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(More customer reviews)I purchased one of these on a whim from a local brick & mortar store (Microcenter). Their price was worse than Amazon's, but it was an impulse purchase because the product looked nice.
I just put it on my 15" MBP (mid-2009 version).
The fit is amazing. I am surprised at how the minuscule little clasps hold on the edges of the unibody machine. Two attach on the back edge of the vent area, just below the display hinge. The other two are on the left and right sides, just past the corners. This alone does hold the bottom on, it is pretty sturdy. The top holds on by four clasps, two on the left and two on the right.
I use an eBags "Firewall" notebook bag; the 15" MBP flops around a lot in the dedicated notebook section. The Macally hard case helps with this a LOT due to the (faux?) leather and slight girth that it adds. The bottom does have a little bit of padding in it and helps insulate the notebook when using it on a lap as well.
Both the top and bottom have a little bit of weight to them and you can feel a slight difference when installed on the machine. The worst part of this weight is that it makes the screen heavier. Combined with the slightly larger gap when closed (due to the small clasps on the bottom), and you have a recipe for the notebook self-opening. The magnets that hold it closed aren't as strong because of the distance. If you have it flat, the screen stays closed, but if you stand it up on the hinge edge, the screen will pop open slightly. It does NOT open far enough to cause the Mac to wake from sleep, but if there is nothing nearby to support the bottom, it will fall due to its weight and you will come out of sleep. So, if you're putting it in a slightly loose fitting bag it should be ok. If it is going into an otherwise EMPTY messenger bag, you may have to be concerned about it popping open and self-waking "in transit."
The other concern with this product is that the top cover and base cover actually contact each other before the hinge of the Mac is fully open. The case limits the "opening range" of the lid, which is already pretty bad compared to many PC notebooks that will open to 180 degrees. Also, since the vent system is under the hinge, the more you open the lid, the more the vent is obstructed. I haven't used the product long enough to know if this will adversely affect the cooling system, but it's a definite possibility. I'm using the 9400GT integrated graphics right now, and writing this review in a room that's about 75F, and the CPU temp is hovering around 110F with gradual change up to 119F or so. I was not monitoring my temps before adding the case so I'm not sure if this is higher than normal for the newest MBPs, however the brief research I have done on Apple's own forums states that 100-150F is completely standard for light usage and nothing to worry about. So, it seems like temperature isn't an issue at the moment.
One unintended positive -- the edge of the bottom piece helps to shield the corner of the base. Anyone who has used a newer unibody mac on their lap for any portion of time knows that the front edges can and do "cut" (more like "put sharp pressure on one area for a long time") into your arms/wrists after a while. The edge of the case sticks up just slightly beyond the edge of the notebook, so my arms are hitting the leather/vinyl-wrapped case instead of the MBP. No more arm imprints from the aluminum!
Oh yeah. It covers the apple logo on the back. If you care about this kind of aesthetic bull, you don't want this case.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Macally BOOKSHELLPRO2 Leather Protective Cover for 15 Inch Glass Display MacBook Pro
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