Anandtech review of MBA 11" & 13"- MUST READ!

[sparkie7]

I always enjoy reading stuff from anandtech, they have great articles and this review is the same.

Of course I love this quote from the review


I'm castigated on the various apple forums when I state the 11" MBA is a netbook, but yet I'm not alone in that thinking.

may we wash your feet..


please ?

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

"Apple won’t call it a netbook, but that’s exactly what the 11.6 inch MacBook Air is: a netbook with much better hardware."

Quote from Anandtech review.

Finally, someone we can all respect who isn't afraid to call it like it is. A Netbook.

 

[AAPLaday]

may we wash your feet..


please ?

They have fish that do that now
Tasty

 

[maflynn]

may we wash your feet..

Are they that stinky?

 

[NickFalk]

I'm castigated on the various apple forums when I state the 11" MBA is a netbook, but yet I'm not alone in that thinking.

I think the whole it's-a-netbook-no-it-isn't discussion stems from the fact that there doesn't seem to be one distinct way to classify a netbook vs. a really small laptop. Personally I've always seen the keyboard as the big differentiator while others seem to care more about screen-size for instance.

 

[MikePA]

As others have said, this is a great review but it's created a dilemma for me.

I currently have a Dell Mini10v running OSX and obviously the MBA11 is the closest in size to the 10v, although even the MBA11 is 1.3" wider.

IMO, this review indicates the MBA13 is the better device, but the MBA13 is quite a bit bigger than my Mini10v at 2.3" wider and 1.1" deeper. The MBA13 is almost as big as my work HP laptop. Decisions, decisions.

 

[AAPLaday]

I think the whole it's-a-netbook-no-it-isn't discussion stems from the fact that there doesn't seem to be one distinct way to classify a netbook vs. a really small laptop. Personally I've always seen the keyboard as the big differentiator while others seem to care more about screen-size for instance.

I think processor, screen size and keyboard would make the best way of judging. The size of the 11" may bring many to call it a netbook but it is far more powerful with a better screen and full size keys. I played with a netbook 2 years ago. Haven't touched one since

 

[maflynn]

think the whole it's-a-netbook-no-it-isn't discussion stems from the fact that there doesn't seem to be one distinct way to classify a netbook vs. a really small laptop. Personally I've always seen the keyboard as the big differentiator while others seem to care more about screen-size for instance.

I took it more that many of the fanboys balked at the term because of Job's derisive remarks regarding netbooks and low and behold they release one.

He's done that before, Jobs was adament that you don't need multitasking on the iPhone, or their will be no app store for OSX. Yet shortly there after there is.

 

[flight]

Was thinking of getting the 11.6" but this review really changed my mind.

It's the opposite for me. I was afraid that the 11.6" screen was the same as what every other manufacturers use. It doesn't look quite as good as the 13.3" screen, but my fears are gone about its quality. I also had a chance to check it out in person. I'm looking forward to getting it.

This is real professionalism. Most of the other reviews have been a joke. What is the world coming to?

Yep, very high quality site. AnandTech and ArsTechnica are my two favorites for professional coverage of the tech world.

 

[Fanboyofnothing]

By far the best, anandtechs always are. Not just for laptops, for everything. I usually try to get info from as many sources as possible, but the fact is that there is nothing that compares to anand.

Ars would be the only real competition. I'm looking forward to reading that, but then again I should be unboxing my 13" within the next 12 hours so there isn't much point in reading reviews now .

That said, I am very disappointed in the color gamut of the MBA displays. They are very bad, the same as any regular PC display. The high res, viewing angles and strong backlight make them better than what Asus and others use, but for photo work or even just general use they are pretty crappy(at least according to the anand numbers). You might think I am exaggerating, but switching from a crappy TN panel to a nice IPS with full color gamut really made a huge difference. I'm not talking about viewing angles, but about the way pictures look and about how colors are represented. If I was planning on using the MBA for anything other than typing I would probably send it back to Apple and get either a MBP15 or an Envy 13 if it is even possible to find one anymore.

Would you prefer one of Apple's lousy iMacs and their yellow-tinted screens? I was happy as heck when I turned on my Air the first time and wasn't greeted with one of those messes.

 

[Fanboyofnothing]

I'm confused now.

They write that the 13" isn't as silent as the 11".

Can anyone confirm this?

