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What will make you want to buy the mid-2011 MBA?
- Thread starter macDelirium
- Start date
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My current Mac laptop (12" iBook G4) is deteriorating rapidly so, I'll probably buy an 11" MBA no matter what upgrades it has. That said, my biggest need is for it not to heat up enough to make the fan audible, even when used on my lap (graphics-intensive games can be an exception though, since I don't play games often anyway). Would really be great if it can even be used on a bed without heating up.
Unexpected features that I'd appreciate are:
Matte screen.
Audio input port.
The built-in mic being moved up to where the camera is.
SDHX slot. To fit it, I'd remove one of the USB ports, which should be redundant after T-Bolt's implamentaion.
4GB ram standard, with option for more.
Higher capacity storage SSD.
I could possibly enjoy a MBA with the same footprint as my 12" iBook G4, resulting in the 11" MBA having the same width s the current one but with the same depth (and subsequent screen height) as the 13" MBA. It's hard for me to decide on this though, as I've not used the current 11" for more than a few minutes so far.
I couldn't care less about backlit keyboard. The screen already illuminates the keyboard enough for me, even when I have the screen brightness turned all the way down to minimum, in the dark.
Unexpected features that I'd appreciate are:
Matte screen.
Audio input port.
The built-in mic being moved up to where the camera is.
SDHX slot. To fit it, I'd remove one of the USB ports, which should be redundant after T-Bolt's implamentaion.
4GB ram standard, with option for more.
Higher capacity storage SSD.
I could possibly enjoy a MBA with the same footprint as my 12" iBook G4, resulting in the 11" MBA having the same width s the current one but with the same depth (and subsequent screen height) as the 13" MBA. It's hard for me to decide on this though, as I've not used the current 11" for more than a few minutes so far.
I couldn't care less about backlit keyboard. The screen already illuminates the keyboard enough for me, even when I have the screen brightness turned all the way down to minimum, in the dark.
yeah, my 2007 whitebook, while still perfectly functioning, is a bit dated now. so i'll jump on a new 11" MBA if it has:
sandy bridge
4gb ram standard on all models
7 hours battery
128gb standard ssd
I could care less about a back lit keyboard.
sandy bridge
4gb ram standard on all models
7 hours battery
128gb standard ssd
I could care less about a back lit keyboard.
4GB RAM standard
128GB SDD standard
heck, $100 price reduction across the line
+1.
and your 2 first statements are a MUST if you ask me. heck even netbooks start at 2gb ram nowadays!
Sandy Bridge, the same or battery battery life, 4GB of RAM and thunderbolt instead of just a Mini display port.
Backlit keyboard, would be nice, but not a deal breaker. And any kind of price drop would be sweet, but I feel it is already reasonably priced.
EDIT: forgot one thing, an SD card slot on the 11" would be very nice for me. But I doubt they will add it with the limited amount of space they have.
Backlit keyboard, would be nice, but not a deal breaker. And any kind of price drop would be sweet, but I feel it is already reasonably priced.
EDIT: forgot one thing, an SD card slot on the 11" would be very nice for me. But I doubt they will add it with the limited amount of space they have.
I think I'm probably going to buy it anyway, but what I really want from the 11" MBA is:
1. 256 GB capacity option.
2. USB 3 slot (even if only 1 of them is USB 3).
Things I want but can live without:
3. Sandy Bridge
4. Better battery life.
5. SD Card slot.
1. 256 GB capacity option.
2. USB 3 slot (even if only 1 of them is USB 3).
Things I want but can live without:
3. Sandy Bridge
4. Better battery life.
5. SD Card slot.
I agree. This is whats most likely will happen. I think 8 GB will be an expensive BTO option. Rest i'm not too confident about
my requirements to get the 2011 mba is sandy bridge + backlit keyboard. However, im gonna wait until the refurbs come out.
There will not be USB3 on Apple products. You should know by now when Apple skips by something they make a permanent choice not to support it. They have chosen thunderbolt, may be able to do thunderbolt to USB3 sometime in the future however.
For me I just want a sandy bridge MBA 13". I will buy it fully loaded (save some crazy $1K upgrade for something like a 512GB SSD)
I would love these features in this order but none of these are must haves.
1. Sandy Bridge CPU 2.7GHz dual core
2. Thunderbolt (I think this will have a lot of potential in the future)
2. 8GB RAM upgrade
3. New SDXC Card slot
4. Greater than 256GB SSD for a reasonable upgrade price
5. 15" may be tempting
6. Back lit keyboard (This is not that big a deal to me I type by touch anyway)
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I'll buy it if it is just the way it is now but with a thinner bezel and therefore bigger display with higher resolution. I can't stand the horrid design decision to sacrifice screen real estate for the sole sake of the deceiving tapered design. The current 13.3" Air could house a 15.4" LCD in its footprint, for heavens sake!
Also, give us an option for an IPS display, be it $500 extra.
