Anyone else regretting buying the MBA?

[gwsat]

I think this is mostly true. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you checked carefully, you'd find a large percentage of the 11" netbook owners were the same people RAVING about the iPad at its introduction and proclaiming how it was the perfect device, would make them sell their MBP's as being "too beastly" and how they would never buy a laptop again now that they had this magical device.

In other words, people who bought into the hype. Fanbois. Fangrls.

Its a machine. For certain users with limited or unique (and always personalized) needs, the machine is perfect. For others it is not. There is no silver bullet in personal computing. As sure as you may be certain that this device is PERFECT in every way, the next generation from either Apple or a competitor will prove you wrong and you'll be back proclaiming all the flaws of this generation.

Its cyclical.

Like you, I remember the unrealistic nonsense coming out of some of the iPad early adapters. I was an iPad early adapter, too, but didn't buy into the hype. Although the iPad's small size and light weight were impressive, I hated a bunch of things about it including but not limited to: no flash support for Web browsing; no multitasking; the difficulty of typing on a virtual keyboard; a primitive email app; an inability to exchange data via a wired connection except with iTunes; and a bunch of other things, too numerous to go into here.

I think the MBA is a different kettle of fish, though. Unlike the iPad, the 11 inch MBA runs a real OS and provides unlimited access to real computer programs. For most users it should be a perfect choice for mixed use as a backup computer and iPad replacement. In fact, had the 11 inch MBA been introduced last spring along with the iPad, I would likely have bought the $999 entry level 11 inch MBA instead of an iPad. Although the MBA is a lot more expensive than the iPad it is vastly more powerful and comes in almost as small a package as the iPad.

All of that said, I bought a 13 inch MBA because I needed its 256GB of storage and was a little afraid of the 11 inch model's small screen.

 

[noodles5666]

I did so much so that I went back to using Windows. Of which I am currently regretting in and of it self. Will be returning this monstrosity and going back to the 13in MBP.

 

[bcaslis]

I think this is mostly true. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if you checked carefully, you'd find a large percentage of the 11" netbook owners were the same people RAVING about the iPad at its introduction and proclaiming how it was the perfect device, would make them sell their MBP's as being "too beastly" and how they would never buy a laptop again now that they had this magical device.

In other words, people who bought into the hype. Fanbois. Fangrls.
...

I think this goes too far. There are many people loving their 11" but I see few telling others it's the right one for everyone. Why does liking a machine make someone a fanboy? This is silly, you could say the same for every machine.

To be honest I see far more 13" owners trying to "talk down" to anyone with an 11". It's all so silly, there is no one size fits all for all needs.

 

[dmelgar]

I think it actually is really simple.
The ones that still love their 11" MBA (including myself) are the ones that knew what they were getting into when they bought it and knew that it would fit a particular need.
However the ones that regret their purchase either just bought it for novelty or just wanted to try it out.
The 11" Air is a machine to buy when you know what you want from it.

There are cases where its simple and black and white.

There are other cases where its grey. Give and take. Compromise.

The 11" MBA is an awesomely powerful machine and incredibly small. That has lots of value. I think Apple has hit it out of the ballpark with a great combination of features for its size. But it is a compromise. It depends on how people intend to use the machine. And often its not black and white, but grey.

In my case, I love the portability and can accept the limitations on CPU speed, disk size, ports, keyboard backlighting. Its not obvious to me if I'm giving up too much with the screen size and if the portability outweighs that compared to the 13" MBA or just keeping my current 13" MBP.

 

[timeslip]

fanboi / fangurl or not, complaining about the last generations faults is the natural thing one takes when they ride on the bleeding edge of technology. Buying an IPAD at launch or even the 11" MBA is exactly that.

Apple was smart to release the IPAD first. Had they released a netbook / 11" MBA, they would have lost a portion of their IPAD business. We all knew that apple had a 11" or 12" laptop in development (macrumors / engadget) before they released the IPAD.

As for me, I have a 15" i7 MBP with high res option that I love. However, I purchased a 27" IMAC a few months ago. Since then, I found myself using the MBP only a few hours a day (out at client sites) and defaulting to the IMAC at home. So naturally, the 11" MBA is attractive for me to travel with and use for the 3-5hrs a day when I am out during the week. The 13" is fantastic, and I keep tossing back and forth about returning the 11". My complaint is not screen real estate, but HD capacity.

Btw, the 1.6/4GB 11" runs Windows 7 in a VM with normal office productivity use just fine (IE / Office apps / custom company .net apps open together).