It's very important to me that while browsing / iTunes / Word there's no fan noise audible. I owned a 13" MBP with an SSD and it was completly silent unless doing CPU or GPU heavy stuff.

I can confirm for you that as a 13 owner, it's dead silent when browsing with mail open, itunes playing music, and Open Office open. Throw into the mix Adium running as well. My fans kicked on the first night when I was watching an HD movie while transferring another 5 gig movie from my iMac wirelessly.

Hope that helps you, but if you have more questions about the stock 13, feel free to ask. I love this little bugger.

 

[mac jones]

That was a good review.

They seem to have have improved the 13" .

Battery life is greatly improved, and it's faster and quieter, with much better GP

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

+1 here as well

I read this only after an impulse buy this past Saturday while on a road trip to Williamsburg. My boyfriend bought the 11" and I bought the 13". So far we both are happy with our choices. He replaced his aging 5 year old iBook G4; and me I just added one more computer to my computer gear.

 

[ciaran00]

Worried about the hinge now..

 

[snorkelman]

I think processor, screen size and keyboard would make the best way of judging. The size of the 11" may bring many to call it a netbook but it is far more powerful with a better screen and full size keys. I played with a netbook 2 years ago. Haven't touched one since

the higher end of the netbook segment will inevitably ended up overlapping with the lower end of the ultra portable segment in terms of feature set and performance.

In some respects it already has (natural progression of the Acer Aspire being the 11.6" 1,366x768 res '751' version, and the progression from that in turn being the 1410 and 1810T models that make the break from atoms)

The only real difference is one retains (most) of the build quality and exotic materials of the original ultra-portables, whilst the other brings the materials of the traditional net-book along to the party and is more likely to let a few hundred grammes slip into the all up weight.

from that POV Id call the MBA a low end ultraportable, it just doesnt quite have the 'how the ... did they manage to squeeze in all that' factor of traditional ultraports such as the X505 for me to be comfortable giving it full ultraportable status It'd take a MBA 'Pro' to manage that for me..

 

[Jiten]

This is real professionalism. Most of the other reviews have been a joke. What is the world coming to?

It has always been that way since the dawn of humanity, it has never changed.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Apples to

Has anyone properly benched a new Macbook Air to a Macbook Pro with an aftermarket SSD?

 

[neteng101]

Finally, someone we can all respect who isn't afraid to call it like it is. A Netbook.

I've never considered any 11.6" device as a netbook really PC or Mac - its the 10.1" and smaller that are netbooks. The 11.6"/12.1" are ultraportables IMO.

Netbook = 1024x600 display + Atom power. The screen resolution in particular makes the experience as bad as Jobs suggests it is... its usable at best with scrolling, but an iPad is much better in that category of devices.

 

[ATHmathieu]

Another review stating 11" hinge issues. The issue needs to be addressed!

 

[chugg]

Another review stating 11" hinge issues. The issue needs to be addressed!

Looks like another possible first gen MacBook issue developing? I've been a victim of two already. First MacBook (original white one) with the melting plastics and browning wristpads (anyone remember that?). Then I bought the aluminum MacBook when it first came out and had the stupid tilted keyboard keys problem. Took me 3 exchanges to get one that wasn't screwed up.

 

[nylon]

Has anyone properly benched a new Macbook Air to a Macbook Pro with an aftermarket SSD?

Yes I benched my MBP Mid 2009, 2.53 Ghz, 4GB RAM, 160GB Intel X25-M SSD. The scores were as follows:

XBench: 206.09
Geekbench: 3574

 

[maflynn]

Worried about the hinge now..

I saw posts about the hinge before the review and that had me a little spooked. The review just added gas to that fire

 

[Fanboyofnothing]

No hinge issue on my 13, but my co-worker has it on her 11. She's taking it back to see if they can tighten it somehow or just replace it if she has to, but she'd prefer to not do that.

 

[KPOM]

I always enjoy reading stuff from anandtech, they have great articles and this review is the same.

Of course I love this quote from the review


I'm castigated on the various apple forums when I state the 11" MBA is a netbook, but yet I'm not alone in that thinking.

Jobs was pretty clear a few years ago that he didn't think Apple could make a good computer for under $500, which most of the "netbook" category is. This machine is the size of a netbook but it costs twice as much and has better hardware. Those hoping for a $500 MacBook are still waiting.

 

[NickFalk]

Got the 11'' here and while the screen will move if I shake the machine about it keeps completely still even when held at a 90 degree angle.