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I'd have to say I'm not overly impressed by the overall impression of this thread. It seems there is only a minority claiming to have a problem-free MBP after 1 year of use. I expected more from the Pro.
My GF's C2D Macbook is the mac I use most (I'm waiting for a flash-based MB/MBP or a next-g Mac Pro for myself), and it's been flawless for its first 9 months of use. It does, however, see minimal use when compared to the figures you guys are throwing around... probably 2-3hrs per day on avg. I've wanted a Pro for a while now, but now I'm having second thoughts...

Hmmm. Given that the OP wanted replies from people who use their machines heavily, and given people tend to complain when things go wrong (see my earlier post about my own MBPs issues) my impression is that overall reliability must be pretty good due to the low number of posts in this thread. I know other people with MBPs who have had a problem free first year.

We have a MB and a MBP in our house and I vastly prefer using the MBP (better screen res, better keyboard (personal preference I know), backlit keyboard and ambient light sensors). Despite all the issues I've had I'd still go for an MBP over an MB next time.

Peter

Yep, I will say I was after impressions from people who use their machines a lot more than average...

I can say on a very positive note that my Mother has a MBP, she uses it for email, and web browsing, maybe 2-3 hours a day. It is an original 1.83 cd machine, and has been impeccable. No issues, looks great cosmetically, and still going strong.

For me, the problems come when you cross the boundary in to the 'heavy use' area.

Peace out,

TPC

To raise this thread from the grave...

Mark me down for another dead Magsafe :/

Ah well, since this thread has been resurrected I might as well chime in. My 2 year old MBP is used only about 4 hours per day and rarely leaves my apartment--except to go to the applestore for repairs. The optical drive, logic board, and camera have all failed -- applecare turned out to be a good investment after all. The upside is that if I experience one more failure during the year I still have the extended warranty I will have a good arguement for getting a replacement.

I still like the machine and enjoy it. There are a few minor scratches here and there but nothing too bad. The screen is excellent with perfect uniform backlighting(which is more than I can say for my new LCD tv) To be fair, the gateway laptop I owned before I got the mbp developed a bad power connector after 2 years--which of course was connected to the motherboard forcing me to buy a new computer since it was out of warranty. The whole reason I got the gateway was because there were physical stores I could go to at the time and avoid the hassle of UPS. Circuit City and Best Buy carried only the most out of date laptops at the time so those were out of the question. That was the only reason I got my first mac, by the time the gateway broke down all their stores had closed--but there was a shiny new applestore that had opened up in the meantime.

My 17" MBP is 1.5 years old, used daily, transported daily in nothing but a thin Incase sleeve. Before that a G4 PB. Neither 'book had any of the cosmetic or performance issues described by the OP.

A coworker beat up a TiBook pretty good with jewelry which sounds like what the OP may have done.

-Allen Wicks

15" MBP (in sig) since October 2006. Still going strong. Knock on wood.

I'm a guy, and not into my jewelery, not wearing rings or anything like that. In fact, I even make sure I take off my watch every time I use the machine so as not to cause scratches.

The marks on the hand rest are 'pitting', definite corrosion.

MBP C2D 2.2 (Summer 2007)

About 9 months of use. Frequently play WoW, about 3-4 hrs a night --> Graphics chipset died.

Should this be expected? Probably not, but hey....I do play a lot. Good thing logic boards are free for the first year.

I own a 17" 2.33 MBP, 18 Months old with 688 load cycles on the battery.
Quite happy with it, but i do feel that it's not quite as sturdy as my previous 17" G4 Albook which I used for over 2 years.

- I have tons and tons of those black dots on my left palm rest. The dots actually resemble the shape of my palm. I've had the same issue on my powerbook, but not nearly as significant. These dots aren't dirt, they are small pits caused by acidic skin and sweat. Apparently some people simply have acidic skin, some don't. Some of the dots on my MBP's palmrest are roughly 0.5mm deep so I actually get stuck in them when moving over the surface with a fingernail.
- the silver paint below the spacebar and the surrounding command-buttons is gone. I didn't use any solvents to clean it, it happened from everyday use.
- my first Magsafe broke after about 6 months, the second one is holding up fine due to the connectors.
- the little rubber feet on the bottom have gone AWOL. (why can't they just use flat ones like the new macbooks have!)
- the case has a significant dent to the outside just above the latch button.
- superdrive had to be changed 2 months ago as I could no longer burn CDs or DVDs. DU and Toast reported a laser-calibration problem if i remember correctly. I have Applecare though.
- the right palm rest above the superdrive isn't completely flush anymore (it's about 0.5mm above the plastic frame. happened when my mbp fell from the table while in my kensington bag )

most of these issues are purely cosmetical though, I'm very pleased how the machine is holding up for the amount of (ab)use it has to deal with.

