The 11" doesn't really make any sense at all (for anyone)?

[vladgur]

How do you think the eventual Sandy Bridge 11" MBA will handle HD video (for iMovie or maybe Final Cut X)? Curious as a potential future buyer who wants to also downgrade from their current MBP.

Im assuming 11" SB MBA will handle HD video just as WELL or as POORLY as 13" macbook pro with i5 cpu. The resolution is practically the same and cpus will be similar at the top end(again assumption).
However, if my requirement was HD video on the go, i would go for a 15" or 17" laptop with Hi-Res screen and as much RAM as possible.

 

[ritmomundo]

Yeh a friend has the 11" and tbh i think its just too small. All the applications don't sit right because everythings so squished, to see anything you have to constantly zoom in and out, then you have to scroll around because a whole word document for example can't all be viewed clearly at the same time. If the size isn't vital to you then i'd defiantly choose the 13" especially seeing as it'd preform better anyway.
Just my opinion.

Uh.. what? I have the 11" and I dont have to zoom in and out constantly, or scroll all around word documents. And no, Im not 15 with perfect vision either. Maybe you need to get some glasses.

Back on topic, I got the 11" for the portability, and its perfect for me. I sold my 13" MBP because it wasn't portable enough for my needs, and I've got a desktop with a 27" monitor for when I do work at home.

 

[afd]

Personally, I can't see the point of a 13" air, I'd rather have a 13" Mbp. The Mbp has more stuff and has a similar footprint, I'd only be gaining in thinness and pixels. I've used a 12" PB since 2004 and so can very much see the advantage of the 11" air I think the small footprint (to me anyway) is more important than the lightness and thinness.

 

[endhalf]

I'm sorry, can some1 explain to me what exactly is foodprint on laptops? I'm foreigner, not native speaker (as you clearly can see) and it doesn't make any sence to me. Is it the space on the bottom of laptop where laptop is touching a table?

 

[GGJstudios]

I'm sorry, can some1 explain to me what exactly is foodprint on laptops? I'm foreigner, not native speaker (as you clearly can see) and it doesn't make any sence to me. Is it the space on the bottom of laptop where laptop is touching a table?

Yes, the footprint is the space it takes up on a table or desk. It's similar to the space taken up by your foot when you step on something.

 

[Hankster]

I hate to break it to you but different people prefer different things. I have the 11" MBA and I prefer it over the 13". The 11" is smaller and much easier to carry around than the 13". And, unless you're doing serious processing you don't need any of the extra specs the 13" has over the 11".

It really depends on the user, saying the 11" is pointless is very ignorant considering it's selling very well.

 

[Hankster]

Yeh a friend has the 11" and tbh i think its just too small. All the applications don't sit right because everythings so squished, to see anything you have to constantly zoom in and out, then you have to scroll around because a whole word document for example can't all be viewed clearly at the same time. If the size isn't vital to you then i'd defiantly choose the 13" especially seeing as it'd preform better anyway.
Just my opinion.

It's pretty clear you haven't used the 11" for an extended period of time. I use Word, Excel, Outlook, and browser all at the same time. I never have to "zoom in". In regards to scrolling, you have to do that with the 13" also if it's a large document.

Sorry, but it's funny when people who don't have the device try and comment on the use of it. And, playing with a device for a bit doesn't count. It's the same reason everyone who "plays" with the BlackBerry PlayBook thinks it's awesome, but when they buy it and use it for a few days they're like "This thing sucks".

 

[blairh]

I think the 11" MBA is actually way more alluring than the 13" model. Like others have said, unless you need the extra power of the 13" models, or need those extra 2 hours of battery life, then the 11" is an excellent option.

 

[reputationZed]

Say* one is considering ....

You lost me by beginning your argument with a third person indefinite pronoun.

As others have already said the 11" MBA holds a unique position in the Apple line, the 13" y'all could say is just a MacBook with a low power CPU.

 

[reputationZed]

It's pretty clear you haven't used the 11" for an extended period of time. I use Word, Excel, Outlook, and browser all at the same time. I never have to "zoom in". In regards to scrolling, you have to do that with the 13" also if it's a large document.

Sorry, but it's funny when people who don't have the device try and comment on the use of it. And, playing with a device for a bit doesn't count. It's the same reason everyone who "plays" with the BlackBerry PlayBook thinks it's awesome, but when they buy it and use it for a few days they're like "This thing sucks".

