Advantages of Ipad over MBA

[flynz4]

I agree with your statements. I've been looking at an MBA and considered it several times, but in the end the 2GB RAM limit is simply too constraining from my usage perspective. It was quite unfortunate that the MBA was not updated a couple of weeks ago, together with the rest of Apple's laptops. I am not quite certain what Apple's product strategy here is. They have a product with a killer design, but at this stage it is simply begging for a refresh.

I agree that the 2GB RAM is too limiting. That is the primary stated reason that my corporate IT group does not want to offer MBAs as a choice for those of us using Macs. I understand their issue, because we get Parallels as part of our standard build... and it is required for our work. 2GB is really too anemic for effectively using a VM.

For personal use, I do have an MBA, and as I said earlier, it is my favorite laptop of all times. I would not recommend one without the SSD, and even for personal use, I would prefer 4GB... but I am getting along OK with only 2GB. As soon as a new MBA is released with 4GB (even if that is the only upgrade)... then I will be buying one.

/Jim

 

[flynz4]

That's an excellent, excellent set up.

My wife and I are taking the same direction although we're finding ourselves using MacBook Pro's more now instead of our Air's because the Air for our needs is lacking in power. My Mac Pro acts like your 27" iMac - which I'd also very much like to own - quite screen!

Thank you for the compliment. My total setup (personally owned machines) is:

27" i7 iMac: Holds original content of all our data - plus editing machine
MBA w/SSD: My personal laptop
iPad: Primarily a travel device (on the plane); and a book reader (for now)
iPhone 3GS

I find that combination fits me well. I have an excellent automated backup strategy at home, with all data on the iMac automatically double backed up (locally and to the cloud). For all other machines, I have been embracing the cloud to the highest extent that I can. I want all of my data (except archived stuff on the iMac) to be available on all of my machines at all times. A secondary goal is that if I was to lose any of my portable machines (MBA, iPad, iPhone)... that I would be up an running again in minutes, with all of my apps and data.

I have a 15" MBP for work, but I do not really use it for personal use much... primarily because I find the MBA much more comfortable to use. Maybe my opinion will change once I upgrade my corporate 15" MBP to a 13" MBP, but I suspect that I will still prefer using the MBA.

/Jim

 

[Jaro65]

I agree that the 2GB RAM is too limiting. That is the primary stated reason that my corporate IT group does not want to offer MBAs as a choice for those of us using Macs. I understand their issue, because we get Parallels as part of our standard build... and it is required for our work. 2GB is really too anemic for effectively using a VM.
/Jim

That's probably the use case for most of us. From the compatibility perspective, I need to run MS Office 2007/2010 now and then, and I use VMware Fusion for that. Even 4GB RAM would be tight, but doable.

 

[gwsat]

I agree that the 2GB RAM is too limiting. That is the primary stated reason that my corporate IT group does not want to offer MBAs as a choice for those of us using Macs. I understand their issue, because we get Parallels as part of our standard build... and it is required for our work. 2GB is really too anemic for effectively using a VM.

For personal use, I do have an MBA, and as I said earlier, it is my favorite laptop of all times. I would not recommend one without the SSD, and even for personal use, I would prefer 4GB... but I am getting along OK with only 2GB. As soon as a new MBA is released with 4GB (even if that is the only upgrade)... then I will be buying one.

That's probably the use case for most of us. From the compatibility perspective, I need to run MS Office 2007/2010 now and then, and I use VMware Fusion for that. Even 4GB RAM would be tight, but doable.

Virtual machines, whether run under Parallels or VMware Fusion, require a lot of RAM, especially for those of us who run them in the Fusion program in what is called Unity mode. I habitually have several Windows programs and several more OS X programs open on the OS X desktop. It works well for me with 6Gb of RAM, although 8 would be even better. With 2Gb such operations were impossible. I suspect that even 4Gb would fall short of the optimum.

 

[Jaro65]

Virtual machines, whether run under Parallels or VMware Fusion, require a lot of RAM, especially for those of us who run them in the Fusion program in what is called Unity mode. I habitually have several Windows programs and several more OS X programs open on the OS X desktop. It works well for me with 6Gb of RAM, although 8 would be even better. With 2Gb such operations were impossible. I suspect that even 4Gb would fall short of the optimum.

Indeed. That was exactly the reason why I put as much RAM as I could in my 17" MBP. Also, as of now it is pretty clear to me that I will be getting a 3G iPad for some short vacation trips. I was initially thinking that an MBA would have been perfect for that, but the inclusion of 3G and GPS on an iPad offers too great of an advantage. Again, this is just for very light web, email, and media use while traveling.

