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KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,311
8,326
One potentially significant reason to go with the 11" is that it's the cheapest way to get the Core i7, since it's available on the 128GB model, while on the 13", it's available only on the 256GB model. $1349 list for a Core i7 MacBook Air is nice.
 

Obscurelight

macrumors 6502
Jul 22, 2011
493
0
NYC
sounds ridiculous but the SD slot was a huge selling point for me

Not at all, many professionals in various fields tend to use SD cards and the convenience is appreciated even among consumers who uses electronics like digital cameras. Of course there is always the option to buy the adapters but I tend to lose small things or other people tend to lose it for me when they clean.
 

yakapo

macrumors 6502
Jul 11, 2008
254
235
I'm trying to decide between the 13" and the 11". Here's the biggest factors for me...

1. I want the lowest dpi. That's right, the lowest. I need the text to be as large as possible. I looked at both at the mac store but its hard to make a decision in 30 min. standing there. I'm 36 and even with glasses on, I would never be able to use the 27" imac. The mac store employees showed me the magnification feature which will be useful in a pinch but not ideal.

2. Will 2gb of ram be enough? This is my first apple laptop purchase (although I've had several iphones and I have an ipad). It seemed just fine at the store but I wonder what it would be like after a year.

3. is 64 gig of ssd enough if I ever decide to install Win7? I wonder how much room osx + ilife + win 7 takes?

4. Instead of paying $200 for the 11" upgrade (assuming I need the ram + ssd space) I'd rather get the 13".

Thanks!
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
The 11" also feels heavier in a way if that makes sense. The 13" has more surface to distribute the internal weight.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
I'm loving my 11". It felt like a feather compared to the 13".

So trying to say it's "evenly" distributed just sounds retarded.
 

AbeFroman77

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2010
334
1
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
I'm loving my 11". It felt like a feather compared to the 13".

So trying to say it's "evenly" distributed just sounds retarded.

I didn't mean the 13" is literally lighter than the 11". The weight difference is barely over half a pound. I can hardly feel a difference in the weight and since the 13" is bigger it's easier for me to handle and not feel like I'll crush it.

If the 11" felt like a feather compared to the 13", might need to eat your Wheaties.
 

iNeedToDoHw

macrumors regular
May 23, 2011
113
0
Nice. im diamond on Cathay Pacific. Even tho business class has plenty of room the train sux, laptop has to stay on my lap the whole time....

the difference in weight is almost 25%-30%. thats substantial to me.

Also i understand everyone thinks the screen hurts to do work on for extended periods of time which i might agree to an extent. I do have 2 22" monitors for externals on my work desk (where i use it the majority of the time) so i guess my view isn't the same as someone who has the mba 11" only.

lol expensive bag
 

yakapo

macrumors 6502
Jul 11, 2008
254
235
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
I'm loving my 11". It felt like a feather compared to the 13".

So trying to say it's "evenly" distributed just sounds retarded.

did you get the cheaper one? Is the ram enough for you? I'm a light user. The heaviest use for me would be the ilife video editing (very rare occasion).

I agree that it feels noticeably lighter.
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
Maybe "dense" would be a better description than evenly distributed. Of course not the dumb dense but density

The way the 13" is wider was a deal breaker for me. Not to mention the viewing angles/resolution is better on the 11".

To each their own...but I have an iMac and was debating between iPad and Air...the Air suits my needs.

But I hate it when people try and say the 13" is better because of "reasons" (like density) that make no sense.

The larger trackpad, battery life, SD card, and screen real estate are better on the 13".

But the portability, price, pixel density, and resolution/viewing angles are better on the 11".

There is no "perfect" choice lol.
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
did you get the cheaper one? Is the ram enough for you? I'm a light user. The heaviest use for me would be the ilife video editing (very rare occasion).

I agree that it feels noticeably lighter.

I spent the extra $100 because I would never pay $1000 for only 64GBs. So I have 128GB and 4GB of RAM. I even talked a lady (who wasn't a heavy user) to the higher 11".

2GB of RAM is a joke in the low end...Lion requires 2 GB. And I'm trying to hold onto this thing for 3 years. So 4 GB of RAM will be worth it in the long run.
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
I didn't mean the 13" is literally lighter than the 11". The weight difference is barely over half a pound. I can hardly feel a difference in the weight and since the 13" is bigger it's easier for me to handle and not feel like I'll crush it.

If the 11" felt like a feather compared to the 13", might need to eat your Wheaties.

Haha making fun...I don't want to sound like a jerk bragging or whatever. But I'm 155lbs and can bench 235lbs. I'm pretty strong for my size...and if you grab one in each hand and kind of compare the two...the 11in feels a lot lighter than the 13 because the 13 is distributed over a larger amount of space. If the 11 weighed the same as the 13 I still wouldn't mind...I just don't like how it's distributed over a larger amount of space.
 

AbeFroman77

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2010
334
1
Haha making fun...I don't want to sound like a jerk bragging or whatever. But I'm 155lbs and can bench 235lbs. I'm pretty strong for my size...and if you grab one in each hand and kind of compare the two...the 11in feels a lot lighter than the 13 because the 13 is distributed over a larger amount of space. If the 11 weighed the same as the 13 I still wouldn't mind...I just don't like how it's distributed over a larger amount of space.

