Buying new MBA

[climbasky]

At the Apple store, I went thinking about buying the 13 inch, but fell in love with the 11 inch.
My purpose is web browsing, some picture editing, and writing..I am a going to use Microsoft word. Mostly will be writing, writing, writing. Portability very important.
I am considering going with the base model. I can pay for the upgrade in RAM and storage, but want to make the sensible elegant decision.
I hear some talk about the Lion upgrade. Why should I even care about that?Will I need it? Why?
How hard is it to write on this size machine?
Also, I was going to buy it from the source listed on the Insider website. Do I pay tax? Do you suggest getting the extended warrantee?
Thanks!

 

[Surely]

The size should be fine for your needs, however photo editing usually requires a larger screen. If you're only going to do basic stuff, I'm sure the 11" will be just fine.

Be sure that 2GB will be enough for you, as you will not be able to upgrade the RAM at a later date.

You won't need the Lion update, but it will have some new features that you might want. It won't be released for a while, so that isn't really something to worry about now. It will probably only cost $29 to upgrade, and it is easy to do.

I don't own the 11" Air, but I've used it quite a bit, and I did not find typing to be cramped at all.

Sales tax will depend on the state you live in. For example, I live in CA, and if I were to buy it off of Amazon, I wouldn't be charged sales tax at the time of sale (although technically you're supposed to pay it when you file your state income taxes).

FTR, my next Mac purchase will be the 11" Air.

Hope that helps.....

 

[Hands Sandon]

At the Apple store, I went thinking about buying the 13 inch, but fell in love with the 11 inch.
My purpose is web browsing, some picture editing, and writing..I am a going to use Microsoft word. Mostly will be writing, writing, writing. Portability very important.
I am considering going with the base model. I can pay for the upgrade in RAM and storage, but want to make the sensible elegant decision.
I hear some talk about the Lion upgrade. Why should I even care about that?Will I need it? Why?
How hard is it to write on this size machine?
Also, I was going to buy it from the source listed on the Insider website. Do I pay tax? Do you suggest getting the extended warrantee?
Thanks!

I think you can buy AppleCare anytime during the first year of warranty.

I bought the 11" and returned it the following day for the 13". I'll wait for the 11" to be upgraded and get the ultimate of that. The 13" is more of an all rounder because of the bigger screen mostly and the better speakers.

One feature in Lion I think I would like on both the 13" and 11" is double tapping to zoom in Safari, just like iOS devices. I personally wouldn't want the 11" inch without that because I like text big. Changing the minimum text size in Safari messes up the web page layout too much, you get overlapping text etc.

 

[climbasky]

Went to the Apple store last night, tried typing into MS word.
The keyboard is in fact quite adequate, the size of the page display however seemed to be not tall enough, even after removing some of the headers, and making the icons at the bottom disappear. No way around this on the 11 inch I suppose.
The guys at the store suggested that the Ipad2, with a blue tooth keyboard may also be adequate, the document displayed on word would be taller, but I think I prefer the more traditional lap top configuration.
Appreciate all your comments, and any further thoughts.
WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST I GET, I GUESS, IS WHAT I AM ASKING! THANKS!

 

[rovex]

I myself am considering getting a 13 inch but the thing is severely underpowered for my needs...

What are the chances of the next MBA's having a core i7 chip??

 

[Buck987]

I myself am considering getting a 13 inch but the thing is severely underpowered for my needs...

What are the chances of the next MBA's having a core i7 chip??

possible...but why not get a MBP now and add the SSD...plenty of power

 

[YMark]

WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST I GET, I GUESS, IS WHAT I AM ASKING! THANKS!

For your use in your original post, I SUGGEST THE BASIC 11.6" MODEL. Why spend money on stuff you won't need. The 11.6 will NEVER be a workhorse (I don't care how much ram you put in the thing), and for what you're doing, the basic is fine.

 

[Mr. Savage]

WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST I GET, I GUESS, IS WHAT I AM ASKING! THANKS!

