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Buyers Remorse...13" MBA should I have gotten the pro
- Thread starter newdeal
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I've just got an ultimate 13" Air. Not ever having a backlit keyboard and being a fairly decent typist I don't really see what all the fuss is about.
I find that the screen even on 40% brightness setting I have it on now it's illuminated perfectly. Admittedly I do have the assistance of some christmas lights.
If you use a computer in your everyday life I don't really see any reason why anyone can't become a decent typist and negate the need for the backlit keyboard.
I find that the screen even on 40% brightness setting I have it on now it's illuminated perfectly. Admittedly I do have the assistance of some christmas lights.
If you use a computer in your everyday life I don't really see any reason why anyone can't become a decent typist and negate the need for the backlit keyboard.
I'd say get the 13" MBP OP. Or if you can wait it out a bit, there'll be new MBPs probably by April-June.
Maybe even new MBAs then too?
I agree with you about the BL keyboard tho. I bet it'll be back in the next rev of the MBA. (Just like Firewire came back to the Alu 13" MBPs)
It's not about not knowing where the keys are. It's easily finding them in the dark. It's easy to type long paragraphs without looking at the keys, but what if you're paying a game via the keyboard. Or are using your mouse and wanna hit the "+" for a new window w/o stumbling around... Or trying to get the volume/brightness/dashboard/etc... buttons (which is moved to a different place on the MBA vs other machines in Apple's Lineup).
There's lots of uses for the backlit keyboard even for a touch-typist.
Maybe even new MBAs then too?
I agree with you about the BL keyboard tho. I bet it'll be back in the next rev of the MBA. (Just like Firewire came back to the Alu 13" MBPs)
It's not about not knowing where the keys are. It's easily finding them in the dark. It's easy to type long paragraphs without looking at the keys, but what if you're paying a game via the keyboard. Or are using your mouse and wanna hit the "+" for a new window w/o stumbling around... Or trying to get the volume/brightness/dashboard/etc... buttons (which is moved to a different place on the MBA vs other machines in Apple's Lineup).
There's lots of uses for the backlit keyboard even for a touch-typist.
To me, this is the clincher.
I'm not a fan of MBA's anyway, but in my mind the whole point of an ultra-light, ultra-portable machine is that it gets taken to lots of places. If it never leaves the house, it seems like there's a huge price premium to buying a MBA instead of a MacBook, or even a Pro.
Perhaps more pillows piled up in layers or one of those hospital style beds you can buy for the home that lets you raise the ends up. Easy to attach a light to too!
Well, I haven't traveled with mine YET, but i appreciate the weight when just using it around my apartment, it's especially easy to lift when my dog comes flying onto the couch, and also feels great at what would otherwise be awkward angles with a different heavier laptop.
Keep the Air. It will have a much better resale value after the upcoming Pro line refresh.
The 13 MBP is embarrasing. Apple needs to bring the guns this time around with their Pro line refresh. If its a thermal issue we dont have a dedicated GPU in the 13's, then change the materials used. Apple, your users want performance in a Pro product!
The 13 MBP is embarrasing. Apple needs to bring the guns this time around with their Pro line refresh. If its a thermal issue we dont have a dedicated GPU in the 13's, then change the materials used. Apple, your users want performance in a Pro product!
Me neither, i've never known such a pointless fuss about such a pointless gadget.
It's true what they say, people are never happy unless they have something to moan about.
I had a 13" and 15" MBP and frankly the backlight was more of an annoyance than anything else. I don't think I ever used it once. Especially in Windows where under Boot Camp for the longest time you couldn't even turn the light off entirely, it would go to 5% and waste power; even once you were able to shut it off all the way, it was only until a reboot or until you happened to accidentally shade the ambient light sensor, then it popped back on.
If all you care about is the backlight then I guess upgrade, but honestly I can't imagine why that's worth all the other tradeoffs.
If all you care about is the backlight then I guess upgrade, but honestly I can't imagine why that's worth all the other tradeoffs.
I agree I can't see a real reason to go to the 13" MBP over the newer MBA. If you need the 8GB of ram or CPU power then do the 15".
I look at the backlit keyboard as a novelty more than anything else, I don't think I've ever seriously needed it on my MBP...
I look at the backlit keyboard as a novelty more than anything else, I don't think I've ever seriously needed it on my MBP...
I returned my MBA with all the extras today...Also returned the Superdrive and AppleCare..(Applecare wasn't opened or activated) Picked up a MBP i5 with almost 225.00 credited back to my account...They didnt charge a restocking fee and were great about it...Keeps me coming back...
