The bad:
I got the upgraded 7200 RPM HDD model (5400 RPM is the standard) and most of the people that got this model have a problem with the HDD making click/beep noises and freezing momentarily. I have even had some system freezes that last for a minute or so. Once I even had to press the power button to shut down, and restart the unit.
I believe this is the first time Apple has used this HDD, and I do believe it is a problem with the HDD itself. Nevertheless, it is still a defect and it is very annoying. The system itself is usable; it occurs sporadically. I thought Apples were "just supposed to work".
The worst part about the Apple experience was the customer service I have received. It has been absolutely terrible in my opinion. I really couldn't believe that I was dealing with Apple. I mean, I could get better service at a used-car dealership. I called the day after receiving my unit to complain about the HDD, and no one was apologetic. They just said that they would make a note, and "escalate my case to the next level". I called every day for a week, and nothing was done. No phone calls, no emails, nothing.
Also, when you call about a problem on your computer, they put you on hold for 10 minutes + before you can speak to someone. I have never waited on the phone for so long. I have always seen TV shows making fun of the wait times for customer service, but I have never lived it until I dealt with Apple. Last Friday, I was on the phone for 1 + hour and I was transferred through 10+ departments. I spent most of the time on hold waiting for someone.
I was even disconnected twice while on hold, although Apple did call me back--to put me back on hold.
I thought going to the Apple store to see a genius would help, so I made an appointment with a genius. When I went to see him, I didn't get any smiles or "sorries" or anything. He wouldn't even help me. He just told me to call 1-800-my apple. He was even rude and condescending, and not careful with my computer at all. I had a problem with the bottom panel on my unit. It was a little loose, and when you pressed down in the center or picked it up from the sides, you could feel a creaking/a little give and play. The other units in-store didn't have this problem. So I complained to the genius, and he took a look at it. He was not careful with my computer, and put it on the lid on the table upside down. I placed a microfiber sleeve underneath to protect it from scratches. He pressed in on the panel, and said "it was normal". lol. This is Apples answer to everything. No one has ever heard of the problems you are having, and everything is "normal". I told him that even the engineer I spoke to on the phone said it was not normal, and the genius started ranting about how he was not an engineer, and none of the geniuses are engineers. I didn't understand the point of his rant--I was simply trying to tell him it wasn't normal and we could compare it to the other units in the store. He then started ranting about how I shouldn't use the message forums as reliable sources of information. I found this to be really insulting. Firstly, the other service reps I talked to, themselves, used the message forums to investigate my HDD problem. I wasn't the one that suggested it first. Secondly, how dare he tell me how to research the problems with my computer. I just thought it was rude and inappropriate. He just kept implying that we were all lying, and that all our problems were normal. He ended up not doing anything, and just making another note for their system.
I was very polite for the week that I was waiting until that last day--then I started yelling on the phone telling them that I wouldn't be transferred or put on hold for hours at a time anymore. I finally got on the phone with someone that actually did something, and they said they would give me a goodwill gesture to placate me. They then transferred me to someone else, and this last guy finally was able to pull some strings to get things moving on a replacement. He had to talk to his superiors, so it took him a day to get back to me with a resolution. Before anything was done, I was so fed up with the service that I told them to refund my money and take the computer back. They even went so far as to say that I could not because it was a custom order configuration, and that they won't take those back. That infuriated me because they have done nothing to solve the problem, and now they wouldn't even take the computer back for a full refund. Some other reps suggested that they would take a re-stocking fee off if they did take the computer back, which imo, is ridiculous since the unit came with a defect. It wasn't like I had just changed my mind.
Anyways, eventually, after a lot of complaints and yelling, I finally was put on the phone with someone higher up on the chain. They finally agreed to "cross-ship" a replacement, which means they will ship out the new unit before I have to return the old one. I was satisfied with this solution--it was all I had wanted in the first place. They put in the order for the new unit, and they upgraded the shipping to two-day delivery. When I spoke with them about the goodwill gesture they promised me, of course, they had no records of that. I thought this was hilarious since all their notes had been so detailed prior to the goodwill gesture matter. She ended up giving me complementary Apple Care for the product, which is basically an extension of your warranty from one to three years. She, however, seemed to be upset about giving me the Applecare and was very condescending about the whole matter. She said something along the lines of "we are giving you a heck of a deal here", and she made sure to mention the price of everything to suggest Apple was bending over backwards to placate me. I thought it was a nice gesture, and it satisfied me, but everyone's attitude (except one or two people) at Apple has been rude and condescending.
So to summarize the bad:
1. Atrocious customer service for a week (rudeness, condescending attitude, lack of response, lack of acknowledgement)
Sharp edges that will dig into your palm/wrist (this is aluminum, and although it shouldn't cut your skin, it is very uncomfortable)
2. Bottom panel has give/play when you press in the center.
3. Battery life does not live up to 8 hour claim unless you are at less than 50% brightness and not doing anything but staring at the screen.
4. Keyboard is beautiful, but the tactile response it gives is not good. My typing is slower than on my Lenovo, and the chiclet design slows you down since everything is spaced out a little further than normal. However, this may improve once I rewire my brain and get used to this one. As for now, I can type lightening-fast on my lenovo, but rather slow on the MBP with errors.
5. The high resolution makes all the font small
To summarize the good:
1. Amazing user-interface.
2. The trackpad with multi-touch is the best I have EVER used, and I don't think I could ever go back to anything else less than Apple's multi-touch interface.
3. Beautiful design. Just gorgeous.
4. For a 17 inch computer, it feels very small and i svery portable. It weighs 6.6 lbs, but feels very light when I carry it around. Feels lighter than my Lenovo 15.4 inch laptop.
5. The screen is the best screen I have ever used. Text looks like you are reading it on paper (but everything is so crisp and sharp)
So the MBP has its ups and downs (e.g. beautiful high-res screen gives a lot of real estate, but makes fonts crazy small).
Overall, I think it is a great computer once the HDD issue is worked out, but the customer service I have personally experienced at Apple has been the worst in my lifetime. I have really never experienced anything like it before--and considering I just purchased their top-of-the-line laptop with many upgraded features for over $2500, I think it is just unacceptable.
Oh yeah, and the Apple fanboys hate it when you criticize anything about Apple. Even if it is Apple's fault, they blame you or tell you that you are being too picky.
I should probably also talk about Bootcamp and virtualizing windows:
Installing Windows 7 RC via bootcamp was easy. You just partition the HDD using their bootcamp guide, and insert the Win7 iso DVD. You then boot up in windows, and insert the OSX DVD to install the drivers. You get tap-to-click, two-finger right click, and vertical two-finger scrolling, but nothing else. I found tap-to-click to be a little buggy because it seems to always think it is the two-finger right-click, so you always get the drop-down menu when you are scrolling. There also seems to be no touch-check feature, so sometimes your cursor will jump when your palm hits the touchpad.
Also, to get aero, you have to dl and install some drivers form the Nvidia website.
I think that it is amazing that I can dual-boot Win7 and OSX, and bootcamp runs windows7 just fine. The only negative is that programs seem to take a little longer to load initially, but once it is loaded into the ram, it is fast. I can't be sure if that is due to the HDD problem or not.
You can't get aero via VMware, but VMware works just fine. There is very little lag, and it is completely functional for everyday use. It does take longer to bootup and shut down, but other than that Fusion is a great technology.
If you need to run Windows software for work, I would still recommend just using a PC. But if want an Apple, you can definitely make it work.
My gf's MBP coincidentally had problems with the magnetic connector but not to this extent.
