I think I messed up...

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I bought a Rev B 1.86/128GB on ebay a couple months ago for 1600. I really loved the form factor, and the portability. I have to run a couple of VMs and the memory issue was starting to become a factor. When apple announced the new 13" MBP's last week I thought that would be the answer to my needs. By some miracle, I managed to sell my air for $1875 on ebay, even with the new price cuts.

I got my 13" 2.53 MBP last friday, put an SSD in it.. Great little machine (even if I'm not getting the full power of the SSD because of the 1.5 sata). I have to say, while on paper it doesn't seem like much of a difference, walking around with this thing is like night and day. I hardly noticed the air in my bag before, and now it feels like I have a brick in there.

Call me crazy, but I think the keyboard is a lot more tactile on the air as well. I think that's what I miss the most. I'm really debating returning the MBP and getting a refurb rev b. As far a portability goes, there's no comparison.

If the air had 4gb of ram this would be a much easier decision. :-(

 

[gibbz]

You could play the grass-is-greener game forever. In all honesty, you are going from 3.0 lbs. to 4.5 lbs. with the tradeoff being upgradability and power. I say just be happy with what you have if it meets your needs.

 

[efegue]

It's quite a decision, Portability vs RAM! I prefer Portability, but I also need 4GB of RAM, I'll wait some more month's again...

If the Air had 4GB it would sell like popcorn.

 

[xpovos]

I have to say, while on paper it doesn't seem like much of a difference, walking around with this thing is like night and day. I hardly noticed the air in my bag before, and now it feels like I have a brick in there.

You're absolutely right. If it's any consolation, you do eventually get used to the added bulk and weight of the MBP, but there are never any illusions that the difference is much less than you originally thought. It is a night-day difference, to be sure, and the weight and form factor are really the only compelling reasons to choose the Air over the 13" MBP.

I finally went with the MBP because of all the horrible screens I had seen on the MBA. (I had a rev A with an absolutely beautiful screen, about a year ago, but sold it for other reasons. My rev B screen was atrocious and unacceptable, and it went back 24 hours later.) I chose the 15" MBP because I figured if I was already giving up the two main reasons to choose an Air, I might as well go ahead and get a larger screen with higher resolution. But I still really miss the Air every time I pick up the MBP or my wife's 13" MacBook.

 

[Scottsdale]

Why not hold onto it for awhile and update it when the MBA is updated next. A few people, myself included, think the high end MBA is still on the way. I think we will get a new high end MBA within the next four months. I would think it will at least have 4 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD. I wouldn't even be surprised to see an OLED display. There have been rumors of one this year. Apple signed a big deal with LG who makes an OLED display and is ready this Summer. Jobs is coming back and may introduce a new product which could be an iTablet (I could see him wanting to introduce the OLED display in the MBA too. But, it's just a best guess on the OLED. I definitely think the SSD and RAM updates are coming to the MBA, but it will be a high end in the $2199 to $2499 price range with those updates... do you want to spend that much. Last thing, if you update now, I would recommend you spend the little extra money for the new 2.13 over refurbished 1.86. There is a new battery, and I am getting over a half hour more life between charges. The 2 GHz barrier being broken truly helps and some HD video playback apps stat 2 GHz as minimum CPU speed... like HD video on iTunes requires minimum 2 GHz. Also, it appears the 9400m is no longer throttled down and Apple states 6x video performance now (4x on last MBA).

Good luck whichever route you go. The MBA is an amazingly fun Mac while still a heck of a performer in its lightweight Air case.

 

[haoqfu]

I bought a Rev B 1.86/128GB on ebay a couple months ago for 1600. I really loved the form factor, and the portability. I have to run a couple of VMs and the memory issue was starting to become a factor. When apple announced the new 13" MBP's last week I thought that would be the answer to my needs. By some miracle, I managed to sell my air for $1875 on ebay, even with the new price cuts.