I returned my MBA with all the extras today...Also returned the Superdrive and AppleCare..(Applecare wasn't opened or activated) Picked up a MBP i5 with almost 225.00 credited back to my account...They didnt charge a restocking fee and were great about it...Keeps me coming back...
How is the I5 MBP cheaper than the MBA??
This is how....Below is the Air I bought...I had said I also returned the Apple Care and Superdrive....MBP also 1799.00...Superdrive 79.00 ..AppleCare 249.00..(166.00 Actually) with a discount ...Do the math....Cheaper FOR ME...
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Given that you're ebaying your iPad, you have buyer's remorse on the MBA even though you knew you don't take it out of the house and the fact that it doesn't have a backit keyboard, etc. I think you need to step back and really give some thought to your needs rather than getting suckered into the new cool thing.
If it doesn't leave the house, the MBA seems like a waste.
I also got the 13" 2.13 GHz MBA with 4 GB RAM and the 256 GB SSD. Unlike you, though, I consider it the best laptop I have ever owned. It is small and large (in resolution). It is fast. It is eminently capable. Yet light and small in size. The perfect balance.
I don't really get the purpose or this thread.
It sounds like you need to think before you buy things. Selling your iPad, returning your MacBook Air. Considering you own a good desktop I can't underhand why you need a high powered laptop.
It sounds like you need to think before you buy things. Selling your iPad, returning your MacBook Air. Considering you own a good desktop I can't underhand why you need a high powered laptop.
Interesting thread.
I decided to go MBP (13") simply because the comparable, high-end MBA was way more. For that price, I could get a lowend 15 inch.
I'll use the money I save to put a larger SSD in mine, enjoy all the benefits of that, and gain some muscle hauling this thing around
I decided to go MBP (13") simply because the comparable, high-end MBA was way more. For that price, I could get a lowend 15 inch.
I'll use the money I save to put a larger SSD in mine, enjoy all the benefits of that, and gain some muscle hauling this thing around
Interesting thread.
I decided to go MBP (13") simply because the comparable, high-end MBA was way more. For that price, I could get a lowend 15 inch.
I'll use the money I save to put a larger SSD in mine, enjoy all the benefits of that, and gain some muscle hauling this thing around
I was also considering going down the SSD and MBP (when they are updated later next year) road but the more I looked at it the more the expense to do this did not make sense.
Also, there is speculation made by a couple of review sites suggesting Apple has deployed optimised firmware for the Air SSD giving it superior integration with the OS, making it significantly faster than a MBP with a DIY SSD installed.
The higher 1440x900 resolution is also beautiful and not available on the 13" MBP.
I also believe many people severely overestimate their computational requirements. When you are looking at a 1.82 Ghz C2D processor and 2GB+ of RAM with a 1066 Mhz frontside bus I would guess for the majority of people the harddrive read/write speed will be the real bottle-neck in day-to-day work rather than processor speed.
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I dont want a 15" MBP. I like the portability, if the air would have longer battery life in the 11" then I would have gotten that because in a big screen I have the iMac. The iPad was good but only when jailbroken and with the tethered jailbreak and the lack of flash it was getting to me. I hate flash as much as anyone but a lot of the MMA videos I like to watch are flash only and so for those I did need flash. Maybe someday I will own another ipad but only when it has flash, or flash is totally dead. For now I still have the need for it occasionally and so the macbook is the better option. Do I do anything that requires the MBP over the MBA? NO however I like to buy gadgets and so I go through a lot of computers. Likely the MBA will have a higher resale and I will reassess my wants when the MBP is refreshed. Thanks for the help
I dont want a 15" MBP. I like the portability, if the air would have longer battery life in the 11" then I would have gotten that because in a big screen I have the iMac. The iPad was good but only when jailbroken and with the tethered jailbreak and the lack of flash it was getting to me. I hate flash as much as anyone but a lot of the MMA videos I like to watch are flash only and so for those I did need flash. Maybe someday I will own another ipad but only when it has flash, or flash is totally dead. For now I still have the need for it occasionally and so the macbook is the better option. Do I do anything that requires the MBP over the MBA? NO however I like to buy gadgets and so I go through a lot of computers. Likely the MBA will have a higher resale and I will reassess my wants when the MBP is refreshed. Thanks for the help
No, no..Im not complaining about it...I, like you think (thought) it was the best laptop I have ever owned for portability and SSD for speed...When messing with it at the store (multiple times) I kept wondering if the screen resolution would bother me, as I need glasses to read...After I had it, I found that increasing the resolution, to avoid glasses made everything fuzzy and not crisp as with the native resolution...So I returned it...The MBP has the same resolution but I guess the extra 2" makes it readable to me without glasses...If I was still in my twenty's I would have kept it....