My 1.83G CD MBP needed a new battery after 13 months. Luckily, a secondary warrantee covered it. Otherwise, perfect.

My 15" 2.33 MBP (18 Months old) has been my sidekick the entire time I have had it. In other words, he gets used anywhere from 10-12 hours a day (8 hours at the office and another 2-4 at home at night). The screen is noticeably dimmer, which is my number one complaint; everything else is nearly perfect. I'm planning to upgrade to another maxed-out 15" MBP once the Montevina chips are in use.

The good news is there's a lot of stuff to protect your keyboard, trackpad and wristpad.

I've learnt my lesson with scratches and pitting on my old Al PowerBook, so I've got the moshi wrist and trackpad overlays, as well as a silicon cover for the keyboard.

They are all replaceable, so that should keep things nice, shiny and clean

I recently bought a 15" macbook pro to replace my aging G4 iMac and iBook. I now use my laptop as my desktop primarily but still want to travel with it. I'm concerned about getting scratches on my "baby" when I travel - specifically when I have to place it in the bin at the security checkpoint. TSA usually won't let you put anything else in the bin (rest your MBP on a sleeve, etc.) so you have to lay your laptop in there "naked". Any suggestions to avoid scratches in this situation? Bottom protection?

I know I can get the invisible shield bottom portion but looking for something less expensive that the TSA will let through.

Ken

Stop worrying. You're MBP has feet. That's your "bottom protection". My MBP sits in these TSA bins twice a wek. Still looks like new. You can place it in there and take it out yourself too. Nobody but me touches my MBP when I put it in there. As long as you place it in there carefully (just like you put your MBP on any table) you'll be fine.

Since the bin itself is plastic it won't scratch your MBP--I've gone through that process many times. The few air travel scratches I've got on mine occurred when the laptop came into contact with the buckle on my safety belt. I was being as careful as I could, but the belt just grazed across the side of it and left dark scratches--errrrr.

A new update on my ever suffering MBP... it comes with both happy and sad news.

Well, the happy first. In my previous posting, I related that yet another Power Adaptor had died... And very happily, Apple decided to replace it out of warranty as I had had so much trouble. I have to say they were really efficient, and more than speedy in delivering it.

Ooook, on to the not so good. I had a CD come in from a client, put it in my drive to take some code off, and instead got the 'you have inserted a new CD' option box. I tried 4 other CD's (genuine software), and got the same message. The disks all worked fine in my other Mac and a friend's PC. DVD's work fine, but the MBP will not not read any CD I put in the drive. Joy. (I'm guessing the CD reading/writing laser in the drive is to blame).

I am just wondering if I am the BRINGER OF DEATH to this MBP (all my 15+ previous laptops from Apple have been pretty much faultless), or this machine was made on a Friday afternoon by the person who brings in the coffee...

Thanks Zeeb...puts my mind at ease. Going on my first trip with it this weekend so we'll see how my new laptop fares!

not impressed with 8 month old 15" mbp. two powerbrick burnouts, one superdrive, and a logic board. but the machine did survive a 2 foot tumble to concrete with only a small dent. i just got the wife a macbook, and it just feels more solid, like oldschool apples. i think apple should redesign the pro line to be more rugged. i am in fear everytime i take the mbp to the field to do a video shoot. I did that for years with a sony Tr3 with no problems...sorta, the harddrive went cold on everest. but there is no way i can pack an mbp on a royal enfield and ride to lhasa with it...that would be suicide. maybe i will take the wifes mb next time
FD

ADDED: just noticed a battery bulge (outercover of bat coming off inner case at lip) when I went to pick up the logic board repair job. Applecare said it was covered, but would take a month to replace. insane!

My nearly one year old 15" MBP has been working flawlessly and no problems (knocks on wood). I use it about 6 days a week and between 4 and 10 hours a day

I've had mine since last August, other than my HD failing a couple of weeks ago, I haven't had any issues.