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Is a Macbook suitable as a business laptop?

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Topkwak

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Jan 5, 2015
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Hi, currently in the market for a new laptop for business use. I was impressed by the speed of the Macbook pro however not sure its great for business. I was told MS excel, powerpoint etc. work ok.

Anyone use/used a Macbook for business? Alternative laptop suggestions would be very welcome.

Cheers,
Jack
 
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I use one - they're perfect for business, why wouldn't they be?
 
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I use a MacBook a lot of the time, and although they are a little pricey, I couldn't be without mine.

MS Office is available for Mac OS, and there's a lot of great apps only available for Mac in the Apple store. Plus, OS upgrades are a lot cheaper than Windows (typically under £30).
 
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I've only heard good things about them so just wanting some conformation from a business use perspective, I'm 99% sold. Thanks
 
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If I were you I'd be looking at the question from the opposite angle. Is a Macbook required for what you need it to do? I see so many people using really expensive machines when they could quite easily find a basic laptop for a few hundred quid that would do the task just as well.
 
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AllUpHere said:
I see so many people using really expensive machines when they could quite easily find a basic laptop for a few hundred quid that would do the task just as well.
Click to expand...

I was looking at them the other day, unquestionably a lovely bit of kit but at the 'Apple premium'. Yes, they do run Microsoft Office and are speedy, but there are some lovely Ultrabooks out there now that may be a good alternative at a cheaper price.

There's no real 'business' reason why you should use Apple over a Windows machine, just personal preference in operating system. That is unless you want to edit video, use Photoshop etc and even then all that functionality is available on a PC if not wrapped up in quite as slick a package.

You can get up to 10% off Apple or up to 35% off HP products with our Huddlebuy membership cardoption. Let me know if you want me to take a look at a particular model and see what the discount would be.
 
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Thanks Dan, I will likely purchase from Curry's, they have an attractive 10% payment on day one and pay rest interest free throughout year, attractive deal.

Have been meaning to mention Huddlebuy to my two business partners though, will send you a message once we've had a proper look. Cheers
 
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We've used Macs in various shapes and sizes for about 15 years and highly recommend them as a business-tool. Even after the debacle which is OS X Yosemite - but thats for another thread :)

Yes they're typically more expensive compared with some higher-end Dells, HP, Sonys etc but from personal experience they'll typically outlast their cheaper rivals and retain high second-hand values.

They're also not without their faults but the good news is our Apple Care rep has always footed the bill :)
 
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Depends on what you do. For me i love my MacPro i do a lot of work in photoshop, Premiere Pro and ableton live. I usually use the term Macs Are more of a creative laptop. PC's are better for Practical things like coding a web building in my eyes.
:) hope this helps :)
 
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AllUpHere said:
If I were you I'd be looking at the question from the opposite angle. Is a Macbook required for what you need it to do? I see so many people using really expensive machines when they could quite easily find a basic laptop for a few hundred quid that would do the task just as well.
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Valid point. As most users just do docs/email/surf the web then anything half decent will do.

I've had macs since 2003, don't really need them just a fanboy really! :O Back in those days compatibility was an issue and not as much software. Nowadays most stuff is web based and you can run office on them anyway.

If you want to save some cash search for Apple refurb. Thats how I buy mine, typically 15% off retail price and the only difference being it comes in a white box as opposed to a fancy colour+image of item box! Same 12 month warranty etc.

I am going to say, and no exaggeration; about the 20th time on this forum residuals are higher.

Forget how much it costs to buy, how much does it cost to own over the time you own it? I find resale much higher so actual cost per year is lower than a PC (whose values plummet after 3 years).
 
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Use one every day but for the odd piece of software that only runs on Windows I either use Parallels to run inside a virtual windows box or dual boot to Windows using Bootcamp.

Main reason for using a Macbook is excellent battery life.
 
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Hi all - I went with the MacBook and had it about two weeks now, the build quality is absolutely superb, very easy to carry about , screen quality is excellent, I spend a lot of time researching the web which I find much nicer than on a normal laptop due to the touchpad! Find myself working longer because its all very nice. Its such a well thought out piece of product, hardware and software.

For those new to a Mac there are some excellent youtube vids about customising it best for what you need it for etc.

Only downside is Excel just isn't the same, takes a while to get used to it, I only need basic functions but if you need Excel for advanced reasons try before you buy.

Jack

PS paid 10% up front with Curry's, pay the rest over 12months interest free, no £1k lump sum to manage. Dont rule out because of price in the first instance, these laptops are known to last longer than the average.
 
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Hi

I have used one for almost 2 years now and its amazing and also a pleasure to actually work on, I have got it partitioned to run both windows and mac os so I get the best of both worlds depending on what I am doing, mine is MacBook Pro 15 Retina, I went for the highest spec at the time and it is lightning quick.

