Walked out of Apple store without MBA :-(

[bmat]

The only thing holding me back is typing on the 11. I can't imagine typing long essays on it.

By all means, you have to figure out what you need, but the notion someone else said about the 11 inch being a toy is not true and depends on use. I work and am not in school and use my 11.6 MBA for tons of work (basically exclusively) -- writing briefs, memos, doing presentations, research, etc. Many of these documents are 60 to 100 pages long. For me, it was just the size difference, as I can carry my MBA everywhere.

(And, yes, i have an iPad also, which serves a different function all together.)

 

[Pipper99]

Called the apple store, and they had the i7 13" MBA in stock. Walked in two hours later to purchase, and they'd sold out about an hour earlier. Argh, I had no angst over which model to buy. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow.

 

[kis]

i figure, if you are going to get the 13" you might as well get the mbp--pay a lot less for a lot more (assuming you don't care about the resolution) for something that is only slightly heavier

I'll have to disagree with you there - the 13 MBP isn't only "slightly" heavier, it weighs about 700g more - to put that in perspective: the iPad 2 only weighs about 600g. So it's a heck of a lot heavier and you'll most definitely notice the difference in your bag.

Also, because of the SSD that comes standard with the MBA, the MBA isn't really much slower than the 13" Macbook Pro, either.

Apart from the weight and the performance, the MBA doesn't have the glass panel in front of the LCD, making it a lot less glossy.

Peter

 

[SpiffyChee]

You must be either very weak, or a slim girl with small hands.
Not even a 17" MBPro causes me problems lifting it with one hand.

Rofl. Sure maybe I exaggerated... But the point being: When I hold the 13" with one hand, the grip feels unstable and it almost feels like over time I could cause body damage to its case.

Just go to the apple store and hold both at the same time with their screens open. Sure you could hold either of them for hours on end, but it just feels right holding the 11"

BTW. I am a bodybuilder. My arms are my strongest point. This is not a strength issue. I simply feel like I'm treating the 13" unlike it was meant to be treated if I hold it with one hand. It could fall, or the hinge could be stressed, or the body itself... etc

Just go hold them both. For portability, the 11" is so much nicer.

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

I couldn't downgrade my screen resolution. Gotta get the 13"

 

[boston04and07]

DO NOT BUY BASED ON WANTS! Buy based on your NEEDS! You will NOT regret this approach. You will regret buying an 11" if you spend 8 hours a day on it though!

Buy the 11" if you:
want a powerful netbook experience
don't need an Air, but you want one
don't plan on spending more than an hour at a time on it
don't have $1300

Buy the 13" if you:
want a laptop experience
plan on using it for extended periods of time
want to have no regrets once the 'newness' wears off

Buy both if you:
live by an Apple Store and can return one or the other within the two week time period!

Couldn't disagree more. Many of us (myself included) use our MBA 11's daily for real work. In fact, when I bought my 11" I bought it for exactly all the reasons you listed under your reasons to buy a 13." I've been using it daily for 6 months now for work and graduate school and it really is quite the machine. Now I agree that there is no "right" machine to buy, (to each his own), but the 11" is indeed very capable and is, to many users, much more than what you described it to be. It's a little silly to spend so much money on this type of computer for the reasons you listed. Honestly, if I needed something to use for no more than an hour at a time I would just go buy an iPod touch.

The 11 feels like an overpriced toy to me. Might as well just get an iPad.

I have both and, in my opinion, the two are miles apart. The only thing they really have in common is their relative size. I love my iPad but could not use it alone for school. Yet, the MBA is perfect for me as I need it for mostly writing and I am not bothered by a lack of vertical pixels. I've actually found that the two complement each other nicely. It's great to be able to have a book open on the iPad while i have my notes in Pages open fullscreen on the MBA. But again, to each his own - what works for one person won't work for everyone!

 

[ozthegweat]

I' m also still undecided if I should get the 11 or the 13. Right now, I'm using a Late 2009 15'' MBP. I only use it at home for surfing, iTunes, iPhoto and syncing iPhone and iPad, so I think I could get by with a smaller screen. And I think Lion's full screen functionality alleviates this problem quite a bit.

