Hardware… sometimes you got it, sometimes you don’t
Friday, June 9th, 2006Put simply:
Nintendo got it. Apple don’t.
I got to try two new toys today: The MacBook and the DS Lite. I stopped off at the Apple store today on my way home from work, mostly since I hadn’t had a chance to see the MacBooks up close yet. And, let me just say, I was not impressed. Previously, I had been drooling over the black MacBook, and was even considering getting one, but now that I’ve looked at it, I’m reconsidering. The new keyboard doesn’t bother me — it’s a bit weird, true, but it’s not uncomfortable. But it really isn’t that attractive. The black plastic looks cheap — the ThinkPad I’m writing this on right now is of a much higher quality. Maybe if they had gone glossy with it, like the white MacBooks and the iPods, it would be a different story. But the matte black just doesn’t work. My other big complaint is the screen. Why, oh why, did they go glossy. The colors may be brighter, but at the expense that the screen reflects everything. It’s bad both functionally and aesthetically; it really does serve to cheapen the perceived quality of the machine from me, and makes it feel just like every other PC laptop out there. I don’t know what Apple is thinking, but I hope they don’t continue this trend.
Nintendo on the other hand is doing awesome. The DS Lite is simply amazing. I’m getting one the first chance I have. The case is simple beautiful — I read a comment by someone today that it looks as if it had been designed by Jonathan Ive, and it really does. It feels like Apple hardware. And, as icing on the cake, I got to try it for the first time while playing the New Super Mario Bros. There’s nothing like feeling like you’re 7 again to give you the warm fuzzies about a device.