How many reps? :p

Just saying, the size and weight difference isn't as big, to me at least.
 

ghsDUDE

macrumors 68030
May 25, 2010
2,948
763
How many reps? :p

Just saying, the size and weight difference isn't as big, to me at least.

Lol that's my Max. But for weighing 155 I feel pretty darn good about it.
I do a lot of cardio (running/pushups) but I've been trying to bulk up so I've been pushing heavier weight with less reps.

And sorry for taking this thread off topic lol.
 

newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,532
1,861
...

I looked at the 11" today. I love the idea of the 11" but its just too small. Even if you put the dock on the right side of the screen everything is cramped. Forget about using the dock at the bottom it cuts off like 15% of the vertical. The 13" is great to me but unfortunately as good as the 13" is its hard to justify over the pro
 

Enthios

macrumors newbie
Jul 23, 2011
7
0
Do both run an external monitor the same?

When I'm at home, I never use my laptop open; it's always in clamshell mode and connected to my 26" monitor. Given that (and the added convenience of the 11" for traveling), is there a reason to have the 13" version?
 

s.hasan546

macrumors 6502
Feb 26, 2011
457
7
NY
When I'm at home, I never use my laptop open; it's always in clamshell mode and connected to my 26" monitor. Given that (and the added convenience of the 11" for traveling), is there a reason to have the 13" version?

exactly. To me there is no reason for the 13". 90% of the time i have my laptop connected to my 2 x 22" multi-monitor setup. The only other times i use the laptop is on the train or plane, which the 11" is better suited for IMHO.
 

Toonbay

macrumors 6502
I looked at the 11" today. I love the idea of the 11" but its just too small. Even if you put the dock on the right side of the screen everything is cramped. Forget about using the dock at the bottom it cuts off like 15% of the vertical. The 13" is great to me but unfortunately as good as the 13" is its hard to justify over the pro

sorry have to disagree here, dock is fine at bottom, hardly takes any room up and just use auto hide so it disappears??

Nit picking here
 

ender21

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2010
308
63
Southern Cal
I fly every week (Platinum on Delta) and chose the 13"

I carry my iPad 2, Kindle 3, MBA and a Lenovo T400 in my Tom Bihn bag.

The difference in the 11 and 13" is such a drop in the bucket, it just doesn't matter.

I guess if ounces are critical to you, then it makes sense. Otherwise, the benefits the 13" offers over the netbook 11"'r are just a no-brainer.

Holy Moses, that's a lotta gear! Percentage-wise, you're right. Not a big difference given your particular load.

Just out of curiosity, have you considered virtualizing the T400 onto your MBA? *That* wouldn't be a drop in the bucket. I just put the finishing touches on VM'ing my wife's Lenovo XP Pro machine onto her new MBA 11" and now she only needs one machine.
 

ender21

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2010
308
63
Southern Cal
I'm trying to decide between the 13" and the 11". Here's the biggest factors for me...

1. I want the lowest dpi. That's right, the lowest. I need the text to be as large as possible. I looked at both at the mac store but its hard to make a decision in 30 min. standing there. I'm 36 and even with glasses on, I would never be able to use the 27" imac. The mac store employees showed me the magnification feature which will be useful in a pinch but not ideal.

How about the 13" MBP? That's only 1280 pixels wide. But if you're sticking with the MBA 13 vs MBA 11 dilemma, then the 13 has lower DPI.

2. Will 2gb of ram be enough? This is my first apple laptop purchase (although I've had several iphones and I have an ipad). It seemed just fine at the store but I wonder what it would be like after a year.

My opinion, NO. Bump up to 4. Especially since it's permanent. THere's no going back and deciding to upgrade later if your needs change.

3. is 64 gig of ssd enough if I ever decide to install Win7? I wonder how much room osx + ilife + win 7 takes?

No. When I bootcamped a barebones Win7 HP setup on my old MBA, I want to say it took up anywhere from 11 to 16GB before installing any apps. That's a significant chunk of a 64GB SSD.

4. Instead of paying $200 for the 11" upgrade (assuming I need the ram + ssd space) I'd rather get the 13".

Personal choice. I went with the 13 but got my wife an 11. I find the 11 surprisingly easy to work on for mundane tasks, but when I start doing any photo or video work I'm going to want the 13.
 

ender21

macrumors 6502
Jul 15, 2010
308
63
Southern Cal
That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
I'm loving my 11". It felt like a feather compared to the 13".

So trying to say it's "evenly" distributed just sounds retarded.

I got what he said. My wife's 11" feels denser than my own 13", despite it still feeling like a feather.

EDIT: How do I delete a post? I just realized I should be posting my consecutive posts in just ONE post but don't find an easy DELETE key. Mods, my apologies!
 
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urkel

macrumors 68030
Nov 3, 2008
2,795
917
I wanted an 11" but Went with the 13 because this will be my primary computer and since I go dual screen a lot (which means I sit further back from the air) the 11" screen is too difficult to use for me.

One thing Id really like to see Apple do is cut down on the 11" bezel. With a screen that small then the bezel looks huge. I know it's more for sturdiness because they didn't want to glass like on the Pro, but if I had a choice then Id much rather have it be slightly thicker than have a larger footprint.
 
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