 

[rittchard]

I've owned an MBA since the original release and I've loved it since day one. Over the years it has been my laptop of choice, even after trying a variety of more powerful notebooks and less powerful netbooks, I always went back to the MBA. I have a desktop for more serious gaming, and I use an iMac as my main iTunes and photo interface, but for day to day, moment to moment use (bills, browsing, updating my blog, email, etc) the MBA was the device I always turned to.

Since the iPad arrived, though, things have changed. I've only touched my MBA maybe a few times in the past few weeks, and that was mostly just to write a detailed review about the iPad lol. I still prefer typing on the MBA over the iPad, but even that may change now that I picked up the iPad keyboard.

The iPad has some distinct advantages due to its size and form factor, making it even more of an "everywhere and anywhere" device, particularly for browsing. I can actually use and interact with it comfortably while walking around the house, in my lap, on the couch, in bed, on the toilet, while brushing my teeth, on the treadmill, the list goes on and on... the touchscreen and form factor make for all sorts of added usage spaces that the MBA just wasn't suitable for. And because of the dedicated apps and games, it excels in "fun factor" as well.

The MBA is, of course, a pretty powerful, full-on laptop with extremely lightweight. The question for me is whether that really "fits" anywhere now that the iPad has arrived. For the things that I "need" to use a more powerful computer, I can turn to a desktop. For the mobile/everyday/everywhere/anywhere usage, the iPad is clearly the superior choice. I'm left wondering if Apple updates the MBA if I'll still want/need one.

 

[Outrigger]

You called the OP a troll and overreacted in a passionate temper tantrum, which had nothing to do with your explanation here.

I think the best way is to ignore this child's temper tantrum. I have met people like that, the stick is so deep up their you know what that its grown its own roots. Sometimes stepping out of their parents' basement and actually talk to live people instead of talking behind a screen is the best way to alleviate their "problems" and actually develop some kind of acceptable social skills.

 

[Metlin]

I was in a similar boat a short while ago.

In fact, I purchased an iPad, decided that it wasn't quite working for me, and gave it to my fiancée and I just ordered an MBA instead.

The things that almost made me consider an iPad were --

• It's *almost* a real computer
• It can run office applications
• It has excellent battery life
• It does what it was designed for very well

And the reason I almost didn't consider the MBA boils down to the fact that the iPad only competes against the MBA -- however, the MBA competes with both the iPad and the MBP, making the MBA look quite poor in comparison

• Poor configuration
• Horrible battery life, compared to the iPad or even the MBP
• Lack of an optical drive for a "real" computer

However, I eventually went with the MBA.

In my mind, the reasons the iPad fails is --

• No file manager or access to the file system
• Cannot share files between applications
• Cannot multitask
• Is an entertainment consumption device, not a content creation device

The reason the MBA wins, of course is --

• It's a real computer
• It can run real, full applications and comes with a file manager
• It is lightweight and has a very small form factor
• It comes with a full-sized keyboard and the touchpad
• It works for what I want it to do

Of course, I briefly considered the MBP given the feedback from this forum. But to me, the MBP was way too big and clunky. So, I went with the MBA.

I must also add that price was not really a point of contention -- I'd have gladly paid 5k or more for a lighter, smaller version of the MBP but that was not an option. YMMV.

Cheers.

 

[gwsat]

Metlin -- That's a good analysis. Although I have an iPad but, for reasons I will explain, don't have an MBA, the MBA is superior to the iPad in most ways. I had to pass over the current model of the MBA because of its having only 2Gb of hardwired RAM. That meant I couldn't reliably run Windows 7 in a VMware Fusion virtual machine in Unity mode. That was a deal breaker. I will probably buy an MBA if and when Apple upgrades it to include 4Gb or more of RAM.

 

[Metlin]

Metlin -- That's a good analysis. Although I have an iPad but, for reasons I will explain, don't have an MBA, the MBA is superior to the iPad in most ways. I had to pass over the current model of the MBA because of its having only 2Gb of hardwired RAM. That meant I couldn't reliably run Windows 7 in a VMware Fusion virtual machine in Unity mode. That was a deal breaker. I will probably buy an MBA if and when Apple upgrades it to include 4Gb or more of RAM.

Thank you, gwsat!

I can see why you would be hesitant if you've needs that require a more powerful machine.

Quite honestly, initially, I too was a little hesitant about the MBA's configuration. But to be perfectly honest, all I will ever be doing on my MBA is running Office applications, surfing, and listening to music. I've no unrealistic expectations about what I'll use my machine for.

