Opinions on Buying a new Air

[axu539]

So I've already made my decision to buy a new 2011 MBA (this isn't one of those 'buy now or wait' threads. I sold my 2010 11" a month ago in anticipation of the refresh (I really need a little extra oomph in the processing department, and I do have the change to spare right now).

My original plan was to get a base 11" MBA with upgraded RAM, but I recently booked a trip out of the country for this weekend, and I really need a computer. This makes a BTO machine out of the question, leaving me with two options (more like 1.5 if my concerns prove to be valid). I'm currently thinking that I'll be left with these options: just spend the extra dough on an ultimate 11" in-store, or just wait until I get back from my trip before buying the machine.

There are some issues, though. If the stores don't even stock the ultimate configurations in-store, I really don't have a choice but to tough it out until after my trip to buy. I wouldn't be able to stick with a base machine. Does anyone know if the 2010 MBA had ultimate configs in store the first week? If it helps, I am in Northern California, so I do have access to the two Apple stores that the execs frequent (Palo Alto and Valley Fair), if that makes a difference at all.

My other option has its caveats too. I will definitely need a machine for the 3 weeks I am gone, so if I don't get a new MBA, I'll be lugging a 17" MBP across the world. Carrying 7 lb around really won't be terribly fun. I'm mostly worried about the safety of my machine in another country, since I'll basically be going from hotel to hotel, with a lot of moving around. Granted, this option allows me to wait until I get back to school in August, where the taxes are much lower, so I'd not only be able to get a BTO option, I'd also save even more cash on taxes.

I'd like to add that ALL of this banks on the fact that MBAs are even coming out this week. I realize that they're just rumors, this thread is purely about opinions.

So, anybody have an opinion on the route I should take? I'm really pretty torn about this. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

 

[42streetsdown]

if they come out tomorrow morning, and you order one online right away it might be there for the weekend. It usually only takes a day or two to ship to California from China.

I feel like the Apple store will probably have the high BTO options in stock. they do make a lot of money off of those.

 

[axu539]

if they come out tomorrow morning, and you order one online right away it might be there for the weekend. It usually only takes a day or two to ship to California from China.

I feel like the Apple store will probably have the high BTO options in stock. they do make a lot of money off of those.

I probably won't be risking a BTO, since I leave Saturday morning, and it'd be such a shame for it to arrive right after I leave. Fingers are crossed for the ultimates in stores tomorrow or Wednesday!

 

[KPOM]

If the 11" gets a 256GB option and they are available in store I'll probably get one. Over the weekend, I spilled water on my 11" and while the Apple Store graciously waived the $755 repair charge, I'll probably sell it when I get it back (making full disclosures to the buyer, of course) and move on. I'm starting to push the limits of the 128GB. Plus, since Apple was nice about the repair, I'll pay them back by buying it at the store instead of waiting for a MacMall discount.

 

[Duke15]

How much ram do you want because it may come with 4gigs std

 

[theSeb]

if they come out tomorrow morning, and you order one online right away it might be there for the weekend. It usually only takes a day or two to ship to California from China.

I feel like the Apple store will probably have the high BTO options in stock. they do make a lot of money off of those.

The apple stores in London have the ultimate 2010 MBA so I am hoping that it will be the same for the 2011 models

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I'd seriously recommend waiting until you get back before buying anything.

Yes, I know it's uncomfortable lugging extra computer weight around hotels, and foreign countries (I've done it; it's one of the main reasons I bought a MBA).

However, if you wait until you return from your trip before buying, you will most certainly have the security of knowing that what you are buying is exactly the computer you want, rather than the best option you could get before your trip. Besides, having a new computer to look forward to at the end of a trip, is always something extra special (I have done that, too).

Cheers and good luck with it

 

[CapnJackGig]

As someone that's been using Macs for decades, I would never recommend rushing a purchase, especially when it comes with a launch MacOS. New Macs tend to have hardware issues, and new MacOSes always have major problems until about 3 service packs later.