I'll buy it if it is just the way it is now but with a thinner bezel and therefore bigger display with higher resolution. I can't stand the horrid design decision to sacrifice screen real estate for the sole sake of the deceiving tapered design. The current 13.3" Air could house a 15.4" LCD in its footprint, for heavens sake!
Also, give us an option for an IPS display, be it $500 extra.
Is that the diagonal size of the lid? Don't forget that these are edge-lit LCDs and will remain that way. Those edge LED assemblies require room too.
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Honestly a backlit keyboard is a must have. I tend to travel a fair amount, and a backlit keyboard is far better than using the personal light on a plane.
Honestly a backlit keyboard is a must have. I tend to travel a fair amount, and a backlit keyboard is far better than using the personal light on a plane.
what i want
I will probably buy it regardless, but
i would love
1.Backlit keyboard.
2.Better Webcam
3.Another USB
4.Removeable Battery (i know thisll never happen)
But the air is a great machine. A black air would be very sleek. If they dont release a black air ill be sending it to colorware.
I will probably buy it regardless, but
i would love
1.Backlit keyboard.
2.Better Webcam
3.Another USB
4.Removeable Battery (i know thisll never happen)
But the air is a great machine. A black air would be very sleek. If they dont release a black air ill be sending it to colorware.
15 Inches....
But realistically, it won't happen, and I'll end up buying a 15-inch MBP when it comes SSD standard and much thinner. Do I need a pro? Usually not, and I could deal with the rare occurances when my Air would be a tad slow - I do need the 15 inch screen though.
But realistically, it won't happen, and I'll end up buying a 15-inch MBP when it comes SSD standard and much thinner. Do I need a pro? Usually not, and I could deal with the rare occurances when my Air would be a tad slow - I do need the 15 inch screen though.
11 inch MBA wish list
1 Sandy Bridge processor
2 256 SSD
3 8GB RAM
4 Longer battery life, say 7 hours at least
5 Backlit keyboard
6 Matte Black finish
1 Sandy Bridge processor
2 256 SSD
3 8GB RAM
4 Longer battery life, say 7 hours at least
5 Backlit keyboard
6 Matte Black finish
While attractive on a spec sheet, neither of these is useful enough on a day to day basis, to justify upgrading if one has the the current model.
I hate to burst people's bubbles, but I fear that an 8GB upgrade may not make it in due to space. If there's no space for a discrete GPU, and they add a thunderbolt chip - there may not be space for an 8GB Ram Upgrade- unless it's exorbitantly expensive - using less chips due to space.
The current air already uses 16 chips to achieve 2GB of RAM. And the thunderbolt chip is already kind big (especially on the Air's tiny Motherboard).
Unless Apple can cram the 25W Sandy Bridge CPUs in there, you're gonna be looking at LV CPUs whose graphics aren't as fast as their Full voltage counterparts.
It also depends on what you mean by 10% performance hit. In First Person Gaming - yeah, there'll be a hit - maybe 30% or more. But in terms of pretty much every other task - not gonna be a hit in performance.
Not gonna happen. Especially if they're cramming a thunderbolt chip and potentially an 8GB RAM upgrade.
Thunderbolt negates the need for USB 3.0. IMHO. (once someone finally comes out with a dongle). Re: Ivy Bridge - Intel's already delayed it once - and those are the full-voltage chips. I feel like Ivy Bridge may be almost a year out still.
The current air already uses 16 chips to achieve 2GB of RAM. And the thunderbolt chip is already kind big (especially on the Air's tiny Motherboard).
Unless Apple can cram the 25W Sandy Bridge CPUs in there, you're gonna be looking at LV CPUs whose graphics aren't as fast as their Full voltage counterparts.
It also depends on what you mean by 10% performance hit. In First Person Gaming - yeah, there'll be a hit - maybe 30% or more. But in terms of pretty much every other task - not gonna be a hit in performance.
Not gonna happen. Especially if they're cramming a thunderbolt chip and potentially an 8GB RAM upgrade.
Thunderbolt negates the need for USB 3.0. IMHO. (once someone finally comes out with a dongle). Re: Ivy Bridge - Intel's already delayed it once - and those are the full-voltage chips. I feel like Ivy Bridge may be almost a year out still.
You can forget about them offering 8GB of RAM, especially on the 11" for the upcoming offering in late June or early July. I'd honestly bet my house on that, and I'm completely serious. Won't happen.
As for me, I own the current 11" C2D Ultimate (as a secondary computer for travel, etc), and the only thing that'd make me put it up for sale is if the graphics card is NOT the Intel 3000 HD card AND it has Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, etc. If they knock the processor out of the park and put in a crappy graphics card, it's a no-go until Ivy Bridge.
As for me, I own the current 11" C2D Ultimate (as a secondary computer for travel, etc), and the only thing that'd make me put it up for sale is if the graphics card is NOT the Intel 3000 HD card AND it has Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, etc. If they knock the processor out of the park and put in a crappy graphics card, it's a no-go until Ivy Bridge.
You know what would ultimately make me buy the mid-2011 MBA is for it to come out right now so I dont have to worry about buying a 2010 MBA and finding out theres a new one a month later.