Any sense in having Alu MacBook AND MBA?

[Doju]

This holiday season, after having read all of these topics, I was thinking of buying my wife and myself both a MacBook Air.

Is there really any point in doing that? Heh. I guess I could use my MBA at work, and the MacBook Aluminium when I don't need an ultra portable, or if I'm just around the house.

Secondly, I'm not going to buy the new one. I'd buy the old one for like $1,000. Reason being? I'd basically only be using pages, keynotes, and VERY light internet browsing. Would it get very hot/noisy doing simple things like that?

And, it's easy to transfer files from MBA to MB/iMac, right?

 

[CoreyMac]

if you only do general consumer activities (Web, Email, Chat, Movies, Music, Word Processing) I dont see why you would need a MacBook and an Air. The Air would be very sufficient for all those activities. The extra bulk/power of the MB wouldnt make a difference really with those things. If anything, the Air is faster than the AlumBook for general purpose use thanks to the SSD.

 

[Doju]

I'm looking at it money wise though. I want one for at home as well as for portable.

If I did go with the MBA it would be hdd old versio. Still recommend it?

 

[CoreyMac]

I'm looking at it money wise though. I want one for at home as well as for portable.

If I did go with the MBA it would be hdd old versio. Still recommend it?

If you really are on a budget and really want an Air. Go for it. Me personally, I would never get a 4200RPM hard drive.

 

[McGilli]

I'm looking at it money wise though. I want one for at home as well as for portable.

If I did go with the MBA it would be hdd old versio. Still recommend it?

Ya. Having a 4200rpm hdd is not going to ruin your internet surfing experience, or writing a few notes in Pages etc. For the money - it's a great deal for a MBA. Sounds like you are the perfect user since you don't need heavy processing and disc usage.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

I'd get two portables (MBA) and one central computer for all the weight lifting, an iMac. Just buy two MBAs and sell the MacBook for for an iMac, aluminum.

 

[chipchen]

yea.. unless you're really into bragging rights, boosting our economy singlehandedly, or otherwise just have too much money, I don't see the point in having two VERY similar laptops... now if you have a 17" MacBook Pro for home and travel a lot and take an MBA with you... that makes more sense...

I've got two laptops (one for my wife and one for me)... we both bring them everywhere... and at home, we have one central computer for all our photos, music, etc...

 

[alphaod]

I don't think combination makes sense. The MacBook Air is more portable, but considering what's the sense in spending more on a lesser computer? If you have MacBook Pro or a desktop, sure getting a MacBook Air would make sense in portability. With the MacBook and MacBook Air so close, it's no longer a viable combination.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Doju]

Alright, thanks guys.

I THINK I may just stick with my MacBook then. While I don't need the extra 'juice' much, when I need it, it's great to have, and the Rev A MacBook Air just doesn't seem to cut it enough to drop my MacBook Aluminium.

How do you guys find the Aluminium in portability? (Maybe I should post this in the MacBook forums now. >_<) Is it too heavy to bring around on a regular basis? I've been sort of hesitant to bring it around a lot.

So, what do you think? Bottom line is that the MBA Rev A probably wouldn't cut it for when I do need some processor speed and RAM, so I guess that's out of the question for me (wife still gets one though, I can play around with it, heh) but what about the Alu MacBook? Portable enough, in your opinion? (Don't compare it to the Air, just on its own. Is 4.5lbs a burden to carry around?)

 

[zer0tails]

yeah that's a sensible choice. stick with the macbook, and you won't be disappointed.

i've owned the previous gen macbook and that was pretty portable. The new alu macbook I reckon would be even more portable since it's thinner and most importantly, lighter.

 

[Hey Jude]

I have the white MacBook, and I think it is pretty portable and I am not a big girl.

However, after playing with the Air, I decided to take the plunge after the horizontal lines issue has been resolved.

Jude

 

[GoCubsGo]

I don't think combination makes sense. The MacBook Air is more portable, but considering what's the sense in spending more on a lesser computer? If you have MacBook Pro or a desktop, sure getting a MacBook Air would make sense in portability. With the MacBook and MacBook Air so close, it's no longer a viable combination.

Just my 2 cents.

I couldn't agree more. A MBP and an Air are a good combo for the frequent traveler, but a MB and MB Air are so close in size/weight (in my opinion) that having both seems odd.