Not to mention that some of the upcoming features in Lion, Mission Control, Launchpad, the new multitouch gestures, mitigate many of the arguments against smaller displays. The 11" MBA may benefit more from Lion than the rest of Apples OSX line.

 

[Q2Air2Pro]

MBA 11" vs. MBA 13" vs. MBP 13"

I bought a 11" MBA (1.4GHz/2GB/64GB) last month.
- Pro's: light, fast, crisp screen.
- Cons: very little vertical space; Since I work a lot with Word, Powerpoint, and PDFs, I got tired of scrolling up and down.

After 2 weeks I traded the 11" in for a 13" MBA (1.86GHz/2GB/128GB).
- Pro's: perfect screen for Word, Powerpoint, Chrome, Endnote, and Acrobat.
- Cons: limited RAM, will it be enough when HTML5 breaks out? Limited processor power, only noticable by me when adding references in Word (using Endnote).

So now I traded the MBA in for a MBP 13" (2.3GHz/4GB/320GB).*
- Pro's: Adding references in Word is without any hesitation.
- Cons: (1) After a month of "airing" this feels like a brick carrying around! (2) Although the processor should be twice as fast as the MBA 11", every other task than Endnoting into Word, is slower in the MBP. (3) Most importantly, because of the resolution (compared to MBA 13"), I find myself scrolling up and down again more often!

I hope this helps to people in similar situations as I was in, debating which one to get?

*) All this trading in is perfectly legal, the Apple Store actually advised me to do so.

 

[vladgur]

Have you considered buying refurbished from apple? you get computers that look and work like new with full 1 year applecare at significant discount.

Furthermore, Id recommend buying as much ram as u can afford on MBA, both 4gb/128gb 11" is $1159 on refurb store and 4gb/128gb 13" MBA is $1189 on refurb store.

The perceived slowdown on 13" MBP vs perceived speed on MBA is due to SSD vs 5400RPM HD which is heavily used in OSX for memory virtualization. The 20x difference in speed is pretty significant when the OS offloads some bits into virtual RAM storage

Im switched to MBA 11" from 15" Hires Macbook Pro with 1680x1050 resolution and while vertical resolution takes some time to get used to, there are some tools to help you deal with it.
1) Spaces -- learn it, love it
2) RightZoom -- key shortcut to force the window to take maximum available space: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/30591/right-zoom
3) minimize and autohide the dock

 

[BornAgainMac]

I have both maxed out and I like the 11 inch one the most. Once I hook it up to an external display, I hardly notice the difference between the 13 inch. I wish I had the 256 GB drive in the 11 inch only because I want to have lots of space for Lion and it's features like FileVault 2 and Versions.

 

[leftywamumonkey]

Why didn't you compare the volume or the foot print (surface area)? Those are very important factors.

 

[vladgur]

I have both maxed out and I like the 11 inch one the most. Once I hook it up to an external display, I hardly notice the difference between the 13 inch. I wish I had the 256 GB drive in the 11 inch only because I want to have lots of space for Lion and it's features like FileVault 2 and Versions.

I had space concerns for a while, but even after loading up two development environments, i still have half of my 128GB ssd available(I did run CleanMyMac app at some point to remove unneccessary language translations and printer drivers and such)

I dont see why FileVault 2 will need extra space(and id like to know if and how they will make it work with TimeMachine), but Versions will definitely require extra space, but I hope they will provide some controls for you to manage the disk space requirements.

Furthermore, I think by the time I outgrow the 128GB SSD I will probably want to buy the new SB version

 

[Yinmay]

The 11's small when you need it, plane, train, etc.
And size is totally irrelevant at home or at the office when hooked up to an external display.

But because of the 16:9 screen ratio and the 128 GB max, I ended up with the 13".

 

[Bottomsup]

I labored over buying the 13 vs the 11 and really thought the 11 would be too small. I bought the 11 and love it. The resolution is surprisingly good IMO especially compared to a similar res acer netbook I have. I think it's because the MBA screen is of such high quality.

I work in an office and am using my MBA as my primary hooked to a 24 inch monitor. I travel a fair amount and it's spectacular for that. Docking isn't as nice as the Thinkpad it replaced but it's quick to plug in a few wires (power, USB hub, mini display port)

When traveling or using undocked the only problem I've had with the screen is with PowerPoint documents that have complex architectural diagrams which can be pretty small. I work in software dev and view a decent number of these but it's tolerable. The awesome think is the OSX feature to zoom which helps. This certainly isn't a deterrent that makes me miss my 6+ lb windows machine.