But I'm not sure about the battery life... damn, why is the 11 so damn sexy?

 

[entatlrg]

Couldn't disagree more. Many of us (myself included) use our MBA 11's daily for real work. In fact, when I bought my 11" I bought it for exactly all the reasons you listed under your reasons to buy a 13." I've been using it daily for 6 months now for work and graduate school and it really is quite the machine. Now I agree that there is no "right" machine to buy, (to each his own), but the 11" is indeed very capable and is, to many users, much more than what you described it to be. It's a little silly to spend so much money on this type of computer for the reasons you listed. Honestly, if I needed something to use for no more than an hour at a time I would just go buy an iPod touch.

I have both and, in my opinion, the two are miles apart. The only thing they really have in common is their relative size. I love my iPad but could not use it alone for school. Yet, the MBA is perfect for me as I need it for mostly writing and I am not bothered by a lack of vertical pixels. I've actually found that the two complement each other nicely. It's great to be able to have a book open on the iPad while i have my notes in Pages open fullscreen on the MBA. But again, to each his own - what works for one person won't work for everyone!

Well said. If you can stare at the 13" screen all day, you can the 11" too, just keep in mind there's less vertical real estate so more scrolling but it's definitely much more capable than being used for an hour at a time.

iPad versus MacBook Air ... don't get me started They are MILES apart, I own both and each serve a purpose.

 

[myrtlebee]

DO NOT BUY BASED ON WANTS! Buy based on your NEEDS! You will NOT regret this approach. You will regret buying an 11" if you spend 8 hours a day on it though!

Buy the 11" if you:
want a powerful netbook experience
don't need an Air, but you want one
don't plan on spending more than an hour at a time on it
don't have $1300

Buy the 13" if you:
want a laptop experience
plan on using it for extended periods of time
want to have no regrets once the 'newness' wears off

Buy both if you:
live by an Apple Store and can return one or the other within the two week time period!

This is pure BS. First of all, anyone buying an Air is not buying it based solely on their needs. Secondly, I spend hours upon hours on my 11" Air and have had no problems whatsoever. Now with Lion, the complaints about screen real estate are null and void with fullscreen apps, smooth-as-butter pinch to zoom in Safari, and all of the other great multitasking features in Lion. While using my Air for MONTHS not once have I felt like I was on a netbook. It has felt like a full-blown laptop since day one and now with Lion's features feels more like a full-blown workstation with swiping through spaces and fullscreen apps. The newness does not "wear off" on the 11" - if anything it wears off on the 13 which is a bit large for an Air in my opinion. This "warning" from this guy is complete nonsense.

 

[hisboyelroy]

First of all, anyone buying an Air is not buying it based solely on their needs.

So true. But, I think that is okay. Part of the allure of Apple is that it meets our wants as well as our needs. There are many laptops out there I could get to satisfy my needs. I pay more for Apple because it also satisfies my wants.

And by the way, I really love my new 13" MBA. So far I think it is about the funnest computer I've ever owned.

 

[myrtlebee]

So true. But, I think that is okay. Part of the allure of Apple is that it meets our wants as well as our needs. There are many laptops out there I could get to satisfy my needs. I pay more for Apple because it also satisfies my wants.

And by the way, I really love my new 13" MBA. So far I think it is about the funnest computer I've ever owned.

It's definitely okay- in fact, it may be the best part : ) Most of my favorite things about Apple products are all the little things about them that fit my wants- especially the great design. After switching to Lion, I feel like I'm on a new Air all over again. It's definitely a fun way to be productive or just have fun - I don't see why people assume that one can't but Apple products for pleasure and fun. The whole "needs" thing is getting old!

 

[Pipper99]

It's definitely okay- in fact, it may be the best part : ) Most of my favorite things about Apple products are all the little things about them that fit my wants- especially the great design. After switching to Lion, I feel like I'm on a new Air all over again. It's definitely a fun way to be productive or just have fun - I don't see why people assume that one can't but Apple products for pleasure and fun. The whole "needs" thing is getting old!

