Thinking about Buying MPA 1.0

[mdgolom]

I'm thinking about buying a first generation MBA over the MPA 2.0. Best Buy is offering a clearance of this computer for $1,299. I have about $150.00 in gift cards which will bring it down to $1,150. I'm mostly going to be using it for web surfing, email, watching ripped movies and TV shows and downloading my photos and videos while I'm away from my house. Since it's not going to be my primary Mac, I don't need all of the horse power. Now, I do have a HD camcorder, so I'll need to use iMovie to handle the downloading since I won't be able to copy the files from the camcorder.

The other reason for looking at the MPA 1.0 is resale value. I know in a year if I want to replace it, I can get a better return on my money over purchasing a new 2.0 at full price (well, $1,699 since I can get an education discount).

Now, I realize everyone is pushing to buy the 2.0, but does anyone foresee any problems with what I'm planning on using the laptop for?

Thanks

 

[six.four]

that's exactly what I plan to do with my 1st gen MBA I purchased about a week ago.

I'm a cheapass. Therefore, I will never buy anything at retail price - especially not the MBA. I waited until the MBA refresh was announced and decided it was a good time to grab a used one - as many people will opt to purchase the new one, thus pushing down prices of the older gen MBA. I like to rotate computers every 6-10 months so after that time, I plan to resell my air to upgrade to something else. It works out well, and if you get a good enough deal, you may not even take a loss on the turnover.

 

[queshy]

for what I do on the MBA (mostly typing/e-mail/web browsing), I probably wouldn't notice the difference between 1.0 and 2.0. If i was in the market now and could get a great deal on the old one I'd go for it (as long as it was NIB)

 

[1rottenapple]

definitely a great idea. I got my refurbished for 1555 at apple.com. 1150 is pretty much highway robbery.

 

[Cynicalone]

Most of what you plan to do is what I have been doing with my MBA for the last several month's. The only thing I would worry about is watching video's. I don't do this myself, but a quick look around here will tell you it tends to heat the laptop up and cause problems.

I tend to use my MBA when I travel for email, Firefox, and iWork. It works like a charm for all of those.

 

[1rottenapple]

^^^ Definitely a good point. I personally have core shutdown issues where 10mins viewing flash it shuts down. I personally use the coolbook method of lowering the voltage versus apple's method of limiting the processor speed to 800mhz. Because of this, I can use the air and in fact it is my only computer for music, video's, downloading files, internet, music etc... Just keep that issue in mind. Again, this was solved with a 10 dollar app, however apple stinks for not fixing this in a way that does not make the computer as fast as my first g4 ibook. The russian dude (i think he is russian) who created coolbook deserves the thanks. I personally have that program installed on my air (which I adore) and on my mom's macbook pro, since the pro is HOT!!! I lowered the voltage so know it is lap friendly unlike before.