admit that I boot into Windows more than I boot into OSX. The Apple drivers for Windows work perfectly well and the system integrates the two operating systems very smoothly. My only tip here is to download Fuse and the NTFS-3G driver, since OSX can't write to NTFS partitions natively.
 
Interestingly no one has mentioned a Dell XPS laptop. I've got an XPS Studio 1340 with Win 7 HP and a 2009 uMBP with Snow Leopard.

The MBP is a damn fine machine and I can hardly fault it. The fit and finish is remarkable, the keyboard, multi touch mousepad, battery and screen are all fantastic.
The Dell XPS is also great but the quality of the finish isn't as good, the battery life is half that of the MBP and its a little thicker and heavier. It has more features though, eSATA, 2 headphone and a mic sockets, HDMI output, multi card reader.
Both are great to work on but the Macbook Pro would get my vote each time.
 
Thanks again for all the input guys. It looks like I'll definitely be getting a MBP. :D I'll let you all know. Oh and Sirius, yes I'll definitely be keeping OS X at least for a month to give it a fair crack of the whip. :)
 
Rainmaker said:
Thanks again for all the input guys. It looks like I'll definitely be getting a MBP. :D I'll let you all know. Oh and Sirius, yes I'll definitely be keeping OS X at least for a month to give it a fair crack of the whip. :)
Click to expand...

Agreed. :)

And OP what are you waiting for? Just go get it! :D

Easily the one the best purchases I have made. ;)
 
I don't normally make these types of posts, but I'm currently playing on a 13" MBP at the Apple Store in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. Definitely DO want... :D

The keyboard's great, the screen's amazing and the trackpad is somehow something I can't live without now I've used it. Very comfortable to use, amazing build quality. Do you think they'll notice if I walk out with one? LOL :p

+1 Apple convert. :o
 
Just traded my iPad for the White Unibody MacBook, the difference between this and my previous macbook is incredible.

They really are the best laptops out there IMO, although the prices are getting very OTT of late.
 
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