Yep, there's very little that I buy based solely on need.

 

[Pipper99]

Called the apple store, and they had the i7 13" MBA in stock. Walked in two hours later to purchase, and they'd sold out about an hour earlier. Argh, I had no angst over which model to buy. Oh, well, maybe tomorrow.

And, they do! Leaving with a new MBA.

 

[thuglove]

This is like the 15" MBP vs the 17" MBP all over again. Basically, if you want more screen real estate get the 13". Value portability more? Get the 11". End of story.

 

[JesseW6889]

+1 for torque, lol

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Is the 5 hour battery limitation a deal-breaker for you? It sure is for me.

I know what you mean and this has troubled me for some time, but the 11" model is so much lighter than the 13". I won't be using wireless for the whole time I'm out and about with my MBA, so I'm trying to buy the 11" (with i5, not i7 for just this reason). The battery should last for long enough (I hope).



FWIW I tried to buy an 11" MBA in store today (the 128GB model) and it had sold out. I was told they had some stock of the other models (64GB and 256GB model), but had lots of 13"MBAs. Whether that's because they received more stock of the 13" models I don't know. I'm hoping this means that when I get my MBA, I have more chance of getting the faster Samsung SSD, on the basis that the stock of the Toshiba SSDs will have all been sold.

 

[Nostromo]

A good size keyboard is absolutely necessary if you work for an extended time.

In regards to the screen quality, I'll simply sit back and wait what's coming down the pipe. Maybe a later batch will get better (Samsung) screens.

 

[myrtlebee]

A good size keyboard is absolutely necessary if you work for an extended time.

What are you guys talking about? I keep seeing this. They keyboard is the same size on the 11" and the 13". Only difference is slimmer function keys.

 

[Nostromo]

What are you guys talking about? I keep seeing this. They keyboard is the same size on the 11" and the 13". Only difference is slimmer function keys.

It was a virus going around.

Thanks for the flu shots

 

[WillMak]

What are you guys talking about? I keep seeing this. They keyboard is the same size on the 11" and the 13". Only difference is slimmer function keys.

The keyboard is the same size but the palm rests might be too small for some in the 11

 

[NM08SRT8]

DO NOT BUY BASED ON WANTS! Buy based on your NEEDS! You will NOT regret this approach. You will regret buying an 11" if you spend 8 hours a day on it though!

Buy the 11" if you:
want a powerful netbook experience
don't need an Air, but you want one
don't plan on spending more than an hour at a time on it
don't have $1300

Buy the 13" if you:
want a laptop experience
plan on using it for extended periods of time
want to have no regrets once the 'newness' wears off

Buy both if you:
live by an Apple Store and can return one or the other within the two week time period!

Ironic how you just used the word WANT several times after you just instructed all of us not to buy based off wants...

 

[myrtlebee]

The keyboard is the same size but the palm rests might be too small for some in the 11

I was talking about people speaking specifically of the keyboard. He was not mentioning the palm rests whatsoever.

 

[philhyde]

I was 100% committed to picking up a MBA 13 today...but when I felt the 11's weight and saw how sharp and readable its screen was....I couldn't make up my mind...so I walked out to think about it more. Anyone else have this experience? For some reason the 11 inch seemed to have sharper text to me.

I did exactly this, but came home with the 13. I liked the 11 for a lot of reasons in many conditions, but the 13 just made more overall sense.

 

[striker33]

I was 100% committed to picking up a MBA 13 today...but when I felt the 11's weight and saw how sharp and readable its screen was....I couldn't make up my mind...so I walked out to think about it more. Anyone else have this experience? For some reason the 11 inch seemed to have sharper text to me.

The 11" has an extra 12 PPI over the 13", which is why the text and overall picture quality appears sharper.

 

[WillMak]

How Is working with Powerpooint for people with the MBA 11? Does it feel too cramped?