 

[tubbymac]

Alright, thanks guys.

I THINK I may just stick with my MacBook then. While I don't need the extra 'juice' much, when I need it, it's great to have, and the Rev A MacBook Air just doesn't seem to cut it enough to drop my MacBook Aluminium.

How do you guys find the Aluminium in portability? (Maybe I should post this in the MacBook forums now. >_<) Is it too heavy to bring around on a regular basis? I've been sort of hesitant to bring it around a lot.

So, what do you think? Bottom line is that the MBA Rev A probably wouldn't cut it for when I do need some processor speed and RAM, so I guess that's out of the question for me (wife still gets one though, I can play around with it, heh) but what about the Alu MacBook? Portable enough, in your opinion? (Don't compare it to the Air, just on its own. Is 4.5lbs a burden to carry around?)

Like others stated here there really is no RATIONAL reason for having both a MBA and an MB, since both pretty much do the same sorts of things. Having said that though, I'm in the same boat as you and am tempted to buy an MBA in addition to my MB this black friday just for the hell of it, hah So I understand where you're coming from.

As to your question about carrying it around, for me personally 4.5 lbs is the absolute upper limit to where I can carry it around without feeling like it's a burden. I have a few other laptops and even a Sony 12 inch that only weighs 2.5 lbs, so in comparison this unibody Macbook feels much heavier than what I'm used to, but not uncomfortably so. Anything 3 lbs and less, like the Macbook Airs, are light enough that you can swing them around with one hand easily. The Macbook I find I have to swing around with both hands or else I feel like I might accidentally drop it. That's about the only difference between handling this and my Sony. Once I toss it in my notebook bag, which is one of those over the shoulder ones, I do not find it uncomfortable to port around at all. In comparison, lugging around my 5.5 lbs Thinkpad was annoying. One more pound and it starts getting too heavy.

 

[ideonode]

Whilst I agree that buying two is just overkill, I've just ordered a Macbook (2.4/4Gb/128SSD), knowing that if I need the lightweightness of a MBA, I can just borrow my girlfriend's MBA (revA). Alas, she doesn't know it yet.

So if you're buying your wife an MBA, maybe buy yourself a MB with the grunt-power and expandability, and when you need the portability of an MBA, use your wife's?

 

[tubbymac]

So if you're buying your wife an MBA, maybe buy yourself a MB with the grunt-power and expandability, and when you need the portability of an MBA, use your wife's?

I think the OP already has a MB and was asking if it he should buy two more MBAs, one for himself and one for his wife. At least that's how I read it.

 

[kingcrowing]

I have a rev. A MBA and it's got plenty of power/speed for internet, chatting, music, and even videos run real well (720p is basically the limit), so I'd say the ideal combo would be a MBA (Best you can afford) and an iMac. I have a PC desktop because I already had a sick monitor, but I'd gladly swap it for a nice iMac.

 

[jbrenn]

Alright, thanks guys.

I THINK I may just stick with my MacBook then. While I don't need the extra 'juice' much, when I need it, it's great to have, and the Rev A MacBook Air just doesn't seem to cut it enough to drop my MacBook Aluminium.

How do you guys find the Aluminium in portability? (Maybe I should post this in the MacBook forums now. >_<) Is it too heavy to bring around on a regular basis? I've been sort of hesitant to bring it around a lot.

So, what do you think? Bottom line is that the MBA Rev A probably wouldn't cut it for when I do need some processor speed and RAM, so I guess that's out of the question for me (wife still gets one though, I can play around with it, heh) but what about the Alu MacBook? Portable enough, in your opinion? (Don't compare it to the Air, just on its own. Is 4.5lbs a burden to carry around?)

you will hardly notice it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I couldn't agree more. A MBP and an Air are a good combo for the frequent traveler, but a MB and MB Air are so close in size/weight (in my opinion) that having both seems odd.

That would be my take on it, also. At present, I have a MBP that I'm very happy with, and, as I travel a lot, I am seriously thinking of getting a Rev B MBA in the fairly near future. Having both a MB and a MBA does not really make sense; pair a MBA with either a desktop, or a MBP, and you will have a better combination of both power and portability.

Cheers and good luck