11" Macbook Air - Have new one!

[lokiju]

I was on the fence for awhile on what to get, have some other thread here about it even.

My ideal device would be the form factor of the iPad but with a true OS X behind it that I can install and run any and all apps I could on any Mac with Snow Leopard.

But since that's not an option, I think the 11" Air is the best alternative currently available.

I had an iPad for a few months but just couldn't make it work for me for the day to day around the home wishes. It was on loan to me from work and when it was time to return it I didn't even miss it.

With the iPad2 on the horizon, I've been hoping that they'd offer a "enterprise" model that did what I wanted but now that I've ordered this, if that actually does happen then I guess I can always just sell the Air and get that, but it's unlikely.

I was convinced I "needed" the top of the line upgraded 11" or 13" Air after reading and researching for a long time but I finally just went to a Best Buy and played with both of them yesterday and honestly for what I'll use it for the 11" Air base model is plenty fast enough.

Anyone else here have the 11" Air base and have regrets or praises?

EDIT: Just did a return on it through Amazon. I was watching my disk consumption in just the half a day I've used it and was already down to under 30GB free space. That just isn't going to cut it for me like I was hoping for. I haven't even put any media on it yet and have over 30GB of music.

So I ordered a return for it, will ship it back tomorrow.

But I already ordered the top spec 11" refurb direct from Apple. For $200 more I get double the RAM, double the disk space and a faster processor.

Wife wasn't to happy about being out the money for both until the refund comes through from Amazon but I didn't want the refurb to become unavailable before I ordered it.

I think had I not gotten the bigger drive, I'd be regretting it over and over.

Edit2: Posting this from the "new" one. The refurb I ordered on Wednesday. So far I haven't seen a performance difference but performance really wasn't a factor when I returned the base, disk space was. I'm going through getting things set up how I like now and just love how functional this thing is. So compact yet damn fast and feels like it weighs nothing compared to my 13" MBP I use for work.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I really like mine, first Apple PC I've owned. I literally can't believe I bought it.

I just got a base 11" Air, I've wanted one since the last generation came out.

Damn Apple and their gateway devices, first I got an iPhone or 5, then an iPad, now a PC.































(and $130K worth of Apple stock)

 

[Kaido]

Not sure I understand - are you saying that your ideal Mac is an iPad that runs OS X?

 

[speg]

Damn you! Everyone is getting these. I am trying to hold out for the next revision. I can't decide between 13" and 11". Did you go with 11" because you'll be using it all over the place?

I'm planning on traveling a lot, so 11" would be the obvious choice... but I feel I might need the extra real estate/battery/power for work. Aye...

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Damn you! Everyone is getting these. I am trying to hold out for the next revision. I can't decide between 13" and 11". Did you go with 11" because you'll be using it all over the place?

I'm planning on traveling a lot, so 11" would be the obvious choice... but I feel I might need the extra real estate/battery/power for work. Aye...

i picked up the 13 inch as my dtr/take it to school everyday machine. the processor bump, higher res, and longer battery time made it worth it for me, and i still find it portable as hell. do it.

 

[Paperlantern]

Yeah my 13" is great. I use it MOSTLY at home, but work does dictate that I take it out and a bout with me a good bit, and even at the larger of the two models, like uber said, it is still VERY portable. To give you an idea, I have one of those zipper folders, something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Leather-Binder...7040645&sr=1-6

Inside of that I have a pad of paper, 2 pens, and one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsonite-Acce...7040745&sr=1-7

With other sheets of paper and its OWN pad of paper. I can still slip the Air in that thing, it fits nicely, without being TOO snug, but snug enough where it is still plenty protected and zips easily. Slides in my laptop bag, in the laptop slot without any trouble at all. I. LOVE. THIS. LAPTOP.

Additionally, i'll sit in Panera on my lunch and surf Anandtech and the web in general for up to an hour and i'll barely be out of the 90s for battery percentage remaining.

 

[Ka0t1x]

I'm really loving the new Air.. but I think I'll hold out for the 13" Pro with the higher resolution screen (hopefully this March ).

 

[Aikouka]

Is it really worth it to get an Air over a MB or MBP? Disappointing thing about all of those is that the MBP is the only one with a Core i-series available in it .