The battery does not last as long in Windows as it does on Mac OS where it can last 9-12 hours.

Its a great machine, I do have another laptop that I also use... thats more heavy duty with lots of ports and drives etc I now use that as a back up machine should anything go wrong but most of the time im on the Mac.
 
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Forgot to add... get a spare charger as that seems to be the only thing I have concern about, although mine has lasted I think the cable from the charger to the machine could be a lot better quality and certainly stronger at the joint between the charger block and the cable itself, other than that it gets quite hot but seems solid.
 
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1 year as standard, can buy additional, web research says they're very generally very reliable

Unlike normal PC's security is all managed via Apple updates so don't need to worry about that at least
 
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Macbook charger cable is certainly better quality than the phone cable quality however time will tell if its any good.

Only problem I've had is getting the plug out the socket, really stiff
 
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Topkwak said:
Hi, currently in the market for a new laptop for business use. I was impressed by the speed of the Macbook pro however not sure its great for business. I was told MS excel, powerpoint etc. work ok.

Anyone use/used a Macbook for business? Alternative laptop suggestions would be very welcome.

Cheers,
Jack
Click to expand...
They make for a good work laptop.

If you have other Apple devices such as an iPad and an iPhone, it makes the Mac Book perfect as a work laptop. You can link all devices, remote control KeyNotes during presentations, all your files are easily accessible... the list goes on.
 
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Topkwak said:
Hi all - I went with the MacBook and had it about two weeks now, the build quality is absolutely superb, very easy to carry about , screen quality is excellent, I spend a lot of time researching the web which I find much nicer than on a normal laptop due to the touchpad! Find myself working longer because its all very nice. Its such a well thought out piece of product, hardware and software.

For those new to a Mac there are some excellent youtube vids about customising it best for what you need it for etc.

Only downside is Excel just isn't the same, takes a while to get used to it, I only need basic functions but if you need Excel for advanced reasons try before you buy.

Jack

PS paid 10% up front with Curry's, pay the rest over 12months interest free, no £1k lump sum to manage. Dont rule out because of price in the first instance, these laptops are known to last longer than the average.
Click to expand...

Worth trying Parallels to run Windows, then you can use Microsoft Excel that way? I love my Mac, took some getting used to at first but couldn't do without it now :)
 
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Topkwak said:
Hi, currently in the market for a new laptop for business use. I was impressed by the speed of the Macbook pro however not sure its great for business. I was told MS excel, powerpoint etc. work ok.

Anyone use/used a Macbook for business? Alternative laptop suggestions would be very welcome.

Cheers,
Jack
Click to expand...


I’ve been using a MBP for my business for nearly 2 years, no complaints until now - SSD HD has randomly become corrupt, making it nearly unusable.

I love MACS and their OS however, my next setup will be windows I’m sorry to say
 
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If you have an iphone, the integration is ace. You can answer calls/texts from your mac. Battery life is always solid and accurate unlike windows based machines.
 
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A Macbook is perfectly suitable for use as a business machine, the only concern being it's going to be much more expensive than a comparable Windows machine.

So while it will work for business, it's certainly not a necessity.
 
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MacBook or MBPro all the way. ;)
Stable, quick, light and reliable. Time machine incremental back-ups are excellent. Global support - Once had a UK Mac fixed in apple store NY under global warranty.

Other perks - It integrates seamlessly with pad and phone if you have apple devices. Runs most applications that PC will - (MS Office functionality does vary a little however and docs created on Mac will not always display the same on all PC's due to system font issues. Most of the established corporate business world is on PC, so bear that in mind if you have to share a lot of .ppts for example. As others have said, can normally get 'round with Parallels / bootcamp.

A few downsides - Initial purchase price. apple does tend to hook you into a cycle of locking you out of newer functionality over time as they update the OS. Once out of warranty, can be expensive to fix. That's about it...
 
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Another point to consider - I had my previous macbook pro for 6 years before it just became a bit slow and heavy (the new ones are so much lighter!) for my needs and I replaced it.
I had zero costs apart from the price of it - no problems, just worked perfectly, with heavy usage.
 
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I made the switch from PC to Mac about 6 months ago, and glad I did. I bought a docking station for my office desk, extra keyboard and touchpad. So when I walk in the office just drop my MBP into the cradle and I have a dual screen desktop. When I leave I pick it up and walk away, and I'm using it now on my sofa at home :).
Definitely would recommend, but the key question is buy on requirements. I wanted to start a bit of Vid Editing as a side hobby so bought the Mac for that. Bought Final Cut Pro and never got around to using it properly yet :D
 
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You can make do. However, the newer Macs have Intel processors, so you can format them and install Windows - then it'll be great for business. Of course, less good for the bank account, as they are all overpriced. Though that's what you get when buying into a fashion brand, right? :p
 
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