In summary, I love the MBA... Just trying to decide if I should return the 11" and get the 13". It's beautiful, but I do like the ultra portability of the 11". I am afraid that I will be cramped in coach seat on the airplane with the 13".

 

[peapody]

In summary, I love the MBA... Just trying to decide if I should return the 11" and get the 13". It's beautiful, but I do like the ultra portability of the 11". I am afraid that I will be cramped in coach seat on the airplane with the 13".

Do you travel that much to worry about this?



Anyways, add me to the list of people who regret getting the 13.3. I am sure that list is pretty small. I do not regret anything about that computer, but I do regret that it is so good that it is encroaching on the necessity of my 15.4" mbp haha. It is basically duplicating the use I get out of my macbook pro. I have therefore decided to go to the 11.6, because it makes more sense than having two top notch laptops. Having both of them is overkill.

 

[timeslip]

Do you travel that much to worry about this?

With the current job, it's a few times a year from West Coast to East Coast. With the position next year, it could be once a month. Bottom line, do you guys think the 13" will fit fine in coach on the table with the persons seat in front leaned back? On my 15" MBP, I had to hold it up at a weird angle.

If I was back in the 100% travel consulting days, I would just keep the 15"MBP or go with 13" MBA for sure. Otherwise, my IMAC gets the most use these days...

 

[bcaslis]

With the current job, it's a few times a year from West Coast to East Coast. With the position next year, it could be once a month. Bottom line, do you guys think the 13" will fit fine in coach on the table with the persons seat in front leaned back? On my 15" MBP, I had to hold it up at a weird angle.

If I was back in the 100% travel consulting days, I would just keep the 15"MBP or go with 13" MBA for sure. Otherwise, my IMAC gets the most use these days...

If your concern is on an airplane then no, the 13" will not fit fine when the joker in front of you slams his seat all the way back. Could you use the 13"? Sure, but it won't be hugely better than the 15". The big advantage the 11" has in this situation is the 16x9 display. It makes the front to back measurement less than the 16x10 format the other Apple laptops currently use. But of course the 13" will have the advantage when not on the plane.

 

[snorkelman]

I'd been waiting for an 11.6" netbook with decent build quality and weight 11.6" MBA was ideal

No regrets on purchasing it, does what I expected it to do screen res is on par with various other 11.6" devices, processor performance is as good as/better than a lot of them. Weighs less and feels better.

Only minor wrankle is lack of XP driver support; if apple had included that it would be my one stop do everything out of office solution, as it actually runs XP like a charm missing features aside. Thanks to that omission Ive still got to reach for a plastic fantastic every now and then.

For me notebooks have always been secondary to a big fat desktop with oodles of RAM, storage space, multiple monitors etc. As such they may as well be as lean as possible.

I think the difficulty arises when folks try to talk themselves into giving up a powerful notebook that they've used as a primary machine in favour of a stripped down device. Will work out fine for some of them won't for others.

 

[gwsat]

If your concern is on an airplane then no, the 13" will not fit fine when the joker in front of you slams his seat all the way back. Could you use the 13"? Sure, but it won't be hugely better than the 15". The big advantage the 11" has in this situation is the 16x9 display. It makes the front to back measurement less than the 16x10 format the other Apple laptops currently use. But of course the 13" will have the advantage when not on the plane.

I can't recall the thread but a poster there expressly represented that his 13 inch MBA was easily usable on a coach seat's tray table on an airplane, although the passenger in front of him had his seat back reclined. I have not yet had a chance to check out my 13 inch MBA on an airplane but will get the opportunity to do so over Thanksgiving.

 

[bcaslis]

Can you use the 13" on an airplane? Sure. But if the person front fully inclines you aren't going to be able to have the 13" open at the correct angle, you are going to need to have the screen straight up or more. I've used numerous laptops this size on a plane and it's not comfortable at all. You can use it, but if this is something you do a lot the 11" is going to be way better.

 

[jimboutilier]

I fly pretty much every week and see quite an assortment of laptops in use up to 17" in coach. Some bigger ones occasionally seem to work well and some smaller ones occasionally don't and vice versa.

The airline and plane size and plane configuration and which section and which seat, the condition of the seat and tray etc all make a big difference and are not terribly predictable. Your laptop configuration also makes a big difference, how tall is the base, where is the hinge, what aspect ratio is the screen, is the screen glossy or matte, what are the good viewing angles of the screen etc.

