Black MacBook is flaky, gets disassembled

Less than 48 hours since Apple's launch of its new MacBook, reports are coming in that the black paintjob might not be as hardy as you might hope.

Users are already complaining that the paint is flaking and rubbing off, according to DailyTech. We actually went to check out the black MacBook in the Apple Store London yesterday, and were not at all impressed with the quality of the finish. Whilst the white MacBook has a hard polycarbonate coating that leaves the paint glossy and tough, the black version is matte and pretty fragile from the looks. Even Apple employees in the store admitted to us that "We're a bit worried about that paint scratching."

Meanwhile, the chaps over at Kodawarisan have grabbed a new notebook and ripped it apart. They have a guide to pulling open your machine and replacing various bits in it. Amusingly, the northbridge chipset inside appears to be at least as big as the 65nm Intel Core Duo processor that does the meat of the work.

Now the furore over the 13.3" widescreen machine has died down, what feelings are you left with over the MacBook? Still tempted by the black, despite it's iffy paintwork? Let us know over in the forums.