I ordered the new Macbook Pro 17" 2.8ghz last month from Senco since the school where I teach (Xavier School) has been collaborating with this company and AUB to provide cheap loans to teachers for mac laptop purchase with educational discount. When I saw the quotation that Senco gave us, it states that the MBP 17" 2.8ghz (normal one, with glass) will arrive within 2-3 days after ordering. I almost ordered the antiglare, but it's BTO (built-to-order) and the thought of waiting for 30-45 days for the MBP was too much for me to handle. So I told them I wanted to get the regular 17 incher ASAP. This was around mid-June. The problem is that after weeks and weeks of waiting, they told me that they still don't have a unit available. This morning when I called, they told me that the unit will arrive soon from Singapore and to expect the delivery soon--either this Friday or next Monday. The waiting time is driving me nuts. My co-teachers who ordered the 13- and 15-inchers already got theirs two weeks ago. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone has already purchased this latest 17" model? And if ever, I'm wondering if the stock is really not available in the Philippines. Also, I hope someone shares his/her experiences with it. I'm a bit concerned also because I really wanted the antiglare because I do a lot of photo editing, but I honestly don't like the silver bezel of the antiglare. I know it's shallow but we all have our own preferences, eh? Hehehe. I've been reading a lot of reviews of the MBP 17" as well, but I want to hear from a normal user. I'm very interested with the battery life and the display. Sorry if this post seems a bit disorganized. I just want to take things out of my head. Haha. Any input will be welcome. Thanks!
17 inch Unibody user here. Although you have the updated version the only difference between mine and yours is the 2.8 Ghz processor and the matte screen (I have the 2.66Ghz stock early 2009 model). Mine has the stock glossy screen and I can tell you it looks much better then the 15 and 13 inch Macbook/Pro screens out there. I love the high resolution 1920 by 1200 because you can put several documents side by side which is perfect for heavy layout and translation work that I do. Although I don't do video I can imagine it is an excellent video editing machine. As for battery I get an average of 6 hours of work ( a mix of Photoshop, Dreamweaver, indesign and Web browsing). I get an extra hour more if I simply do simple text work like word processing and front end HTML/CSS coding (and turn off wi-fi and bluetooth). I love it when doing work in a coffeeshop and people wondering why I last for the whole day without plugging in my huge laptop. As for the performance. Its basically feels the same as my 2.4 Ghz Unibody Macbook. I honestly can't tell the difference (unlike when I moved from a G4 Powerbook to an intel Mac) but according to benchmarks online - its about a 10% difference. According to MacWorld's review your 2.8 Ghz is about 8% faster then mine so if you came from a 2.0Ghz Macbook Pro then it should be about 20% faster. I bet you will feel a speed increase. I hope you don't mind if I ask how much did you get your 17 inch Unibody for under the loan?
Thanks for those inputs! 6 hours with Photoshop! Wow! I hope I also would get a really great battery life while editing photos through Aperture. Yes, I'm thinking that I would definitely feel the performance boost because I've been a bit impatient already whenever I edit RAW files on my 2.0. Actually I haven't received the unit yet. Hopefully on Friday. Or Monday next week. Argh. Senco's too slow and inconsistent with their promised delivery dates... Anyway, the 2.8 ghz MBP 17" with the education discount is offered to us for only P119K. That's really cheap as compared to the prices of others. But it's just annoying that it's taking them a lot of time to deliver the unit.
Wow, thats a good price, especially when it is a loan! As for the 6 hours of Photoshop, take note I only do "light" Photoshop mostly cropping, resizing, selecting and a filter or two. But I also do heavy photoshop work once in a while when making high resolution layout for posters and magazines and the battery would go red, but not dead, around the 5 hour mark. Oh another thing I forgot to mention. One advantage of having a large body is that the 17 inch unibody seem to run much more cooler then then all the 15 and 13 inch Macbooks/Pro I have used before.
Just came back from Digital Hub Virra Mall; according to a staff their stock of 17" MBP has yet to arrive.
I inquired about the 17 incher from charlie and he said it'll be available next week. Perhaps Senco's will be available around the same time.
So it's really not available in the Philippines yet... OK.. Now, I'm a bit relieved to hear that. I thought it's an isolated case. Thanks, guys!
Got my 17 inch 2.8 GHz 500 Gig 7200 rpm with anti-glare screen from HK last week--- Love it!!! Love the screen!!! No finger prints, no mirror reflection and the colors are just as fantastic as the glossy screen macs... and I have to say... it's one fast machine It's so worth the wait--- you'll love it!
i tried installing an anti-glare screen protector for a mbp unibody, and i find it very comparable with my (matte screen) pre-unibody mbp. perhaps that could be another option for those who prefer matte displays.
I just got my 3.06Ghz Macbook Pro 17 with anti-glare screen and 500gb 7200 rpm drive. I love the screen and I love the battery life even more. I have always ordered my Macbooks with the anti glare option. It is more usable under various ambient lighting scenarios. Jojo
Niiice! Where did you get yours? You got the best of the top of the line! Wow! (I'm wondering if you also maxed out the 8G RAM? Haha! That would be perfect! )
I did not max out memory as it was not cost effective. It would still cost around $700 more even at dealer discounts. As for where I got it, I have a partner who is an apple authorized reseller in the US. He ordered it for me at dealer discount and I had him ship it via Johnny Air Cargo.
@Jojo aka du1jec OT That was cheap favor if possible pabili ako sayo ng new MBP but not that high end if ok lang hehehe dealers price din. Congrats bro good buy. Oh! by the way welcome to Philmug.
@ du1jec That's a really good deal, bro! You're right. There will be cheaper deals for the 8Gb RAM upgrade soon. Maybe next year it will be cheaper.
I just got my NEW mac today!!!!! W000oohooo!!! 2.8Ghz, 17" Macbook Pro, Mid-2009 model. Glossy. I'm going to post unboxing pics soon! This thing is GORGEOUS!!!
