11.6 Ultimate Refurb or the 13.3 Ultimate

[jdsmoooth]

11.6 Refurb is $1,189.00 1.6ghz 4gb RAM 128 SSD
13.3 Refurb 2.13 $1,529 256GB SSD 4GB RAM.

I used them both today. For prolonged use the 13 is nice... but the 11" is tough to beat at this price.

I sell real estate, so I use Aperture and I Photostich. Outside of that I create flyers, email etc...

I do have a 27" 17 iMac (at home) and an ipad.... Tough decision for me... I liked both machines.

Any thoughts??

 

[Buck987]

Is a tough choice. I would get 13. Fits more in line with your needs.

 

[Whorehay]

If you are going to do any heavy Aperture or Photostitching, I'd recommend the 13". Built in SD card reader and faster processor. Plus better battery life.

 

[jdsmoooth]

If you are going to do any heavy Aperture or Photostitching, I'd recommend the 13". Built in SD card reader and faster processor. Plus better battery life.

I probably could do those things at home... Just with a baby, a 13 year old and a stay at home Mom things get a little noisy.

I think I'm leaning toward the 13... But that 11 has "WOW" factor. It's tough to shake.

 

[Whorehay]

I probably could do those things at home... Just with a baby, a 13 year old and a stay at home Mom things get a little noisy.

I think I'm leaning toward the 13... But that 11 has "WOW" factor. It's tough to shake.

I really like my 11". I'm using it as my only computer. So at home, it's connected to a 24" display and then when I want to leave, I just pick it up and pack it into my bag. Gets good battery life as well for the size. Your decision just depends on what you plan on doing with it. I don't do as much design work anymore, so I was able to ditch the MBP for something lighter.

 

[Mr. Savage]

I'd go with the 13. You're right in saying the 11 has the WOW factor due to the "newness" of that size. But "WOW" eventually fades and once it does you'll be glad you opted for the 13. I know I am.

 

[hcho3]

I could not choose, so I got both. I gave mine to my wife though, but she only uses MBA 13 inch in the house.

I will be carrying mine everywhere. I ordered MBA 11.6 inch today.

 

[PeterKG]

I'd go with the 13. You're right in saying the 11 has the WOW factor due to the "newness" of that size. But "WOW" eventually fades and once it does you'll be glad you opted for the 13. I know I am.

I don't agree. The point of owning an Air is the portability. The 11.6 is the smallest form factor notebook from Apple. It will be my reason for not buying an iPad. If I wanted a 13", I might as well wait for the 13" MBP revision. I have a feeling 13" owners might be disappointed when the MBP is updated soon.

 

[jdsmoooth]

I don't agree. The point of owning an Air is the portability. The 11.6 is the smallest form factor notebook from Apple. It will be my reason for not buying an iPad. If I wanted a 13", I might as well wait for the 13" MBP revision. I have a feeling 13" owners might be disappointed when the MBP is updated soon.

I'm going to go with the 11 if it's still available. I hit the continue button to pay and it appears the store is down..... Verizon "pre-sale" no doubt.

I just can't get over the portability. This really solves the hassle of the multitude of apps I need to effectively work on my iPad.

If I like this my 64GB 3G iPad can be sold... That will pay for almost half the cost of this. In the end, if I don't like it, I can always sell it after a month and take a small loss.

 

[jdsmoooth]

Thanks for all of the great advice. What I realized I wanted was the ultra portability. The screen really looks great on the 11. I couldn't get over it. Not hard to look at at all... and I only read with my right eye.

However, I would have gotten the 13 if I didn't have a 27" i7 at home.

Thanks again!

 

[darrellishere]

I do light aperture work on my 11" with 4gigs of ram. The problem is I had the previous model 1.6, so haven't seen any improvements in performance in over 2 years. I primarily use mine at home so should have opted for the head not hart version! But if you are travelling around with it allot the 11' Will suit your needs. Plus the sexiness factor is nice!

 

[bowlerman625]

11.6 Ultimate Refurb

 

[joejoejoe]

If you already have a 27'' I can't see a reason you'd want the 13inch air especially at that price. 1500+ is a bit ridiculous for the computers' capabilities. And you'll be happy with the extra portability/less weight of the 11.

 

[Starlights]

If you want "Extreme Portability" and other aspects dont matter too much, go for 11

If you want good portability coupled with the extras (good balance in my opinion) then go for the 13 - I chose the 1.86 with 128 SSD and that works for me (at a comparable cost to 11 ultimate)

With the choices you have listed above - with 13 you anyway get the following extras -
Higher CPU
More Screen <-- (Better at showing stuff to customers - if thats a part of what you do)
SD Card Slot <-- (no extras needed to download pics from your digicam)
Higher FSB
More SSD space if you go with 256

 

[jdsmoooth]

More Screen <-- (Better at showing stuff to customers - if thats a part of what you do)
SD Card Slot <-- (no extras needed to download pics from your digicam)
Higher FSB
More SSD space if you go with 256

These are great points. In fact those were my main concerns. If my clients have a problem viewing the presentation on here...I'll have to bump up. No doubt.

However the portability got me. I got the 11... so far I love it.

I'm on the road a ton. I take my laptop everywhere. I got this "braniac" idea that I could just use my iPad while I was out and come back home to work the heavy stuff. With the refresh of Pros around the corner, I sold my MacBook Pro 2.66ghz Core 2 15" in December.

Well there's too much noise at home, with a wife and kids to be productive here "all the time" but I needed something light.

I almost got a used Ultimate 13, but the refurb 11 was only $1,169.
If the 11 doesn't work in the field for me, I will get a 13", my wife will take the 11 and the iPad will be sold.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

[Jimmie Geddes]

I LOVE my 11" MacBook Air, I came from the original MacBook Air. I don't feel like I miss the 13" screen, and the size and weight of it just feels perfect.

 

[rienrah]

Ive been using a 12" iBook for the past 4 years. So, to me, a 13.3 inch screen would seem pretty large. Am I right that an 11" air might work for me? I'm accustomed to a slowww computer with a small screen. ;-)

 

[axu539]

Ive been using a 12" iBook for the past 4 years. So, to me, a 13.3 inch screen would seem pretty large. Am I right that an 11" air might work for me? I'm accustomed to a slowww computer with a small screen. ;-)

You're going to notice a HUGE increase in performance since almost every single spec is going to increase for you.

 

[jdsmoooth]

Ive been using a 12" iBook for the past 4 years. So, to me, a 13.3 inch screen would seem pretty large. Am I right that an 11" air might work for me? I'm accustomed to a slowww computer with a small screen. ;-)

I actually don't find my Air all that slow. It take s a few seconds to edit a photo, and I don't think I would do any serious video editing on it.

I really wanted to replace my iPad with a computer and this was perfect.