was going to buy the 13 ended up with 11

[Poochi]

I too concur that the 11 inch macbook air will completely turn away the ipad power users. Because ipad power users want an ipad with a keyboard + mac os x / programming ability. The 11" macbook air is all that ipad power users have hoped for. Viewed from that perspective, it's a pretty good deal. Way more power and usability for not a whole lot more price.

To turn the ipad into a laptop, you've got to:

Buy a keyboard for $69.
If you buy a stand (we'll say a nice one), that's $30.
Buy a mouse, a magic trackpad is $69.

So you're left with a $125 price gap. For that money you get a real OS, 2 gb of ram, way better graphics, and web cam.

Those accessory makers probably just got angry because anyone who's a power user would just buy a macbook air. I'm really glad that I sold my ipad 2 weeks ago before this came out. Got lucky.

I believe that the ipads need to have a $100 price cut across the board (sales numbers do not argue that one's necessary, however)

Good analysis.

However it is not truly equal

You are losing out on the GPS, 3G Data (without adding a USB stick), and of course all the nifty APPs won't run on regular OSX.

 

[bcaslis]

I too concur that the 11 inch macbook air will completely turn away the ipad power users. Because ipad power users want an ipad with a keyboard + mac os x / programming ability. The 11" macbook air is all that ipad power users have hoped for. Viewed from that perspective, it's a pretty good deal. Way more power and usability for not a whole lot more price.

To turn the ipad into a laptop, you've got to:

Buy a keyboard for $69.
If you buy a stand (we'll say a nice one), that's $30.
Buy a mouse, a magic trackpad is $69.

So you're left with a $125 price gap. For that money you get a real OS, 2 gb of ram, way better graphics, and web cam.

Those accessory makers probably just got angry because anyone who's a power user would just buy a macbook air. I'm really glad that I sold my ipad 2 weeks ago before this came out. Got lucky.

I believe that the ipads need to have a $100 price cut across the board (sales numbers do not argue that one's necessary, however)

I disagree. I'm a power user and I want (and have) an iPad more than the 11" for portability. For "power" I'll take the 13" so I can get the 1440x900 display in a smaller package then a 15" MBP.

 

[ezekielrage_99]

price was no object
i am sure the 13.3 is more powerful
the 11 feels really fast! I am sure the ss memory
has a lot to do with it.

I've benchmarked my Early 2008 MBP against the new 11" MBA, it's faster....

MBP 140.7
MBA 159.2

 

[ezekielrage_99]

I disagree. I'm a power user and I want (and have) an iPad more than the 11" for portability. For "power" I'll take the 13" so I can get the 1440x900 display in a smaller package then a 15" MBP.

One of the reasons I've chosen an 11" MBA over an iPad is purely because of Flash (and I am aware of the irony of buying the MBA for Flash but still having to install it).

 

[MooneyFlyer]

Well, I spent more of the afternoon than I wanted to at the store and have made no concrete decisions. I'm giving up my 13" MB (before they were Pro) 2.4G for one of these machines.

I agree with everyone that says that the 11" is slick. Video was great and the size is fantastic. Since I'm going with my only one machine total, I'm still leaning towards the 13" but I'm having trouble putting the little one out of my mind.

Office 2008 was installed and seems to run fast. One thing I've read elsewhere and was true today is that they don't have the upgraded models in store (aside from the memory upgrade). So, I'll have to order online.

I'm currently sitting here with pen and paper trying to figure out how to make the disk space work by getting my pics, tv shows, and mail to an external disk...

My gut says 13" for my use model but my heart wants the 11"

 

[biosci]

I went with what my heart wanted. I'm 'upgrading' from a 2.8 C2D MBP to the 11.6 in 1.6 C2D 128ssd. I need all my work for a whole year ready on command (about 50gb worth), apps associated with them at the minimum. I need to find a way too to keep all my 'extra' stuff handy when needed. I'm thinking of perhaps an external HD for the older stuff/backup. Currently I'm using about 130gb now total but I can see spots where I can just 'store extra' elsewhere...

My gut says 13" for my use model but my heart wants the 11"

 

[southnc]

Both the 11" & 13" are great products.

To me, if your a videophile - watch movies or look at lots of pics - then the 13" is the obvious choice. The screen is better optimized for video and it has an SD card slot.

That is the only obvious difference I can see so far.

 

[vistokid]

Well, I spent more of the afternoon than I wanted to at the store and have made no concrete decisions. I'm giving up my 13" MB (before they were Pro) 2.4G for one of these machines.

I agree with everyone that says that the 11" is slick. Video was great and the size is fantastic. Since I'm going with my only one machine total, I'm still leaning towards the 13" but I'm having trouble putting the little one out of my mind.

Office 2008 was installed and seems to run fast. One thing I've read elsewhere and was true today is that they don't have the upgraded models in store (aside from the memory upgrade). So, I'll have to order online.

I'm currently sitting here with pen and paper trying to figure out how to make the disk space work by getting my pics, tv shows, and mail to an external disk...

My gut says 13" for my use model but my heart wants the 11"

I couldn't agree more... 13 is the right way to go, but I really wanted the 11. The price point is wrong, the 11 should be a bit cheaper or the 13 more expensive.

I got the 13 base instead of the 11 with 128. Cost $100 more but got a bigger screen, better screen, sd slot, faster processor, better batt life. For $100 more I can't not buy that. If it was a $200 difference I would have grabbed the 11.

 

[MooneyFlyer]

I couldn't agree more... 13 is right way to go, but I really wanted the 11. The price point is wrong, the 11 should be a bit cheaper or the 13 more expensive.

I got the 13 base instead of the 11 with 128. Cost $100 more but got a bigger screen, better screen, sd slot, faster processor, better batt life. For $100 more I can't not buy that. If it was a $200 difference I would have grabbed the 11.

Interesting way to look at it. I priced out both max loaded and it is like $2100 (13") vs. ~$1750 (11") so it is money. I guess what is holding me back a little is 2 years down the road do I want to be stuck with the 1.6G C2D... I'm starting to lean towards the 13". I want to order tomorrow to hopefully get it this week before heading to Asia for 10 days on Nov 1.

Edit:
Feh - out yesterday: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2010/10/11inch_macbook_air/