So while there is no definitive answer there are some useful generalizations:
1) Lower and shorter is more likely to fit well. 13" or smaller is better. Widescreen is better. Thinner base is better. Lower hinge point is better.
2) Matte screen with wider viewing angle is better.

I found that my 13" MB was about as large as you'd want in the Apple line in a full size plane (forget most commuter planes). And then you had to be careful as you would typically have the screen flipped back a bit with the top lip sitting where the top of the tray would fasten into the seat and if someone put thier seat back the top of the screen could hook and crunch.

The Rev A/B/C MBA was better as the base was thiner and hinge lower and the screen was less glossy and the viewing angle better so you could tilt the screen just a bit less with less danger if the seat hooking and crunching.

I imagine the new 13" MBA would be even a bit better. And if course the new 11.6 would be great even in most little commuter planes.

Hope this helps

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Can you use the 13" on an airplane? Sure. But if the person front fully inclines you aren't going to be able to have the 13" open at the correct angle, you are going to need to have the screen straight up or more. I've used numerous laptops this size on a plane and it's not comfortable at all. You can use it, but if this is something you do a lot the 11" is going to be way better.

While I don't doubt the 11" is going to be more comfortable to use than the 13" in a plane, this is really a silly reason to take the smaller netbook model over the more complete 13" MBA.

If you fly THAT regularly for this to matter, you are going to be sitting either in economy plus or in Business/First due to upgrades. There's room enough for full sized laptops in those seats and then some.

If you fly very few times per year, then you suffer all the other disadvantages of the 11" for all but 8-10 hours of your life every other month or so. Less battery, less storage, less horsepower, less of everything.

Look folks, if you LIKE the little netbook model, then just be happy with it and enjoy it. Its the best netbook on the marketplace and likely a trend-setter for sure. There's no need to come up with these silly rationalizations for what are obvious compromises. Just enjoy it for the gadget it is.

 

[drxcm]

Look folks, if you LIKE the little netbook model, then just be happy with it and enjoy it. Its the best netbook on the marketplace and likely a trend-setter for sure. There's no need to come up with these silly rationalizations for what are obvious compromises. Just enjoy it for the gadget it is.

I have to say, the 11" is no netbook - it trumps my previous netbook in performance and for daily office / mail / safari outperforms my MacBook Pro.

It is no more of a gadget than my cellphone, or my 17" MBP is.

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Curious where you use your laptop that a 13" is simply too big. I travel a ton and my 13" works quite well for me. Can't imagine where a 13" would be too big.

+1

I'm with you, I cannot imagine how a 13" could be called too big. Bigger than an 11" MBA..yes, so it's different. But too big? Nope... not buying it...

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Correct. I got my maxed out 13 inch MBA from a nearby Apple Store that had it in stock. It is my understanding that most, if not all, Apple Stores carry the top of the line versions of both the 11 inch and 13 inch MBA.

This has been my experience. When my 13" 4GB died, the Apple store had one in stock to replace it with. Too bad that one died in just a day. Oh well, AppleCare has it so it's in good hands. I just have to be patient until they figure out how to fix it....

 

[tim100]

Like you, I remember the unrealistic nonsense coming out of some of the iPad early adapters. I was an iPad early adapter, too, but didn't buy into the hype. Although the iPad's small size and light weight were impressive, I hated a bunch of things about it including but not limited to: no flash support for Web browsing; no multitasking; the difficulty of typing on a virtual keyboard; a primitive email app; an inability to exchange data via a wired connection except with iTunes; and a bunch of other things, too numerous to go into here.

I think the MBA is a different kettle of fish, though. Unlike the iPad, the 11 inch MBA runs a real OS and provides unlimited access to real computer programs. For most users it should be a perfect choice for mixed use as a backup computer and iPad replacement. In fact, had the 11 inch MBA been introduced last spring along with the iPad, I would likely have bought the $999 entry level 11 inch MBA instead of an iPad. Although the MBA is a lot more expensive than the iPad it is vastly more powerful and comes in almost as small a package as the iPad.

All of that said, I bought a 13 inch MBA because I needed its 256GB of storage and was a little afraid of the 11 inch model's small screen.

will the air replace your macbook pro?

 

[bcaslis]

...
Look folks, if you LIKE the little netbook model, then just be happy with it and enjoy it. Its the best netbook on the marketplace and likely a trend-setter for sure. There's no need to come up with these silly rationalizations for what are obvious compromises. Just enjoy it for the gadget it is.

