What are the "pros and cons" of the White "Unibody" MacBook? Is it right for my needs?: EveryMac.com

White Unibody MacBook Q&A - Updated June 6, 2010

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What are the "pros and cons" of the White "Unibody" MacBook? Is it right for my needs?

Like any other purchase, only you can make the decision whether or not the White "Unibody" MacBook is the right notebook for you, but you can evaluate the pros and cons of the series to see if your needs are met.

This "run down" may be helpful in making a decision:

Pros:

Sleek, lightweight industrial design.
Widescreen LED-backlit display.
Relatively quick and easy to upgrade the RAM and hard drive.
Respectable performance -- the original "Late 2009" model (now discontinued) -- was actually faster than the low end 13-Inch MacBook Pro available at the same time in some tasks. The current "Mid-2010" model essentially is the same speed as its more expensive entry-level 13-Inch MacBook Pro counterpart.
Both models offer excellent battery life. The original "Late 2009" model provides an Apple-estimated 7 hours of battery life with a 60 W/Hr battery and the current "Mid-2010" model provides 10 hours with a 63.5 W/Hr battery. The batteries are interchangable as well.
Innovative multi-touch trackpad for both models with the current "Mid-2010" model adding "inertial" scrolling as well.
Mini DisplayPort on current "Mid-2010" model supports audio as well as video out.
Relatively inexpensive -- the least expensive notebook Apple offers.

Cons:

Glossy display casts a glare in direct lighting.
Integrated graphics "borrow" system RAM and are substantially slower than dedicated graphics provided by higher-end 15" and 17" MacBook Pro models.
Non-"swappable" battery design, no support for end user battery replacement.
Keyboard is not backlit.
No Firewire, optical audio in, or expansion slots.
No support for a remote.
Mini DisplayPort requires adapters to use with existing technologies.

Basically, if you are looking for an inexpensive and relatively powerful notebook Mac, then the White "Unibody" MacBook would be an excellent choice.

If performance (particularly 3D graphics performance), screen size, connectivity, or expansion are high priorities, the MacBook Pro might be a better option.

Where can I buy a White "Unibody" MacBook?

There are any number of places to buy a used Mac, but these days, the polycarbonate Unibody MacBook models are so old that they really only are available via online auction sites.

To purchase upgrades, please visit site sponsor Other World Computing, which sells memory, hard drives, and more for the White "Unibody" MacBook as well as every other Mac.

What are the default configurations? What custom configurations are available?

For the default configuration, please refer to the specs page for the MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.26 13" (White Polycarbonate Unibody/Late 2009) and MacBook "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 13" (Mid-2010), respectively.

In addition to the stock configurations, you also can choose to customize the amount of RAM and the hard drive size as well as choose from a variety of adapters and software.

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