The only other part of my daily workflow that I found harder at first is that I often review documents and relpy with comments to them on email. On my Thinkpad with 1900x1200 res I could view side by side which isn't possible on the 11 inch MBA, however the OSX feature "spaces" saved the day . What I do is pin my email to one space and the document to the other and with a simple ctrl-arrow command I can quickly toggle between to view, add comments to email, view next page/slide, and back to email for more comments. This works very well.

Actually this is a tangent but I very much like keyboard shortcuts and OSX blows windows away in this regard IMO.

anyway hope this insight into my usage pattern helps

 

[Bwa]

I have a maxes out 13" air and previously had two other ssd Airs.

I am thinking about buying another Air; a maxed out 11" for one simple reason: Easier to use on an airplane. If you fly as much as I do (76,000 miles this year and counting), that is reason enough.

 

[revelated]

I bought a 11" MBA (1.4GHz/2GB/64GB) last month.
- Pro's: light, fast, crisp screen.
- Cons: very little vertical space; Since I work a lot with Word, Powerpoint, and PDFs, I got tired of scrolling up and down.

After 2 weeks I traded the 11" in for a 13" MBA (1.86GHz/2GB/128GB).
- Pro's: perfect screen for Word, Powerpoint, Chrome, Endnote, and Acrobat.
- Cons: limited RAM, will it be enough when HTML5 breaks out? Limited processor power, only noticable by me when adding references in Word (using Endnote).

So now I traded the MBA in for a MBP 13" (2.3GHz/4GB/320GB).*
- Pro's: Adding references in Word is without any hesitation.
- Cons: (1) After a month of "airing" this feels like a brick carrying around! (2) Although the processor should be twice as fast as the MBA 11", every other task than Endnoting into Word, is slower in the MBP. (3) Most importantly, because of the resolution (compared to MBA 13"), I find myself scrolling up and down again more often!

I hope this helps to people in similar situations as I was in, debating which one to get?

*) All this trading in is perfectly legal, the Apple Store actually advised me to do so.

MacBook Pro con is largely negated with a Solid State drive. Period. I keep telling people this.

If you took the $1499 MacBook Pro and went with a 128 Samsung 470, you'd hit the price point of the highest end MacBook Air, but the Pro would literally make the Air feel absolutely sluggish in comparison. Then all it has is form factor - which for me, was an unacceptable tradeoff. I do like the Air form factor. But the price just cannot be justified with how weak it really is compared to a properly equipped Pro.

 

[streetfighter]

dumbest thread ever.

 

[zodqyv]

Since the fall I have used an 11" Air, and iPad, and an iPhone almost exclusively. I have a 2010 Mac Pro but of late the only time I have used it has been to play a few hours of World of Warcraft.

After spending more and more time with the iPad my old 13" MacBook Pro feels like a beast on my lap. When I need to write for several hours at a time the little Air is the only machine I even consider reaching for.

When Apple kills the spinning drive Macs I for one will not miss them at all.

 

[linuxcooldude]

If I am going to buy an air primarily for light weight and small size, the 11" is the perfect one to get. That's why I bought one for that very reason.

 

[grawk]

With the 11", it really is all about form factor. I've owned almost all the intel macbooks, plus the 12" powerbook, and the old PPC blackbird. The 11" MBA is the first laptop to beat the 12" powerbook for portable computing. It fits in spaces designed to handle paper, rather than laptops. This is huge, IMHO. You can work on a tray table on a plane or train, easily. I can carry both my ipad and MBA in a tom bihn medium cafe bag and not feel like I'm carrying a computer at all. I can easily use the computer while holding it. If you've ever had to work in a data center without a desk, this can be significant.

The only reason I'd rather have the 13" is the battery life increase. And I can't say I've ever run out of battery before I could get to an outlet. You can make a coast to coast flight on a single charge.

 

[Abstract]

I've been here long enough to know that I'm not allowed to call the OP an idiot......so I won't.

 

[MacHamster68]

hmm i'd even go as far as telling that even the 13" makes less sense then the 11" , if it has to be a MacBook in form of a netbook then the 11" makes sense to some , the 13" is nearly as big and if you choose to fit a SSD and throw out the optical drive which you can sell , not really lighter then a MacBook Pro 13" and not really cheaper , so its just a matter of taste and not really related to performance or size