Unsurprisingly, I’m really impressed. The new chassis is wonderfully neat and tidy, sturdy and not as heavy as I was expecting. It’s certainly a good looking machine. I’ve only got one little criticism (if you exclude the hefty price) – the touchpad.

Getting rid of the button is an inspired decision. Under Mac OS X I rarely find myself using the physical button at all, opting instead for a light tap on the pad itself. This works perfectly well, all the time, as you don’t need two mouse buttons. The problem here is that Apple has chosen to make the whole pad a physical button, instead of just taking away the button below the pad. Press firmly and the whole thing depresses, and it’s distracting.

I found myself trying to press and stroke as lightly as possible, so as to not press the button. Sure, after a week or two I might get used to it, but my first impressions are not good. I seriously think that if I was to replace my current (and suddenly very old-fashioned) MacBook, I would have to attempt to open up that innovative new case and jam up the button with a thin piece of card.

Of course, I could always just opt for another manufacturer, but it seems unlikely. That case is very good looking…