 

[cleric]

As someone that's been using Macs for decades, I would never recommend rushing a purchase, especially when it comes with a launch MacOS. New Macs tend to have hardware issues, and new MacOSes always have major problems until about 3 service packs later.

I've been using Lion GM for a couple weeks now it seems pretty stable its a pretty minor update really. As for the new hardware if you need a new computer get one if not wait.

 

[fyrefly]

There's also the concern that the BTO "ultimates" won't be available in stores - at least not right away.

When the 2010 MBA's came out, it was at least a week (if I'm remembering correctly) before anything but the stock models were available in the B&M Apple Stores...

 

[clyde2801]

As someone that's been using Macs for decades, I would never recommend rushing a purchase, especially when it comes with a launch MacOS. New Macs tend to have hardware issues, and new MacOSes always have major problems until about 3 service packs later.

An old school Mac friend of mine, called it 'the first Apple commandment': Thou shalt NOT buy a version A.

 

[CapnJackGig]

An old school Mac friend of mine, called it 'the first Apple commandment': Thou shalt NOT buy a version A.

Amen. And versions B and C aren't usually that good either.

 

[clyde2801]

Eh, not sure I agree with you that much. I'm wondering if the paradigm even counts anymore, since Apple got on the intel bandwagon. They're throwing out so many kinds of processors, graphics and storage options, you could make an argument that revisions don't event count as such anymore. It's not like they're going from a 1.4 to a 1.5 ghz chip like they did in the power pc era.

 

[calvol]

I would wait to see if there's any heat issues with the Sandy Bridge version.

 

[axu539]

I'd seriously recommend waiting until you get back before buying anything.

Yes, I know it's uncomfortable lugging extra computer weight around hotels, and foreign countries (I've done it; it's one of the main reasons I bought a MBA).

However, if you wait until you return from your trip before buying, you will most certainly have the security of knowing that what you are buying is exactly the computer you want, rather than the best option you could get before your trip. Besides, having a new computer to look forward to at the end of a trip, is always something extra special (I have done that, too).

Cheers and good luck with it

You've expressed my concerns perfectly, but you also hit home on the extra computer weight. I had a 15" MBP before this year, and I found even that to be a bit of a pain to lug around. When I had my 2010 MBA, I'd gone on maybe 2-3 trips with it already, and the weight difference is absolutely night and day. And, to make things sweeter, I didn't have to take it out at airport security (except for one TSA agent who had no idea what he was talking about - just for kicks I already had the TSA announcement, that the 11" Air could stay in the bag, printed out and on hand).

I guess I really won't be able to make a decision until they actually come out. Thanks for your input!

 

[axu539]

How much ram do you want because it may come with 4gigs std

While 4 GB standard is awesome, I'm going to get as much RAM as the Airs can carry. I like the peace of mind knowing that 1) the machine is somewhat future proof for future software, and 2) I can be a bit more liberal about my task managing. If 8 GB becomes an option, I will definitely go for it.

 

[clyde2801]

What would truly be awesome is ram that is not soldered onto the logic board. Apple could show some love to their 3rd party resellers and AASP's.

You're then going to jump out of your chair at Starbucks, spilling your latte in the process, and exclaim it's that way because of necessities in the design.

I'll then take a sip of my old fashioned cup of coffee and respond that they designed it that way to upsell people to the next model.

 

[axu539]

What would truly be awesome is ram that is not soldered onto the logic board. Apple could show some love to their 3rd party resellers and AASP's.

You're then going to jump out of your chair at Starbucks, spilling your latte in the process, and exclaim it's that way because of necessities in the design.

I'll then take a sip of my old fashioned cup of coffee and respond that they designed it that way to upsell people to the next model.

I couldn't agree more that it would be amazing to have replaceable RAM on the Airs, along with more commonly acquirable SSD types. However, I'll only half-agree that it was designed to upsell the next model (definitely has truth in it, though). However, there's absolutely a design aspect in the Air, and space constraints are absolutely an issue. If you've seen the iFixit teardowns of the 2010 Airs, there really isn't much room in there for anything else, especially considering that heat is definitely an issue in machines of this size.