Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010) reviews: Laptop computer
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+ This laptop scores very high on battery life. - It has no outstanding negative points.
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Some customer reviews of Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010)
Most helpful reviewsJohn, Alfreton, Derbyshire General home user
- Good points:
- It's a Mac. So much better than Windows 7 (which I used for a year). It does what it claims with promising updates due in July when "Lion" is introduced, which will keep it ahead of the competition. My PC is an iMac so I have complete compatibility. Wonderful!!
- Bad points:
- It's expensive, but worth every penny
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Confirmed purchase: 21 May 2011
Gareth, London General home user
- Good points:
- Ease of use, reliability, portability, excellent Apple service
- Bad points:
- Pricey - but you get an excellent product for the money, so not really a "bad point", just noticeably more costly than similar PC product.
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Confirmed purchase: 20 May 2011
Confirmed purchaser Music, gaming or video fan
- Good points:
- Great piece of kit
- Bad points:
- Costly but I think the value is there.
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Confirmed purchase: 18 May 2011
Richard, General home user
- Good points:
- So well made, despite the seemingly low spec. (by Windows standards) it is reasonably fast, does all I want and more. Battery life is good, but far less than the claimed 10 hours; data intensive browsing using Airport sees as little as 2.5 hours, no better than my 17" 4 year old Windows laptop! Seemingly not targeted by malicious
- Bad points:
- Price; I only rated value for money 'Great' because it was available at 20% discount, which is unusual. Apple upgrades and software ridiculously expensive, even Mobile Me functionality, free on Windows, is charged by annual subscription. Apple seem to think Mac users only want to sync. with other i Devices. Safari hangs on some websites, requiring a reboot. I use Firefox now which is OK.
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Confirmed purchase: 18 May 2011
Jonny , Edinburgh General home user
- Good points:
- Much better for design !
- Bad points:
- A lot NPR expensive
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Confirmed purchase: 18 Apr 2011
Confirmed purchaser General home user
- Good points:
- I got this at a really good price and I'm very happy with the purchase. Being white, smudges are more noticeable but the beauty of the product makes it a small price to pay. It was literally plug and play once I opened the box and after keying in my wifi password I was off! Turning it on and off literally takes seconds. I still have lots to discover about the MacBook but it's easy looking up for their tutorials. I was hesitant at first as I bought this for the children's schoolwork but they have come to grips with iworks quite easily. iMovie, photo booth, and iphoto have made it easy for me to store and update my photo and video library. I can't find fault, really!
- Bad points:
- Smudges are easily visible
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Confirmed purchase: 14 May 2011
This Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010) is reviewed on TechRadar
This Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010) is reviewed on PC Advisor
This Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010) is reviewed on TechRadar
Product Features
| Screen size (Inches) | 13.3 |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Mac OS X Snow Leopard |
| RAM in GB | 2 |
| Number of Cores | 2 |
| Hard disk capacity (Gigabytes) | 250 |
| Screen Resolution (pixels) | WXGA |
| Processor Brand | Intel ® |
| Processor | Core 2 Duo |
| Processor Number | P8600 |
| Processor Speed in MHz | 2400 |
| USB port | 2 |
| Integrated Webcam | Yes |
| WiFi | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| 3G | No |
| Fingerprint Access | No |
| Remote control | No |
| DVD Writer | Yes |
| DVD Drive | Yes |
| CD Rom | Yes |
| Blu-ray Drive | No |
| VGA Port | Optional |
| DVI Port | Optional |
| Card Reader | No |
| Battery Life in Hours | 10 |
| Weight (kg) | 2.13 |
| Brand of Graphic Chip | nVidia |
| Graphic Card or Chip | GeForce 320M |
| Firewire | No |
| TV Output | No |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 |
| Video Editing Card | No |
| Hard Drive Type | Hard Disk Drive |
| TV Card | No |
| Release date | 2010-05-24 |
Manufacturer's Description
From the curve of the unibody enclosure to the glass of the Multi-Touch trackpad, every aspect of the MacBook has been carefully considered and then considered again.
Durable unibody enclosure.
A mere 2.74 cm (1.08 inches) thin and even lighter at 2.13 kg (4.7 pounds),1 the sleek MacBook cuts a slim profile on any desk (or in any rucksack or briefcase). It features a seamless, durable unibody enclosure with rounded contours that make it easy to pick up and slide into and out of your bag. It’s made of rugged polycarbonate that withstands the rough and tumble of everyday life at school, at work or while travelling. And since the bottom of the MacBook is covered in a non-slip material, it always stays right where you put it — whether it’s on a desk, table or folding seat tray.
