less expensive... more convenient to carry and use, and something not mentioned yet (though alluded to)
EASE OF SWAPPING THE HARD DRIVE...
IN retrospect, I wish I had gotten a firewire external enclosure, gotten the standard drive, and immediately swapped to Larger more durable drive (yes,I originally had one of the 120Gb seagates).
Memory And hard drive prices have fallen so much, and it is so easy to swap them out (5 minutes? 10 the first time?) that there is no reason to buy larger drives and memory at apple prices.
Memory is $45 for 2gb $109 for 4gb, and anyone can change it out,
WD Scorpion Black 320 GB 7200 for 179, 250GB for 139, 160GB for 109 again easy to change out, and no real disassembly (other than swapping the cradle/mount over with a t-8 or a jewelers flatbladed screwdriver).
It was that upgradeability that decided me on getting the white MB (for now) over the MBP (or the black). I'll pick up an MBP 15" later for photo work, as the screen on the MB is not as great for that type of work and the backlighting does dim with age unlike the LED.
For now though, I just use the Mini DVI to DVIadapter ($19) adn a DVI to HDMI cable to connect it to my HDTV...
Cost a lot less than and apple display or an MBP!!!