I'm not going to be ripping any DVDs or running any VMs or development applications. I'm going to be writing word documents, building Excel models, and making powerpoint presentations -- while listening to music. I'd hope that the 2GB RAM should be quite plenty for this!

If anything, the primary reason I decided to get the MBA was to catch up on some personal work during my traveling (I spend at least ~8-10 hours a week in the air and about 4/5 days a week in hotels around the world). That's where the iPad came in, given its battery life -- but then I discovered Apple's airline adapter and that made my decision a lot easier!

Of course, the one other thing that helped was that I'll be switching out my ThinkPad with an MBP soon at work. And quite honestly, compared to the ThinkPad T61, both the MBA and the MBP are downright fantastic.

Cheers.

 

[gwsat]

I'm not going to be ripping any DVDs or running any VMs or development applications. I'm going to be writing word documents, building Excel models, and making powerpoint presentations -- while listening to music. I'd hope that the 2GB RAM should be quite plenty for this!

If anything, the primary reason I decided to get the MBA was to catch up on some personal work during my traveling (I spend at least ~8-10 hours a week in the air and about 4/5 days a week in hotels around the world). That's where the iPad came in, given its battery life -- but then I discovered Apple's airline adapter and that made my decision a lot easier!

Of course, the one other thing that helped was that I'll be switching out my ThinkPad with an MBP soon at work. And quite honestly, compared to the ThinkPad T61, both the MBA and the MBP are downright fantastic.

My Santa Rosa MBP had only 2Gb of RAM for the first two years I owned it. It was just fine for ripping DVDs and everything else I used it for except for dealing with a VMware VM in Unity mode. Were it not for my Windows needs, I could probably still get by with only 2Gb of RAM.

 

[sushi]

I think some of the MBA guys are far too defensive about this thread. Why? Because the existence of the MBA is threatened by the iPad.

I would say that the contrary may be true.

As folks who have MBPs see how effective the iPad, but need more power, the MBA becomes a more viable option.

In fact, I just had a friend who went through this evaluation process. His current laptop is a MBP15 but he will be getting an MBA next instead of an iPad.

The point being, is that smaller and lighter are valuable commodities.

I was in a similar boat a short while ago.

<snip good post>

Very nice. Like your analysis.

In my case, when visiting family, I think it will be easier to show photos and similar on the iPad instead of on a laptop. When you drag out the laptop, most just roll their eyes. However, with the iPad, they become involved because it is more like a photo book.

I guess it all boils down to each individual's needs. Personally, I see the iPad strengthening the potential of the MBA. Sometimes I've wondered why Apple doesn't drop the MB line and just have the iPad, MBA and MBP lineups. And of course drop the prices of the MBP offerings a bit to eliminate the need for a MB offering.

 

[gwsat]

In my case, when visiting family, I think it will be easier to show photos and similar on the iPad instead of on a laptop. When you drag out the laptop, most just roll their eyes. However, with the iPad, they become involved because it is more like a photo book.

I guess it all boils down to each individual's needs. Personally, I see the iPad strengthening the potential of the MBA. Sometimes I've wondered why Apple doesn't drop the MB line and just have the iPad, MBA and MBP lineups. And of course drop the prices of the MBP offerings a bit to eliminate the need for a MB offering.

It seems to me that the key to appreciating the iPad is to identify the tasks it does well but also to recognize what it can't do. It's clear that for the moment, at least, the iPad falls far short of being able to do everything a real computer can accomplish. In stark contrast, for many users, the MBA can serve as an effective substitute for a more powerful computer and will become even better if and when Apple increases its RAM.

 

[Metlin]

Very nice. Like your analysis.

In my case, when visiting family, I think it will be easier to show photos and similar on the iPad instead of on a laptop. When you drag out the laptop, most just roll their eyes. However, with the iPad, they become involved because it is more like a photo book.

I guess it all boils down to each individual's needs. Personally, I see the iPad strengthening the potential of the MBA. Sometimes I've wondered why Apple doesn't drop the MB line and just have the iPad, MBA and MBP lineups. And of course drop the prices of the MBP offerings a bit to eliminate the need for a MB offering.

Thanks, Sushi. Agreed that the iPad caters to a segment that will always look at a computer, no matter how usable, as something different.

Now here's the irony of the whole thing -- today, I was gifted an iPad at work, and now it looks like I just cannot get away from the iPad no matter how much I try! ;-)

Of course, going through TSA would be fun every week -- ThinkPad, Macbook Air, iPad, iPhone, and Kindle. Oh joy.