My own experience was similar to yours.

I went in to the Apple store when the new MBAs were released with the sole intent on getting the 13 inch and had zero interest in the 11—until I actually saw it "in person." Suddenly my decision became much more difficult.

After walking out empty handed due to not being able to decide which one to get, I spent literally a week trying to shake the "WOW" factor of the 11 and came very close to buying it instead of the 13. But in the end after spending time with each, I realized the screen was simply too small (vertically) to spend hours upon hours a day on.

I bought the 13 and have not for a second regretted it: More vertical screen real estate; larger trackpad; slightly larger fonts; and another thing that rarely gets mentioned is the optimally sized palm rests on the 13 (the 11's edge stops right at the "heel" of my wrist and is far less comfortable and is always making its presence felt).

I say go 13 MBA. I suspect if you were already less than thrilled with some aspects of the 11 when you demo'd it, those problematic areas you mentioned would only become more annoying once the "Wow factor" fades.

 

[fireballer55]

You will love it! However, get the 128ssd

 

[mutsaers-vr.nl]

Yes the "optimally sized palm rests on the 13 (the 11's edge stops right at the "heel" of my wrist and is far less comfortable and is always making its presence felt)" is for me the only reason to go for the 13.3" if real estate is no issue

My own experience was similar to yours.

I went in to the Apple store when the new MBAs were released with the sole intent on getting the 13 inch and had zero interest in the 11—until I actually saw it "in person." Suddenly my decision became much more difficult.

After walking out empty handed due to not being able to decide which one to get. I spent literally a week trying to shake the "WOW" factor of the 11 and came very close to buying it instead of the 13. But in the end after spending time with each, I realized the screen was simply too small (vertically) to spend hours upon hours a day on.

I bought the 13 and have not for a second regretted it: More vertical screen real estate; larger trackpad; slightly larger fonts; and another thing that rarely gets mentioned is the optimally sized palm rests on the 13 (the 11's edge stops right at the "heel" of my wrist and is far less comfortable and is always making its presence felt).

I say go 13 MBA. I suspect if you were already less than thrilled with some aspects of the 11 when you demo'd it, those problematic areas you mentioned would only become more annoying once the "Wow factor" fades.

 

[thatBoymathi]

At the Apple store, I went thinking about buying the 13 inch, but fell in love with the 11 inch.
My purpose is web browsing, some picture editing, and writing..I am a going to use Microsoft word. Mostly will be writing, writing, writing. Portability very important.
I am considering going with the base model. I can pay for the upgrade in RAM and storage, but want to make the sensible elegant decision.
I hear some talk about the Lion upgrade. Why should I even care about that?Will I need it? Why?
How hard is it to write on this size machine?
Also, I was going to buy it from the source listed on the Insider website. Do I pay tax? Do you suggest getting the extended warrantee?
Thanks!

Yeah, the little 11 inch is a charmer.

 

[Scottsdale]

Yes the "optimally sized palm rests on the 13 (the 11's edge stops right at the "heel" of my wrist and is far less comfortable and is always making its presence felt)" is for me the only reason to go for the 13.3" if real estate is no issue

This is one of the biggest problems with the 11" and led me to believe the 13" MBA is the perfect size Mac. In addition, I now decided I can live with the bezel, as I used to think the 11" should have a 13" display in it and eliminate the bezel. Now I believe the true "ultimate " MBA is the current 13.3" model with approximately a 14.5" display in it reducing the bezel to a bead of aluminum. It all comes down to usability, and the 11" is not more mobile while still being as capable. Therefore for me the mobility advantages of the 11" were extremely minimal over the 13", and the 13" has advantages everywhere while still incredibly mobile. Bigger display, higher resolution, better size for usability, faster CPU, SD card port, and larger storage options. For me the 13" MBA is the ultimate MBA ever, and I wouldn't want to give up the experience to save a half a pound and be disappointed all the time with the compromises.

