MBA 11 vs. 13 + iPad2

[All In]

Getting a new MBA from work. Moving off of IBM ThinkPad T4xx finally. Excited for a lighter laptop due to all of the travel (air and local meetings/presentations). I'm in sales and a heavy email, ppt, word, excel, onenote user.

Should I go for the portability in coach with the MBA11? I was thinking the MBA13 offers greater screen realestate so I could team it with an iPad2 for the plane.

Most of the time I'll use it at work with an external monitor/kb/mouse. When I'm at home I'm usually working on the coffee table. Can't decide between the two sizes or portability options. I'm thinking basic 128GB, 4GB RAM, any processor should be fine.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[bowlerman625]

The 11 inch would serve you well I think.

 

[mattiowa]

Go for it

I had the 11" and I now have the 13" + the iPad 2. My eyes just got worn out working with the 11".

 

[jmoore5196]

I bought a base 13" the week the new MBAs were introduced. I wish I'd waited ... I'd have bought the Ultimate instead!

The 13" is a terrific machine. The screen is awesome and offers a real estate premium compared to the 11.6" MBA. I bought an 11.6" Ultimate and then returned it; I just could not get used to scrolling through everything.

Like you, I have an iPad 2. When I travel, I carry both ... the iPad is the go-to device for travel time, but I can get serious work done on the 13" MBA.

That's not to say that the 11.6" isn't a beautiful machine - it is! But if you have an iPad 2, it rather renders the 11.6" redundant ... or vice-versa. The iPad is my presentation tool, so I need both. That's my justification anyway!

 

[All In]

The iPad is my presentation tool, so I need both. That's my justification anyway!

Are you conducting presentations from your iPad? I do a lot of presentations, so I'll need to create and edit. I can see how scrolling all the time would be a pain, especially with excel. It would be nice to carry my livescribe and an ipad2 to my business meetings (lots of meetings).

So the concensus is work use the MBA13. Bring the iPad2 for airplane, entertainment, email+web.

 

[entatlrg]

I'd suggest the 13" Air and iPad, you'll enjoy both!

 

[Eggtastic]

you mentioned that you use an external monitor when at home, so my suggestion would probably be 11 mba alone. i feel that the 13 mba and ipad 2 would be a bit redundant because both are very portable.

if you have the money, then go for it. but i've lost count of how many people have returned their ipads because it just a "big ipod touch". plus with the 11 mba you have that portability and of course a desktop interface.

 

[jmoore5196]

I do sales presentations from the iPad. Everything we use is in portrait mode, which just isn't feasible with a landscape-oriented laptop.

I know this is an MBA forum - which I hugely enjoy - but I beg leave to mention that there's nothing quite like an iPad to break executive preoccupation! Even the busiest business owner stops dead in his or her tracks to watch an iPad presentation ... something you probably could not achieve with an MBA or laptop.

 

[All In]

I'm finding most business users have the MBA11 Ultimate. I think I'll try that out, may still use the iPad for presentations or as a bluetooth control panel.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[MBABuyer]

My friend who flies to New York twice a week, and is always doing work on the go uses a 13" version.

He says it is great to have a 13" because you get more memory, screen space, and still have the mobility. Also, you dont have to carry an external memory if you dont fill up the higher SSD on the computer.