Picky about Quality or is it just 'cos it's a HAIRY MAC?
Sunday, June 11, 2006
No doubt all of you who read this site know I have a love affair with Apple products, well I thought I would share with you my recent experiences that have 'almost' tempted me to get a quickie divorce and sleep with someone else.
Over the passed month or so, I was so so excited, the MacBook Pro was announced and I duly ordered one. Wow, I even got the free speed hike upgrade, so I was well pleased with Apple as a whole, until I took delivery. Yes, you guessed it I got a whiner, so loud it was a headache inducing whine, so it got swapped out. The second delivery was the same, so I got a refund (thinking I would wait a month or so before re-ordering).
Then in true Britney style, 'ooooops they did it again' and released the MacBook. Not only did this mean I could save some money for near identical performance, but it also meant I could have a nice matt black laptop. So the credit card came out again and after the awful wait for delivery it landed on my doorstep.
Opening up a new Mac is an awesome experience, much greater than opening up a plain boxed PC or other electrical item. My jaw dropped at how wicked it looked, then my head almost exploded as the disappointment hit home that I had another rogue product. The black finish was great, but whoever powder coated my one left a big drip of paint on one of the wrist rests.
I promptly got on the telephone again and duly arranged a replacement.
Now, I wasn't entirely straight with you earlier, I made it sound as though I was very decisive in my choice of black, well I couldn't make up my mind, so the day after ordering the black I had also ordered a white (yes, I know I am crazy). Well, the following day the white turned up and it was brilliant, no finish problems, no whines, no mooooooing, fantastic ! I used it until the battery was empty, then let it rest and charged it overnight to condition the battery. What I didn't bargain for was what happened the following morning. It would not turn on, until I plugged it back in the mains, then as soon as I tried to run from battery it would turn off.
A quick call to tech support had me resetting the PMU and all was then fine, until I charged it again and it would always stay on the same percentage of battery left from before I started charging (eg. if it was on 11% charge left, I would shut the lid, charge, then when I re-opened the MacBook it would still say 11%). The only way I could correct this was to do a restart. On top of all this the screen when closed had now twisted, so it protruded about 2mm over the right side of the bottom casing. So on the phone again and this one went back.
A few days later the second black one arrived, opened it up (no excitement, this was now quashed) and I didn't even turn it on. The front casing was pinched up and not clipped down properly, this left a bump on the wrist rest which was most uncomfortable. To add insult to injury, the person who had put this MacBook together, must have a very bald arm, as they had left most of their arm hair poking out the front casing of my not-so-awesome laptop.
Now this last problem had me remembering that the actual finish of my MacBook Pro was spot on, so when I contacted the big A for a return, I asked if I could upgrade this one to a MBPro. The irony is that they couldn't take my extra money, instead I had to return for a refund and re-order the MBPro, which I did same day.
The new MBPro arrived and (you guessed it) a finish issue was apparent straight out the box. Initially the screen would not open, then on closer inspection I would see that the screen was so wonky that it was tight against the right side of the case, yet it had a 2-3mm gap on the left. So I am giving them one more chance, with a new on due in a couple of days.
So my 'love affair' with Apple has been truly tested and I have already started the search for an alternative 'just in case' this last MBPro is a duff. My search has found one possibility in the shape of a 'Lenovo 3000 N100' which has nice specification and I have heard good things about quality build. I have had PC laptops in the passed and although they are boring, I have never had a quality issue with regards to build (eg. case alignment).
The crying shame is that I really want an Apple product, but I want a good one, I mean good out of the box so that I can be the one who puts the scratch on it. I have a lot invested in Apple equipment and I love the OS, but I feel that 'quality control' has slipped dramatically of late, or am I just unlucky, or am I just over picky when it comes to Apple products?
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Dave
Dave has been in the graphic design industry for 14 years. Long time reviewer of technology related products, he is Owner/Editor of Geekanoids.
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