 

[Emulex]

imo the only pro to get is the 17" incher. (i love mine). the 15" is too weaksauce on the screen options. it should have 1920x1080/1200 in 15.6" but no. so ixnay that.

the 13" is just an aluminum body - core series.

the AIR - its light - i hurt my arm recently and i can lift the air and hold it with the bad arm. not so with the (white,aluminum, 17" mbp).

just make sure you get SSD - the biggest possible - when you get a macbook - or buy a model thats upgradable easily.

since 2006 the core2duo cpu hasn't gotten any faster except by mhz. a 2.0ghz 2007 model will outrun a 2.13ghz brand new MBA. the only advantage is the weaksauce video cards they throw on them. otherwise they operate the same man. the macbook i5/i7 are okay - but the cost of a 512gb ssd/8gb 15" or 17" is INSANE.

i love the trackpad though. best invention ever. the macbook air started it in 2007 and nobody has replicated the quality touchpad in any pc ever. hell even in bootcamp the multitouchpad becomes retarded useless.

 

[lokiju]

Not sure I understand - are you saying that your ideal Mac is an iPad that runs OS X?

That or something with a similar foot print.

If this 11" Air could swivel around it's LDC and lay falt and be used in a touch mode with ipad like icons and all, that'd be fantastic.

 

[Kaido]

That or something with a similar foot print.

If this 11" Air could swivel around it's LDC and lay falt and be used in a touch mode with ipad like icons and all, that'd be fantastic.

It makes me wonder if that's what they're headed for with the Mac App Store - iMacs & Laptops with touchscreens? I don't really see the value in it, since you'd just end up with a smudgy screen, but it might be kind of cool.

It would definitely be nice to have a 360-degree swivel keyboard that changes your Air (OS X) into an iPad (iOS).

 

[Tegeril]

imo the only pro to get is the 17" incher. (i love mine). the 15" is too weaksauce on the screen options. it should have 1920x1080/1200 in 15.6" but no. so ixnay that.

the 13" is just an aluminum body - core series.

the AIR - its light - i hurt my arm recently and i can lift the air and hold it with the bad arm. not so with the (white,aluminum, 17" mbp).

just make sure you get SSD - the biggest possible - when you get a macbook - or buy a model thats upgradable easily.

since 2006 the core2duo cpu hasn't gotten any faster except by mhz. a 2.0ghz 2007 model will outrun a 2.13ghz brand new MBA. the only advantage is the weaksauce video cards they throw on them. otherwise they operate the same man. the macbook i5/i7 are okay - but the cost of a 512gb ssd/8gb 15" or 17" is INSANE.

i love the trackpad though. best invention ever. the macbook air started it in 2007 and nobody has replicated the quality touchpad in any pc ever. hell even in bootcamp the multitouchpad becomes retarded useless.

I disagree with some of this. We've jumped from slower DDR2 to faster DDR3, higher platter density hard drives, video cards that, while for gaming are not powerhouses, are now integrated better with the OS to accelerate more and more functionality, and clocked up on the Core 2 line in these base-r models. Oh and battery life has increased significantly.

That said, I went with an i7 17" MBP, doubled up my RAM to 8GB and put in a 500GB Momentus XT (Hybrid drive). It was the right cost and delivers extremely good performance.

 

[sourceninja]

Honestly, I really scoffed at the macbook air when it was released, and I scoffed again when they recently updated the lineup.

But looking at how I really use a computer, I gain no real advantages with my macbook pro. I basically use a web browser, im client, and text editor.

 

[Kaido]

Honestly, I really scoffed at the macbook air when it was released, and I scoffed again when they recently updated the lineup.

But looking at how I really use a computer, I gain no real advantages with my macbook pro. I basically use a web browser, im client, and text editor.

That's really what it boiled down to for me. I thought the first Air was really cool, but not for me. But the latest ones...if I'm not doing DCC (Video/3D/etc.) then the Air is more than perfect for floating around with me. I can still have a workstation for doing the heavy lifting and "real" work, but an Air is definitely in my future

 

[disports]

That said, I went with an i7 17" MBP, doubled up my RAM to 8GB and put in a 500GB Momentus XT (Hybrid drive). It was the right cost and delivers extremely good performance.

