Why is the Air tempting me so!

[daneoni]

So i just sold my BlackBook (didn't like the sharp edges, subpar screen and smudges) and im looking for a replacement portable notebook to pair with my iMac for school. I'd thought about selling my iMac and going the MBP/Ext Display route but i love my iMac to bits and its the only computer i have that can still run Tiger (still not a fan of Leopard)

So i've decided to try and seek out another decently priced laptop for my education needs. I was gonna get a MBP but at 5.4lbs its not exactly an ultraportable and it seems like a waste considering i have a powerful iMac already

So that leaves me with the MBA, now i'm not a fan of the Air and i was one of those that disliked it because it was too expensive. However, i acknowledged that it had the best screen in Apple's lineup and of course looks good. Anyway now i can get a refurb 1.6/80 for $1641 which equates to £837. A new one costs £1200 here so thats a £363 discount which is significant

I'm gonna be in Miami by next Tues so im seriously considering it, justification being the discount, weight and the fact that i already have an iMac. Hopefully the Air can run MS Office/iWork/iTunes/ Web Flash videos decently. All other heavy lifting will be done on the iMac.

But im still undecided though, £800 is still kind of expensive but doable. I was waiting...hoping the next MB would debut at WWDC but that doesn't seem likely and there's no guarantee of an Aluminum enclosure, LED backlit screen etc till 2009. So it might be pointless waiting (i need a laptop for school soon). A friend of mine said to wait for the new Air revision but i still don't think Apple will drop the price and therefore it wont matter cos i wont pay £1200 for an Air. Its just not gonna happen.

I dunno what do you guys think?

 

[shinchook]

in the "bang for buck" area. Even for the discounted price i don't believe the Air is worth buying. It has a slower processor and smaller hard drive which right now can't be upgrade too much because of the size of the computer. The air was really made for people who travel a lot like business men/women that just need a computer for long distance email and document editing. Of course they would still have to justify the price.

It looks to me that right now you are just looking at the form factor and letting it's sexyness get the better of you. I carry a 15" mac book pro around and don't find it to be a problem at all. its still smooth and sleek but gives you the best bang for buck ratio, in my opinion.

Right now I'm actually trying to sell off my MBP cause I just got a quad Mac Pro and don't need the portability... Though I will miss being able to go anywhere like the cafe and surf the net. It also like having a huge 320GB ipod video too. With all that said I would rather take the money from my laptop and upgrade the Mac Pro and maybe buy a blackbook later on.

Just trying to figure out what a good price for it is... Any suggestions? Its the 256 vram 15" 2.0 dual core with an upgraded 320GB hard drive.

 

[richard.mac]

go for it! but the combination of having a 1.6 GHz processor and Flash not being optimised for OS X as much as it is for Windows you might get slowdowns when viewing Flash videos or heavily Flash orientated websites and the fans will start to kick in quite loudly. something to consider.

 

[xparaparafreakx]

If it is for school and you do not mind the price point, then get the air. I got an Air and use it for school.

If you are worry about spending too much, then a Macbook is fine. There is no need for sexyness unless you can afford it.

 

[Olvenskol]

An Air will comfortably handles the tasks you have for it. That's more or less how I use mine. As long as you are ok with the price and desire a lightweight form, I think the Air would be an excellent fit.

 

[bart rijksen]

It will be a perfect combination.

 

[sanPietro98]

The MBA is a very capable machine. Its not "just for e-mail and web surfing" like so many people say. I use it for coding, photo editing, and some video editing (low-def of course).

Unless you need a real workhorse computer to do HD video editing or very CPU intensive things, I find the MBA to be great.

 

[munckee]

I'm having the same problem. Don't NEED one at all, but man it's a sexy machine. And its so light. Yum.

 

[netdog]

Why?

Because it's so bitchin'.

But seriously, I find it ideal for taking lectures at school. Not only does it have the best screen, but the best keyboard as well, and it really is a lot less of a brick in the book bag.

Highly recommended for school.

 

[agentsmithone]

Why?

Because it's so bitchin'.

I'd like to second that

 

[mac jones]

Also something to consider is that the Air is very attractive in appearance.

Sitting on a nice desk it adds to the decor instead of detracting from it.

Considering that it's always there when I'm there this is not a minor issue.

I'm sure you will agree.

(I can't believe it's come to this )

 

[Triquetra]

I was in a similar position . . .

