Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

CapnJackGig

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2011
572
0
Let me just say that I had a MBP for years and was happy as hell when I replaced it with the most recent MBA 13 inch. Lugging the MBP on plane trips was a pain. The Air is so light that I don't even notice it in my bookbag. For what you described needing the computer for, the MBP is completely unnecessary. I do all that with my MBA and it's very speedy doing so.
 

jackyyeow

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2011
262
0
Awesome, that's great to hear. As I *think* I stated before, It's either a MBA or a MBP, depending on how much they are when they're refreshed and what they're offering.

My budget is going to probably be 1200 with tax... and looking at the Air prices right now, it might actually be out of my budget to get a 13 inch. (11 inches don't have that great battery life).

It's going to kill me if the prices are too high; however if they are, I can always go for an upgraded 11 or just get a MBP. But yea, I'm going to be typing, idle, transport, web browsing, maybe some video here and there, and continue throughout the day.

Because I have all Science and 1 calc class, I don't think I'll actually need the MB during lectures; doing things before and after is my main concern. I'm living off campus next semester (thank God lol) so I need it to last the entire time I'm at school. (I hated lugging my old charger with me)

But yea, thanks for posting man. The new Airs won't be able to use Coolbook but when I take the trip to the Apple store this weekend, I'll keep that in mind.
No problem, I'm very impressed with the battery life too. I've just updated the battery life usage with coolbook on the other thread, just to give you an idea on the battery usage - if you don't use flash at all, you'll be seeing battery life similar to ipad on wifi - close to 10 hours of light surfing!

You're right, ability to use coolbook almost decided my purchase of current gen MBA than waiting for next gen. You maybe want to try your luck on ebay, many are selling theirs for the new refresh.
 

s2dio

macrumors regular
Oct 28, 2010
109
0
Riga, Latvia
I've got the 2010 13" ultimate, and starting to think about selling it and getting the 2011 13" model. However, I don't want to go through the hassle of finding random people to sell my mba to for cash.

Plus, there is no sense in buying the Macs in my country, as they're significantly expensive (MBA ultimate costs about $600 more than in the U.S.)

And I just don't know whether the upgrade will be worth it (some say that NVIDIA GPU is a better option than Intel's HD3000 and thunderbolt port doesn't isn't required that much yet, the backlit keys are also a minor (yet pleasant) improvement).

So I'm a bit on the fence now, waiting for the new models to be released to see the specs and then decide.

However, I don't think I'd go for the 11" after the 13". The 13" is really more versatile. It's light, it has larger screen (in terms of real estate and resolution), and could easily be the only computer for most people.
 

NurJahan

macrumors member
May 22, 2011
58
0
I'm wondering if more people could share their experiences with the different screen sizes: I'm torn between the 11" and 13"...I like the 13" for its larger screen and res, but the 11" is perfect in terms of size, and footprint, but screen is terribly short. I don't constantly want to be scrolling and squinting when web browsing. (I assume reading posts on MacRumors must be a bit difficult) What have you done to overcome these 11" problems (i.e. removing the dock)?
 

zodqyv

macrumors regular
Mar 28, 2010
222
0
Between my wife, my 12 year old, and myself we have each used both the 13" and the 11" fairly extensively since the fall. Both Airs are great, but the 11" wins hands down on portability.

Lately I use my iPad most of the day, and the 11" MacBook Air only when I really need a keyboard. The 11" is a great work/school machine, for sure.
 

P0stalTek

Suspended
Feb 25, 2011
256
30
You guys are making me rethink my pretty firm choice of making the new 11" my first Mac :(. You are bad, bad people. Back to surfing reviews!
 

Jezak

macrumors member
Sep 3, 2008
71
73
I had an 11 and moved to a 13. The screen size was too small for me to get any real work done on for long periods of time. I have been extremely satisfied with the 13inch MBA. I use it as my primary computer and frequently have it connected to a 27inch ACD at home.

There is something about the size of that 11inch that beckons another go though. I never had any complaints about the keyboard at all.
 

Brenzo

macrumors regular
May 1, 2011
134
29
Chicago
Initially I was set on getting the 13" Air. I went to the store numerous times and felt that there was no way I could work for prolonged periods of time on the 11" screen, especially since I would be coming from a 15" MacBook Pro. However, I did a complete 180 in the last month and now plan on buying an ultimate 11".

My reasoning is simple. I spend 8-10 hours at work every day on a dual monitor Windows 7 machine. While I work at home, it's at a desk where I have a brand new 24" Dell monitor ready to be hooked up to the Air. What I really needed was something ultra-portable that I could bring with me on the occasional work trip or vacation. I also find myself in and out of meetings and in the past I have used my iPad with and without a bluetooth keyboard, which is less than ideal and at times limiting due to the nature of iOS.

Also, I often leave the office and visit a friend or stop by the parent's before heading home. By getting in the habit of bringing the incredibly small and light Air with me, I will no longer be limited to where I can do work. I have done this with the iPad in the past, but I still view it as more of a toy/couch-surfing tool than true workhorse. It's especially frustrating when I need to do work on MS Office documents or use Salesforce.com, which isn't exactly optimized for mobile Safari.

In addition this, recent rumors suggest that 256 GB will be an SSD option on the 11" Air, which will be more than enough to fit all of my applications, documents, music and photos (for now.) If 128 GB is still the limit, which I doubt, well I will have the 15" Pro at home to serve as my base.

So those are the reasons I will be getting an 11" Air.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.