I'm thinking about getting the 17" MBP once it gets updated and upgrading the ram to 8GB. Are you using that 500GB Momentus XT as a primary hard drive or secondary hard drive?

 

[Paperlantern]

I would prefer a smaller SSD to a standard spindle drive. This Air boots really fast, and when i use the WIndows XP VM i have in it, it boots in 12 seconds, and loads apps inside of it REALLY fast. This thing is a Joy to use.

 

[TheStu]

I would prefer a smaller SSD to a standard spindle drive. This Air boots really fast, and when i use the WIndows XP VM i have in it, it boots in 12 seconds, and loads apps inside of it REALLY fast. This thing is a Joy to use.

And that is 'joy' with a capital J, so you know he means business!

I can't wait until I can get my hands on one, I am so close to having the funds available, I just have to hope that my car doesn't screw me out of a new laptop yet again.

 

[kaerflog]

I just got the base 11" for $890.
The trackpad is the best evar.
I thought long and hard between the 11" and 13" and the main reason why I would get the 13" is the 1400x900 resolution.
At the end of the day I look at my traveling laptop(Acer 1410) and I see 1366x768 is good enough for me so I chose the 11".
Its cheaper plus its so much neater.
Best looking ultra portable laptop ever.

 

[Andrmgic]

I bought the Macbook Air 11.6" model w/ 128GB ssd as an open box at Best Buy for $1069 after tax.. it has been an amazing machine for everything I usually do on a machine.

It handles web browsing, music, IM chatting and many basic tasks extremely well.. and that comprises most of what I use a computer for...

As I'm typing now I have it hooked up to a Dell 23" 1080p monitor and my apple wired keyboard at my desk and it's not skipping a beat.

I tested it on the 27" LED cinema display at Best Buy as well and it has absolutely no problem driving that display.. I'd really like to get one to go my mba.. but it's a low priority.

Right now I have 2 machines.. my macbook air and my i7 gaming rig.. unless I specifically want to play a game, I don't even power the i7 on.

I never thought I'd say it.. but the 11.6" Macbook air is my primary computer and I don't have any complaints about it.

 

[Emulex]

yeah but i like a sexy bish like the next nerd. so that's why i roll with the macbook air.

it is by far the hottest chick on the block. esp with backlit keys

 

[TheStu]

11" Air with 4GB RAM and 64GB SSD is on order... this week is going to crawl by.

 

[disports]

Jealous! I thought about getting the MBA 11.6" first and then getting the 17" MBP later but that'd be such a waste especially since the 17" MBP would be my desktop replacement and I want the 1920 x 1200 resolution

 

[Paperlantern]

And that is 'joy' with a capital J, so you know he means business!

I can't wait until I can get my hands on one, I am so close to having the funds available, I just have to hope that my car doesn't screw me out of a new laptop yet again.

HA I didnt even notice i capitalized the J in joy. But yes you could that much emphasis on it, it really is a JOY. Fast, portable, INCREDIBLE battery life.

I'm in training this week, and ive been taking it with me. I use it on breaks during class, and for an hour at lunch, so during the day i probably use it (am using it now in a panera bread) for about 2 hours total. It also sits in sleep mode with the lid closed on my desk while class is actively in session. Yesterday When i came home and opened it up it was at only 66% battery life. By my math, thats ~5.5 to 6 hours of up time, give or take.

 

[lokiju]

Honestly, I really scoffed at the macbook air when it was released, and I scoffed again when they recently updated the lineup.

But looking at how I really use a computer, I gain no real advantages with my macbook pro. I basically use a web browser, im client, and text editor.

This was my internal conflict that I had a hard time getting past.

But after really listing out what I use a computer for around the home and then going to play with a Air in person, I realized that while specs are great, actual usage is what counts and even the 11" base does the trick for me.

 

[Ns1]

This was my internal conflict that I had a hard time getting past.

But after really listing out what I use a computer for around the home and then going to play with a Air in person, I realized that while specs are great, actual usage is what counts and even the 11" base does the trick for me.

what? you don't need an i7 with 8gb of ram and a video card the size of my mac mini just to run microsoft word? nonsense.