I decided to go with a 12" PowerBook, since my portability needs were not of a power user, it works out well. Plus the 12" is 2" smaller than the MacBook, because its a 12, and it's not as wide at the macbook. Plus you can get one cheap.

What I'm really waiting for is a MacBook Nano, or a 10" MacBook Air. This will hold me over...

 

[munckee]

I decided to go with a 12" PowerBook, since my portability needs were not of a power user, it works out well. Plus the 12" is 2" smaller than the MacBook, because its a 12, and it's not as wide at the macbook. Plus you can get one cheap.

What I'm really waiting for is a MacBook Nano, or a 10" MacBook Air. This will hold me over...

I happened to pick up a 12" for next to nothing recently with the intent of selling it. As soon as I got my hands on it though, I decided to keep it. Now that I've used it for a month or so, though, I'm planning to sell it as soon as I can replace my recently sold blackbook with something decent (air or alum. macbook). It just isn't powerful enough for anything other than web surfing and word processing.

 

[joshwest]

It's a great machine in alot of area's if your just wanting a surfing computer, but i had one loved the size just couldnt justify the price.. so i sold it and waiting for the new mbp's to hit the market.. till then i think ill just get Blackbook or 12" PowerBook.. but if your just wanting a surf machine and can afford the coin why not

 

[daneoni]

I've been looking at the 12" PowerBooks as an alternative (found a 1.5G4/1.25GB/100GB 7200RPM) but i fear the G4 will barely be strong enough to do anything serious...like even flash videos might be a problem

Also the Air might be easier to sell later on.

!2" PB (specs above) (half price of air) vs MBA 1.6/80

 

[brudy]

If you can afford it, it's a great machine, especially since you'd be using in conjunction with a desktop. I bought mine (I went in to buy a MBP, btw) and fully expected to have buyer's remorse. Not powerful enough, HD to small, blah blah blah. But I love it. I flat out love it. I use it as a second portable machine to do design on, surf, etc. It's not for everybody, that's for sure, but if it meets your needs, you probably wouldn't be sorry.

 

[ninoxrk]

Why do people always grouse about the MBA's "lack of power"--my Powerbook from 6 years ago does fine for everything that I needed it to do, and it ran at 867 MHz. It was fast enough then for what I wanted it to do, and the MBA is more than fast enough now. Processors have gotten so fast these days that most programs really don't even use them to their full potential anyways.

Unless you're planning to do real heavy lifting with it, what difference does it make that the processor is slower? or that it doesn't have all these ports that never get used? I honestly can't tell the difference in speed between my iMac, PM G5, and PB titanium for 98% of what I use it for. What I do notice is that because it's lighter and thinner, I'm very willing to bring it with me everywhere I go, typing reports with any spare 15 or 20 minutes that I have, making me much more productive. I love the screen, the keyboard, and the overall aesthetic, such that despite the fact that I have an iMac in the same room and a PM in the next room, I use the MBA nearly all the time.

I had a friend once who owned a truck because he "liked to haul stuff." He used it for that purpose a handful of times in the 3-4 years he owned it before he got a car that better suited his lifestyle. If you don't need to "haul stuff" all the time, or if you have a truck already (the iMac, in this analogy) then get something that will make you happy with all the rest of the time.

 

[Roller]

The only thing keeping me from replacing my G4 PB with an Air is its relatively small, slow HDD. I'm not willing to pay an almost $1k premium for an even smaller SSD. But I'd jump at a rev B with a somewhat larger, faster HDD (or a cheaper SSD, but that's a ways off.)

 

[ayeying]

The only thing keeping me from replacing my G4 PB with an Air is its relatively small, slow HDD. I'm not willing to pay an almost $1k premium for an even smaller SSD. But I'd jump at a rev B with a somewhat larger, faster HDD (or a cheaper SSD, but that's a ways off.)

Its not that slow unless your doing recording. Its not entirely that small... if you organize your files.

 

[daneoni]

What about core shutdowns has that been fixed?

 

[ninoxrk]

What about core shutdowns has that been fixed?

Coolbook and replacing thermal paste drastically reduced my operating temps and solved the stuttering video problem, though I never had core shutdowns. The other video problem was Flip4Mac which spun up the fans for any WMV files, but they've issued an update that apparently took care of that problem. I stopped using Flip4Mac though and switched to Perian, and it works great.