I ended up buying the cheapest Macbook. The one with a 13" screen/2GHz CPU/2GB RAM/120 GB HD. And as some of you said, it's more than enough to code stuff for the iPhone.

Thanks for your suggestions!

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I didn't want to start a new post that was the same thing.

miq01, I was curious how you were liking your new macbook for programming. I am in the same situation and looking to purchase my first mac.

For those who are currently programming, any recommendations? I am looking at a mini, but wasn't sure if it was my best option based on price/performance.

A Mini should work fine for iPhone development. If you want portability then a MacBook works great too (that's what I use).

hmm, I'm planning on purchasing a macbook, but I have a few questions I want answered so I can buy the "correct" macbook.

The choices: macbook, mackbook pro 15' and 17'.

So, that 13' macbook... how's the screen for you all? I've lived with a 17' monitor screen all my life and never owned a notebook so I was thinking that might be a problem, especially while coding.

The macbook I really want is the macbook pro 15' with 4GB RAM and solid state drive.

But then there's the 17' macbook. Is there a big difference with the 15'?
Like will the 2 extra inches help a lot?
Or would the 15' be more than enough?
I also heard the 17' has better battery life o.O
Also the 17' has the option for antiglare and was wondering if anyone had a say in that.

DAL80 Wrote:miq01, I was curious how you were liking your new macbook for programming. I am in the same situation and looking to purchase my first mac.

The cheapest Macbook (13" screen, 2 GHz CPU, 2 GB RAM and 120 GB HD) is much more than enough for iPhone development. At least for what I've been doing till now. Take into account that you'll need to hook it to a proper monitor because 13" is way too small, but other than that it's a good choice. I've had it for about 3 weeks and I'm very happy with it.

DAL80 Wrote:For those who are currently programming, any recommendations? I am looking at a mini, but wasn't sure if it was my best option based on price/performance.

I think the last Minis Apple released (a week or two ago) have the same specs as my Macbook while older ones didn't, so depending on their price they could be a good choice too. I chose Macbook because they were more powerful when I bought it, but also because it's portable.

jeonghyunhan Wrote:So, that 13' macbook... how's the screen for you all? I've lived with a 17' monitor screen all my life and never owned a notebook so I was thinking that might be a problem, especially while coding.

As I said to DAL80, 13" is not suitable for coding. You'll need an extra monitor. I was lucky I already owned one.

I can't tell you much about Macbook Pros, except that I've been told that because they're built on aluminum the WiFi signal is weaker than those built on plastic.

About chosing between the 15" one and the 17" one, if you've got the money, I think those 2" help a lot.

High end macs are too expensive imo. I mean, say macs have +25% "mac tax", if you're buying a low-mid end mac you are paying about $200 more for the hardware, but the OS makes up for it.

When you start paying a $500 premium on the hardware I'm not so sure you're getting a deal anymore.

miq01, thanks for the response. I think I will be going with the macbook as well. I think its a good option for getting into the macs and programming. And from seeing how easy it is to update ram and the harddrive it should last a while.