Unibody design
The breakthrough unibody design of the MacBook is durable and streamlined.
Quality screen time.
MacBook features an LED-backlit 13.3-inch glossy widescreen display for a spectacular viewing experience. Documents, videos, photos and games look incredibly sharp and detailed. The LED backlighting delivers stunning colours and instant full-screen brightness the moment you open the lid. And its 1280-by-800 pixel resolution offers an outstanding balance of luminous colour and easy readability in a perfectly portable size.
Spacious glass Multi-Touch trackpad.
The MacBook Multi-Touch trackpad has no button because it is the button. That means there’s plenty of room to move your fingers around, and you can click anywhere — left, right, centre and everywhere in between. The trackpad features a silky smooth glass surface that feels great to the fingertips. Use it to perform familiar functions such as right-clicking, as well as Multi-Touch gestures: pinch to increase font size in a document, rotate your fingers to reorient photos, swipe to navigate through web pages, and more. And now with inertial scrolling, moving up and down documents and web pages feels completely smooth.
A comfortable keyboard your fingers will love.
MacBook portability doesn’t happen at the expense of key features. The keyboard is full size, with keys that are curved to contain your fingers and highly responsive to your touch. Its low-profile design integrates perfectly into the unibody enclosure, so you’ll get a comfortable experience whether you’re typing a quick email or writing a lengthy research report. The keyboard also gives you one-touch access to music and video controls and Mac OS X features such as Dashboard and Exposé.
Magnetic latch
Because the latch has no moving parts to snag, jam or break, even opening and closing your MacBook is a pleasure.
Easy access to connections and ports.
The connections and ports on MacBook — MagSafe power, Gigabit Ethernet, Mini DisplayPort, USB and audio in/out — are all smartly integrated on the same side of the notebook. So your cables stay neatly organized, and connecting and disconnecting your devices is easy and convenient.
MagSafe Power Adapter
The power cord is held in place magnetically, so if someone should trip over it, the cord disconnects harmlessly and your MacBook safely stays put.
Clean, simple interior design.
MacBook is as well designed on the inside as on the outside. Turn it over and you’ll notice a seamless, sturdy, single-piece bottom case with no battery compartment. That’s because the lithium-polymer battery is strategically built right into the enclosure. In addition to providing extra overall durability, this integrated design eliminates the space-consuming parts required by a removable battery. This allows more room for a larger-capacity battery and provides an even longer battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge2 — all in an enclosure that is thin and light. When you remove the bottom case, you’ll discover a clean, simple interior
layout that makes it easy to add more memory or a larger hard drive.
8Friendly to the environment.*
MacBook is designed to have less impact on the environment than most other computers. It’s more energy efficient, free of many toxins and made of recyclable materials.
| Product | Retailer | Price | Total price | Buy now | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Apple Macbook White 13" 2.4GHz (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2Gb, 250Gb, NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics, up to 10 hour battery life)
Colour |
£900 + £7 delivery |
Go
In stock |
||
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Here’s a list of the questions other shoppers have asked owners of the Apple MacBook MC516B/A (2010)
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i'm comtemplating a switch to Mac from PC. After researching some Macbook models, it appeared that some do not have an ethernet port for wired networks. Does this model? Thanks!
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This model does have an ethernet port, though I have never used it before. When connecting using wifi, it has been really fast and easy, much easier than a laptop. Hope this helps.
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Hi, I have read scary reviews saying that after a few months the hinges have hairline cracks, has anyone had this?
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At 4 months, I have no such problem. Mind you, I am a light and careful user. The trouble is that the Applecare insurance is so expensive. But it is a nice bit of kit!
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Heavy handed use and tilting the screen back too far will cause these hairline cracks, this was a more common problem with the previous model, because of the hinge design being not so encased...Computers aren't invincable and people forget about that small fact! Don't be put off by others lack of care.
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is it easy to tranfer all my photos and music from my windows laptop and are the really worth the money
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dont know did not get that far, as had trouble with the wi fi card. have just purchased a Sony
VAIO which i think is just as good, and looks good too. and is £260 cheaper.
Trev -
really easy to transfer everything over with an external HD.
They are most definitely worth the money! I cant recommend them highly enough. Pc's just dont cut the mustard anymore for me
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can you play games what are for windows on a macbook
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I am an Angry Birds addict, also X Plane 9, but check out the new Apple Apps Store.
I suppose it depends on what rings your bell, but Mac is for users rather than gamers I would say. -
I am an Angry Birds addict, also X Plane 9, but check out the new Apple Apps Store.
I suppose it depends on what rings your bell, but Mac is for users rather than gamers I would say.
