The black macbooks DO flake/peel!

All it takes is that the rubber starts peeling a tiny tiny bit.Once that happens, your fingers will assist in peeling more. Since it's the only place to open the LCD, you have to put your fingers there. I just checked one of my rubberized remotes and it does seem like the same kind of material even though the remote has a thicker more rubbery layer. Just like on my macbook, the surface itself is scratch resistant and durable, but the edge is not quite as resistant. Still,I think this problem was a result of a tiny defect at the edge - that's really all it would take to get it going.

I still think it's a matter of time before the opening of the LCD will start causing more peeling for people. if you remember, the pictures initially posted on this issue were also on the same edge as what I'm experiencing. albeit more to the side. As a demo model in an Apple Store, I suspect that people were opening and closing the LCD with their hands on the sides of the display (never understood why people don't just use the middle...) and thus causing the peel.

Let me also say that I'm a very moderate user and treat my computers with a lot of care. I don't constantly open and close the computer, 50% of the time it's used on a desk with an external keyboard, my hands are clean, it's always carried in a sleeve etc.

I'm very impressed with Apple service today. Called about the peeling, talked to a great tech guy who said it's completely unacceptable and that if it were him, it "definitely wouldn't be a keeper", and escalated me to a specialist who said they would like to replace it with a new one and 'capture' this one for engineering. They both said that this is EXTREMELY rare and that they are looking into the cause. given how few reports of this there are on the internet, I believe them.

In any case, it was incredibly smooth and professional and I feel much more goodwill toward Apple today. I'll send this one back tomorrow and wait for the replacement. This is also good news for others who might encounter the same problem.

Here you go - enjoy!

http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/NYCMBP


It's hard to show just how shiny it is under the matte surface, but it's almost equivalent to the white macbooks in gloss. Although I'm happy Apple is replacing it, I'm not confident that the blackbooks will age very well. I might just sell the replacement and get a nice yellowstainbook instead.

I just wanted to add that while I'm very critical of many of Apple's decisions lately, it is definitely not my intention to create mass 'worry' around the flaking issue. If the problem were widespread, we'd be hearing about it loudly. the fact that up until now there have only been a few cases suggests that it's not common. Still, Apple should really not have coated shiny plastic with something that can peel off or even scratch off. Why not leave it shiny? It's not as if the matte surface hides fingerprints and scratches! In my mind it's clearly a stupid decision, no matter how good the matte surface looks.

Apple handled my case EXTREMELY well, with no fuss and absolute professionalism. I didn't have to ask for anything and in fact was reluctant to send it in at all and told them so. They were pro-active about this and earned a lot of goodwill in the process.

I didn't really think it was so bad even though it looks ugly, but I worry more about the long term. If it looked like this now, after ten days or so, how would it look in 6 months?

Mine don't have defects

That's wonderful! For you.