Hey All, Thoughts on the best option? I know it depends on needs of the user but my HP crapped out on me and I am switching to Apple products since I have been so happy with my iPad and iPhone. The benefit of the Pro is the optical drive and storage space but I haven't watched a DVD on my computer in forever and I have an external HD so I am wondering if the AIR might be better for convenience and portability. I would be doing simple photo editing with their Aperture program and using it for creating documents like resumes and such. Not looking for anything too fancy just the basics. AIR 13inch also has better resolution than standard 13inch PRO but that can also be upgraded. Seems like most review sites say AIR decked out is as good as basic PRO but PRO is better overall value for the money. I know there are some techies on here that can lend a thought. Chas
I went to best buy just yesterday to pick another laptop but I was fiddling around with the pro and the air. My cousin has a pro so I have more experience with that. As far are portability goes for both lappy's it's very good, your not going to notice when your carrying it in a bag and you will always carry these products in a bag unless you have giant ass pockets. In all honesty I hate the air because of it's 1 USB port and general uselessness. Both products are very light so you "really" won't notice the difference assuming that you detail cars so you must have some muscle mass lol. Now all I can say is when you get the mac get APPLECARE EVEN IF YOU DON'T RUFF WITH YOUR COMPUTER
I too moved from HP & windows to the Apple iMac 2 years ago & haven't looked back. Zero regrets. I would go with the Pro also. You're looking just to do the basics now, but if you keep your machines for a few years as most of us do you'll find some uses for the extras a Pro can provide. Applecare is worth the extra cost, & I'd visit your local Apple store; they have lots of free informative classes to help take you a step or two beyond what you're now doing with photos. The emphasis in the store is to sell you new products but you can ignore that & get some useful tips from knowledgable users who work there.
I've been using Mac Laptops for about 12 years and have no regrets. I have a 15" Pro thats about 5 years old now and still works great. Based on what I use mine for, I will be considering a 13" Air next. I use mine mainly for the internet and photo storage.
I'd get the AIR in a heartbeat but for day2day, I do need 8 gigs of memory AND a ethernet port. The Air does not have a hard ethernet and caps out a 4 gigs. Pick your poison but both and equally fine.. It depends on how you will use it. I travel 2-3 weeks out a month lately and while the air's weight is wanted, it doesn't have the ports I need...
Air - PROS SSD Drive (SPEED!) Light, not gonna break your back Adequate processing power Battery consumption is relatively lower due to less->no mechanical parts - CONS Propriety SSD Drive meaning not upgrade-able (or very costly) Lack of space (or very expensive) Hard to self service Can't change ram as its soldered onboard Pro -PROS Bigger hard drive (or you can still buy a generic SSD which is available on market) More user serviceable (cheaper parts as some parts are more generic) Supposedly better LCD panels More Ram (for cheaper) More processing power -CONS Heavier Mechanical drive more prone to failure due to shock/doesnt work in very high altitude Thus down to your specific needs, hauling an external will decrease your batt life on either case through the USB. Air is not really a home machine replacement due to lack of space (not so much optical). Photos these days are so darn big that you fill up quickly, add a few movies n stuff and you're done for it.
Air will be way faster for most things you will be doing. Photo processing won't require the pro's hardcore internals. I have a pro but prefer the portability and quickness (for A.C. Bob) of the air for daily tasks. I've got the base i5 Pro and run most of Adobe's CS3 and other programs and barely use up 50% of the memory.
Thanks for all the recommendations guys I appreciate it all. I just went out during my lunch break and picked up the PRO, won't really be toting it around so I don't need the lighweight, it's already lightweight as it is. Plus storage was key for photos and having the optical drive may come in handy later on. It's funny the guy across from me was buyin the same computer and we were talking about why we were getting it and his HP had died too.
I bought a 13" pro with a SSD, i7 and 8gb instead of a 'fully loaded' air, as I'm also working with pictures. And I'm very happy with my decision - the 13" MBP is small enough and with the SSD it's amazingly fast. If you buy with a MBP, I can recommend Hitachi's G-Technology external drives, it's plug and play, and it will run Time Machine out of the box.
Gotta get a laptop this weekend too. Base model 13" for me. Was considering the 11" Air, but I never know if I'll need a disc or ethernet. Day to day, I think the air seemed faster. I might pick up an SSD down the road. I got 3 external drives, nearly all filled with media.
I would hate to be running on attachments. With the external HD, disc drive, ethernet dongle. It just seems like a pain to deal with. I'd rather get an all in one machine right now that will get by for the next 4 years.
Had the first generation Macbook Air and I used it all through out my undergrad it was nice but was also a pain because it did not have a disk drive and the storage was quite low. It ended up really being a "Macbook" one day due to it completely opening up like a book, the brackets in the back broke loose. I had it insured with Geeksquad so I was able to get a Macbook Pro to replace it in a 13" with 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4 GB of memory its great alot faster and capable of accomplishing more tasks, I can now do everything that I couldn't with the Air. I wish I would have went with the Pro in the first place, it would have saved me alot of headaches while I was in college.
Comparing the old MBA to the new one is like apples and oranges. But I do agree with you Danny, the first MBA was crappy.
Well, this makes up my mind 100% now (even if the new ones more capable, I'm not sure it can be a true replacement). Apple has great warranty too, albeit expensive. My sisters 15" 3 year old MBP went in for 3 separate screen replacements. Same blotchiness possibly due to the design of the vents inward of the screen (you close it, its cooking the screen). Went to 2 stores (the first told me it was my issue, and to never close a laptop after using it for a while, setting it on a table for a few minutes to cool down) while the next was the only store I go to after that. Long story short after replacing the monitor almost yearly, CS over the phone replaced it with the brand new quad core machine, and matte screen upgrade. Good computer ever since, I might have had a lemon.
Dont use apple but watched this episode the other day and came to mind Olympus E-P3 Reviewed, Evernote Interviewed, MacBook Pro vs... - Tekzilla Clock on second white dot for FF to segment.
I ran my Mac Book Pro for 4-5 years and handed it over to my wife, she loves it, I picked up a new Mac Book Pro and its a great upgrade. I prefer to have the bigger screen and hard drive.
Been using the new MBP for the last few days and its PHENOMENAL! Definitely glad I got it over the Air. More space and capabilities gives me piece of mind. There is no comparison to a PC, which I have used the last 8 years. I LOVE it!