What silly rationalization? The 11" will be better on an airplane. I never said it was better for other things. You seem to have to pounce on every good comment about the 11" just to prove the 13" is better. The 13" is better for some things, but using it on coach on airplane is not one of them.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

What silly rationalization? The 11" will be better on an airplane. I never said it was better for other things. You seem to have to pounce on every good comment about the 11" just to prove the 13" is better. The 13" is better for some things, but using it on coach on airplane is not one of them.

Silly, totally silly.

"The 11" MacNetbook will be better on an airplane"

-IF- you fly lowest-rate coach fare.

-OR- if you are stuck flying while seated in something like this:

 

[neteng101]

-OR- if you are stuck flying while seated in something like this:

iPhone seems a good bet in that instance. Maybe iPad.

Isn't it interesting that the discussion has changed from regrets buying the MBA, to a question of which MBA better?

 

[MikePA]

Silly, totally silly.

"The 11" MacNetbook will be better on an airplane"

-IF- you fly lowest-rate coach fare.

Arrogant, totally arrogant.

 

[ReallyBigFeet]

Arrogant, totally arrogant.

How is it arrogant? I fly lowest-price coach fare all the time!

Then again, I do this every week for so many years, I get upgraded to far better seating. Just like 95% of the REST of the business travelers on this forum I'm betting.

Jealous? Don't be....I'd far rather be sitting my butt at a desk or working outside than flying all over the country to earn a living. There is no joy in flying anywhere anymore, thanks to security hassles and the surly nature of airline attendants. OK, maybe Singapore Air is still a nice way to travel but unfortunately I don't get to enjoy their hospitality very often.

But my point remains....the 11" "fits better on a tray table in coach" is a ridiculous reason to prefer the benefits of a $1000+ laptop. If you fly enough that this really matters, you aren't stuck in coach anyways.

 

[koobcamuk]

I kind of regret my iPad purchase a little, as I would have gotten the 11" MBA... and now I can't sell my iPad for a decent price.

I am still thinking about getting a little MacBook Air... not sure though. Money money money...

But my point remains....the 11" "fits better on a tray table in coach" is a ridiculous reason to prefer the benefits of a $1000+ laptop. If you fly enough that this really matters, you aren't stuck in coach anyways.

Your point is valid... to a point.

If someone has either a desktop or a 'main' laptop, then the 11" MBA is an ideal travel companion. Just larger than the iPad, it will go into my tiny shoulder bag and can easily be used at a coffee shop or on a train/plane.

I envisage the 13" MBA as a slim 13" MBP - buy if you carry it a lot.

I envisage the 11" MBA as a fully functional iPad - buy if you do want to move around even more and want to create more than consume.

Both laptops suit having a 27" iMac as the main machine, though this isn't needed, rather my personal preference!!

 

[a2applegirl]

While I don't doubt the 11" is going to be more comfortable to use than the 13" in a plane, this is really a silly reason to take the smaller netbook model over the more complete 13" MBA.

If you fly THAT regularly for this to matter, you are going to be sitting either in economy plus or in Business/First due to upgrades. There's room enough for full sized laptops in those seats and then some.

If you fly very few times per year, then you suffer all the other disadvantages of the 11" for all but 8-10 hours of your life every other month or so. Less battery, less storage, less horsepower, less of everything.

Look folks, if you LIKE the little netbook model, then just be happy with it and enjoy it. Its the best netbook on the marketplace and likely a trend-setter for sure. There's no need to come up with these silly rationalizations for what are obvious compromises. Just enjoy it for the gadget it is.

I agree. I bought my 11.6" air because it's a super-deluxe netbook. I wanted a netbook. I have a mbp which is my main computer and main laptop, and I wanted the air for its super portability. It is an enhancement computer, not a replacement computer.

That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised by how powerful the 11.6" is. I was expecting far more of a compromise than I ended up having.

 

[KnightWRX]

It is an enhancement computer, not a replacement computer.

That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised by how powerful the 11.6" is. I was expecting far more of a compromise than I ended up having.

I think your first statement is what everyone likes to think and say here, and your second statement is closer to the truth. The truth is, the MacBook air is just as capable as a MacBook Pro and using it as a "secondary computer" is just a waste of money.

I'd go so far as say most (emphasis before someone nitpicks that they have X need that can't be filled by a MacBook but can by an iMac) people having an iMac and a MacBook, any kind of MacBook, are just wasting money too. All that these people required was probably just an external monitor, not a 2nd computer at all.