 

[climbasky]

Excellent feedback...I will need to steel myself away from the beauty and the perfect feel of the 11 and go with the 13...or just continue to agonize indefinitely? These guys know what they are doing, dont they!

 

[J&JPolangin]

I had an 11" base model I got for $854 NIB and now a 13" base model that I got NIB for $1160 and I'm having a hard time liking the 13" after using the form factor of the 11" for 14 days... I picked up the 13" on Sunday so that gives me another 12 days of use to change my mind = I'm not so sure the $306 difference between the two justifies the extra $$ for my needs on this type of machine with what else I have to use at home.

Our base PX only carries the "base models" of all Apples they stock so you can't CTO them unless you go directly to apple and then you have to use a re-shipper such as APO box which adds another ~$130 to the cost of the item cutting into the applecare and accessory fundage

If I do decide to wait, it will be for an 11" model with Sandy or Ivy Bridge and I'll keep using my whitebook and HP DM4 in my signature lines until then...(I wish I could decide about this easier)

Scottsdale, please convince me

 

[Scottsdale]

I had an 11" base model I got for $854 NIB and now a 13" base model that I got NIB for $1160 and I'm having a hard time liking the 13" after using the form factor of the 11" for 14 days... I picked up the 13" on Sunday so that gives me another 12 days of use to change my mind = I'm not so sure the $306 difference between the two justifies the extra $$ for my needs on this type of machine with what else I have to use at home.

Our base PX only carries the "base models" of all Apples they stock so you can't CTO them unless you go directly to apple and then you have to use a re-shipper such as APO box which adds another ~$130 to the cost of the item cutting into the applecare and accessory fundage

If I do decide to wait, it will be for an 11" model with Sandy or Ivy Bridge and I'll keep using my whitebook and HP DM4 in my signature lines until then...(I wish I could decide about this easier)

Scottsdale, please convince me

If you are happy with the 11" then switch back. I think it's a mistake for people to wait for MBA updates as they are unpredictable. In addition, a 2011 SB update isn't likely to bring a better overall performing MBA.

Some people don't need 4GB of RAM, but if you do you should find a way to do it. However Apple wouldn't be selling MBAs with 2GB RAM right now if they didn't think it would handle Lion excellently. Unless you're using a lot of apps or running a VM the 2GB RAM might work for you.

Good luck whatever you do. I wouldn't recommend anyone wait given the current MBAs are Apple's best Macs ever and they are more capable than Intel's marketing would have everyone believe without SB.

 

[christophermdia]

I debated the 11 vs 13 for quite sometime. I am coming from a 15" i7 MBP 2010. I still own the 15 but just cant lug it around anymore. So decided I wanted the air. I played with the 11 a bunch and was dead set on it, but in the end, I knew I would be doing a lot of spreadsheets and work with pictures a bunch so the 13 was the most practical. In the end, screen size and the inclusion of the SD slot won me over.....I still want the 11 just for fun though!

 

[J&JPolangin]

If you are happy with the 11" then switch back. I think it's a mistake for people to wait for MBA updates as they are unpredictable. In addition, a 2011 SB update isn't likely to bring a better overall performing MBA.

Some people don't need 4GB of RAM, but if you do you should find a way to do it. However Apple wouldn't be selling MBAs with 2GB RAM right now if they didn't think it would handle Lion excellently. Unless you're using a lot of apps or running a VM the 2GB RAM might work for you.

Good luck whatever you do. I wouldn't recommend anyone wait given the current MBAs are Apple's best Macs ever and they are more capable than Intel's marketing would have everyone believe without SB.

...the battery life of the 13" is growing on me but the form factor of the 11" is still very much my preference given that I don't "need" a new laptop.

Both of my whitebook and HP DM4 have their own SSD's installed (if only I could sell either one for a good price to offset the cost of a MBA purchase).

Thank you for your thoughts and comments, I appreciate the feedback!

V/r,
Jeff