It’s been quite some time that I have been wishing to buy a MacBook Pro, and I eagerly waited for the October 14 refresh of Apple’s top of the line notebooks.  As expected, the refresh happened on the scheduled date and Mr. Jobs, this time (for a change) along with few of his colleagues wowed us all once again with his expert presentation skills, launching a whole new product redesign.

So if everything went right then what’s up with this freaking title?

Actually even though I think that the new MacBook Pros are designed really well, there is not one but two really big problems.

• Super glossy screen
• Button-less trackpad

I had a chance to handle the new MacBook Pro and seriously I couldn’t deal with glare at all. I wear glasses and that much glare really gave me a headache after a long time in front of the screen. I already use a HP dv2519 which is really glossy, but this new screen is just ridiculous. We need computers for other things too than watch movies/web surfing, and the new glass screen doesn’t help much in those at all.

The button-less trackpad was not that big a problem, but I simply couldn’t get used to it. Honestly speaking, the above problems I mentioned are just a matter of personal opinion and in my case they were a deal breaker.

But not as big a deal breaker as the deal I purchased my new old MacBook Pro for. The old here refers to the previous generation MacBooks Pros which I actually find more elegant than the new ones (specially the keyboard). My total budget was CAD 2300 including taxes. The new base model actually fell in this range using an education discount + taxes. But then I browsed Best Buy and this deal really changed my opinion. I actually got a pre Oct 14 model that used to sell for CAD 2699 + taxes, on a clearance sale for just CAD 1849 + taxes. There are a lot of clearance deals like this available all over world right now. Comparing the benchmarks of the new models with the previous ones, it is apparent that there are not remarkable changes performance wise. You can see the specifications’ comparison with prices below.

(Click to view larger image)

I am really happy with my decision for a number of reasons:

• Saved CAD 850 without any compromises in quality
• Managed to get a Matte LED screen
• Don’t have to change my trackpad habits.
• Got a time tested model than the one which has it’s flaws yet to come out.

As I said before, all the above factors depend on one’s personal  preferences and don’t point out any performance/design flaws in the new MacBook Pros at all.

Watch new vs. previous Apple Macbook Pro comparison photos here.