I got my 13" 2.53 MBP last friday, put an SSD in it.. Great little machine (even if I'm not getting the full power of the SSD because of the 1.5 sata). I have to say, while on paper it doesn't seem like much of a difference, walking around with this thing is like night and day. I hardly noticed the air in my bag before, and now it feels like I have a brick in there.

Call me crazy, but I think the keyboard is a lot more tactile on the air as well. I think that's what I miss the most. I'm really debating returning the MBP and getting a refurb rev b. As far a portability goes, there's no comparison.

If the air had 4gb of ram this would be a much easier decision. :-(

some one finally feels my pain!! it is truly night and day between mba and mbp. for those who says mbp is not so heavy, try out mba, i believe it will be hard for you go back.

Why not hold onto it for awhile and update it when the MBA is updated next. A few people, myself included, think the high end MBA is still on the way. I think we will get a new high end MBA within the next four months. I would think it will at least have 4 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD. I wouldn't even be surprised to see an OLED display. There have been rumors of one this year. Apple signed a big deal with LG who makes an OLED display and is ready this Summer. Jobs is coming back and may introduce a new product which could be an iTablet (I could see him wanting to introduce the OLED display in the MBA too. But, it's just a best guess on the OLED. I definitely think the SSD and RAM updates are coming to the MBA, but it will be a high end in the $2199 to $2499 price range with those updates... do you want to spend that much. Last thing, if you update now, I would recommend you spend the little extra money for the new 2.13 over refurbished 1.86. There is a new battery, and I am getting over a half hour more life between charges. The 2 GHz barrier being broken truly helps and some HD video playback apps stat 2 GHz as minimum CPU speed... like HD video on iTunes requires minimum 2 GHz. Also, it appears the 9400m is no longer throttled down and Apple states 6x video performance now (4x on last MBA).

Good luck whichever route you go. The MBA is an amazingly fun Mac while still a heck of a performer in its lightweight Air case.

i'm waiting patiently as well...... i will finally settling down in mba as long as the battery life is greatly improved. 4GB RAM would be great too... but before Jobs giving me a satisfying mba, i will have to stick w/ my uMB 13.3". it is a nice brick tho........

 

[bugout]

You make some good points Scottsdale. I might just hold out for the next Rev.

Battery life really isn't important to me. I've never been in a situation where I needed more battery. Ram is the #1 priority.

 

[hodgeheg]

Personally I thought I could never go back either - and I'm not denying there is a substantial difference, but having ditched the Air for reasons of quality and poor customer service for something that weighs only about 90g less than a 13" MBP I can't say I noticed for long. You might get used to it, but what I would say is that if the new air isn't what you want either, you might be better waiting. It is always a bit of a waiting game - there is the risk that Steve Jobs doesn't think the Air needs 4GB so it won't get it for ages whatever we all think, but I suspect it will before long, if only because of increasing competition (not that the Adamo is even slightly a worthy competitor IMO, but it *does* have a 4GB option!). There's also a hope the screen thing might get fixed with another revision. I know what you mean about the keyboards though - they look identical and seemingly should be identical, but I preferred the Air to the MB any day! Consider the trackpads though - how do you feel? many people prefer the MBP glass one to the Air.

I think whoever said you can always do the "Grass is greener" thing is spot on, but the *upside* of that is that it's usually possible to decide the grass is greener where you already are if you count advantages instead of disadvantages. Either way, assuming it's in good condition, you have a nice computer. If the weight thing is just too much, go back, but if you can hold out a while, you'll get more for your money, as always.

 

[orrelse44]

I've got a tad bit of buyer's remorse going right now too. I bought a 13" MBP today--and I already miss my MBA (well, it is in the other room so I could go caress it if I really need to ). The screen on the MBP is a disappointment so far--but I'll tweak some settings and see if I can correct that. This MBP is friggin fast though--holy buckets.

In a few weeks my MBA will make someone on ebay happy.

 

[mac jones]

I have a macbook unibody but I use the Air.

The reality is I don't do any heavy lifting so what's the point?

(the Air has a very good keyboard BTW)