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I was wondering if you need airport express or extreme if you have a wireless enabled router to run the internet on a mac book
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i'm not quite sure, i'm not that technical with computers. but it just says: Turn Airport on/off which i use for my internet with a wireless box thing.. sorry i couldn't help
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I am thinking of getting a macbook and i was wondering if i need airport express or extreme to run internet on the macbook if i already have a wifi enabled router.
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The Airport that comes standard on the macbook works fine. The macbook will pick up your router, you will just have to enter your wep or WPA2 password and network name when starting up, but this can be done when you do the initial set up!
Highly recommend getting a macbook!!
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what colours can you have?
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I think the macbook only comes in white. I have not seen it in any other colours.
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As far as I know you can have any colour you like as long as it is white.
Seriously just Google apple stores uk for details.
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Really need to upgrade my pc to a laptop.
Was tempted by desktop replacements such as the Samsung R780 however after popping in to my local PC World... was swayed by the specifications of a mac.
This macbook at the current asking price of £770 would be about the maximum I oculd afford right now as a student*. Would anybody advise saving up for a pro or is this a good investment which can last me?
*I'm a film and media student therefore I may need to edit film projects on the macbook. Would this model be suited to this type of work?
Help & advice would be much appreciated
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Hey
I'm a student too and also went for the white one partly cos of the price. I've only had it for a few months but I get the impression it's gonna last a long time.
It's enough for my needs although I don't do any film editing so I'm not sure how it'd be for that. I do know that the recent macbook pro update has given it a significantly faster and more up to date processor... perhaps given your needs this would be more suitable (although the white macbook would still cope I'm sure).
I would say that either would be a good investment and both will last a long time, it's just a toss up between the extra power of the pro and the cheaper macbook. I have a feeling that since you may actually use the extra capabilities of the pro, saving up may be wise.
Feel free to get back to me with any questions. -
I got told at the apple shop that to use the mac for media and film editing that it was worth upgrading to the mac pro, as it has more memory and faster.
Also, i would highly recommend you try getting a voucher code as this took a quarter of the price of my mac.
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Hi there I want to buy a macbook soon and obviously I being a student would opt for the cheaper white one but what is the actual difference between the white one and the macbook pro?
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I'm not intially sure, but from what I've been told the Pro has a bigger memory, quicker at loading things and obviously has a different look to it.
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Didnt know the forum rules alolewd such brilliant posts.
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Well my son was delighted with the macbook and that's what he thinks
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I am still thinking hard weather to get a new pc or a mac could you please help me decide
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MAC!!! I know the initial spend is a little more than a pc but they really are brilliant and last a life time if you treat them well!!
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Depends what you want, really. If you are into music, graphics, then Mac. If you are a gamer, then pc. Mac does cost, but the right deal on a latest Windows pc can be attractive. I think that Mac software is better value, and Mac software WORKS.
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I will be going uni soon....should I get the MacBook? I will be carrying it around with me alot in my bag? Do you think it's suitable? And I'll be traveling alot....does it get damaged easily? What if you get one of the covers for it or the laptop cases???
I'm also writing a book so do you think it's suitable?
I've never had a MacBook before and I'd rather get an excellent laptop than a cheaper one that's not so good.
Also which is best the Pro or the White one?-
Yes a Macbook would be very suitable!! Getting a case for it would be a good idea though. The white one looks the best (in my opinion!) but the top is very easily scratched :/ Either would be suitable for your needs. It is well worth the money and will last alot longer than most windows! Hope this helps.
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does microsoft word and excel and all that software come already included or do i need to install it with the cd ?????
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You will need to install it with your cd!
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You need to do more research. The Macbook comes with a very different Operating System called Snow Leopard. If you want a Windows machine then buy a Windows machine, I would suggest.
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I am thinking about going from pc to mac. I want to use photoshop etc. would you say mac is better for this kind of thing?
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I'm not an expert on this but several of my friends are professional photographers and graphic designers. They all use macs for their work. I've used an older version of photoshop on my PC and it worked fine for me, but I only ever played around with it. If you plan to do a lot of work with photoshop, then I think mac would appear to be the way to go, given that most professionals use them. There is probably a lot more photoshop add ons and support for mac users, given they are in the majority.
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I am using iphoto so much at the moment! It's definitely much better in terms of ease of use. Editing is very easy and the various templates are all fun and great. I am a complete novice to these things but I have managed to make several slideshows, albums and books already. Even my 10th old managed to make an iMovie. I would say go for it.
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We'll publish your question and the answer here to help other shoppers.
Jonathan, chester General home user
Score 10.0/10Battery life is fantastic. Lovely bright screen.
Confirmed purchase: 25 May 2011