I picked up a high end 15 yesterday from the Apple Store, and I've been getting used to it today.

This is my first real experience with the new style keyboard, and it's OK, but I'm not sure if it'll grow on me to be as comfortable as my Powerbook. The spacing between the keys is visually appealing but means the keys seem further apart.

The screen is very glossy. I'm not sure if it's worth it, in my house with the brightness all the way up, it's not bad. On battery with the brightness turned down? We'll see. It seems like the keys won't touch the screen anymore, which will be nice. The hinge is much weaker, which means when tilting the whole machine more than 45 degrees, the screen falls down to close. It's nice and smooth to open and adjust, so it's just something to get used to.

The build quality is really disappointing. I'm not sure if it's just mine, but the plastic piece on the back of the hinge is warped (and still wouldn't be attractive if installed properly), and one of the screws on the bottom isn't flush. This one's going back to the store as soon as I can get it there.

The trackpad is also just OK. Occasionally it doesn't pick up a finger, but it may be that I'm resting a second finger on it or something that I haven't figured out. It ignores my thumb resting on the bottom third of the trackpad just fine, if it's above that, it does its multitouch thing. The clicking seems to require more effort that I'm used to, but that may just be getting used to it and getting it broken in. I find myself right clicking by accident, but I'll get used to it.

The bottom removable piece it fiddly. Getting it open is easy, but putting it back requires careful alignment. It'd be fine for the hard drive, but for swapping out the battery it's annoying. Of course, the battery should last twice as long as my powerbook ever did, so the increased time should even out.

The new design is amazingly sturdy. There isn't any flex in it anywhere. The aluminum is incredibly smooth, and the black bezel does make the screen pop.

Matthew