Just switched again, I'll be back in no time. (A little info for those on the fence)

[bobjob186]

So, I just sold my MBA 1.6ghz 120GB HD and went to a 2.53 13" MBP and already I miss the air. I had gotten the air in April of 09 for 1450 brand new and I was a former air owner back in the early rev A days and it felt good to be back. Knowing that the resale value on the airs fall faster than you can ever imagine I knew the air would have to go eventually so I could salvage some of the value before the next real rev came out. So I sold the air and moved "up" to the 13" MBP. I should have known I would be unsatisfied because I switched from the 2.4 unibody macbook to the air back in april and it I told myself I would never have anything but an air. To bad we forget sometimes.

Benefits of the Air:
Size and Weight: Hands down the size and weight of the machine put it in a different class, you can't pick up any other laptop and feel ok about it after owning the air.
Screen: The screen on this MBP is seriously garbage compared to the air. It's not as bright, and the colors aren't as vivid.
Performance to Weight: Truthfully, I've been using the MBP for about 20hrs now and for about 90% of the things I do the Air feels exactly the same. Might be because of the 6mb of L2 or the fact that most of my stuff is in excel, bootcamp, or online. Regardless, all you should know that is when you see 1.6ghz, or 1.83ghz, or 2.13ghz and then you wish you had the 2.53ghz or higher because it's "faster" don't be fooled, the air gets the job done.

The One benefit of the MBP:
RAM: 4GB standard, and up to 8GB if you have $800 lying around is a huge advantage for the MBP, but you do pay for it in the weight, the size, and the crappy screen, and don't forget the garbage trackpad.

Regardless of what anyone says, there is no benefit to this trackpad other than it feels smoother. It is a step back as far as trackpads go in my opinion.

If you're on the fence about the air and you're saying you can get more for your money in the MBP, you don't really because a computer that weighs 3 pounds and does everything and more than this fat boy on my table right now is worth every single penny you spend. Spend 1349 and get the refurb SSD rev b and never look back. I'll be back in the air world sooner than later.

hope this was helpful.
bob

 

[AAPLaday]

Good post Bob. I think im going to be getting an Air soon. I currently have an iMac and unibody MacBook but im thinking of selling the MacBook with the proceeds going towards an air. I very very nearly got one last october but decided on the MacBook instead. I was in an Apple store at the weekend and played with the Air and the screen is much better for me as there isn't a big piece of glass in front acting like a mirror. The speed of it was fine as well for my usage. The one i tried was the 1.86 with a hard drive but obviously the SSD version would be even better.

If i was going to get a MBP instead of an air i would definitely get the matte screen optioned 15" as the 17 is too big for me and the 13" doesn't have this option.

 

[FoundAHalo]

I pretty much agree with you Bob - I've had a couple iBook/MacBooks and MBPs, and currently sport a 15" UB MBP which is a must for working. However, after years of carrying around MBPs in a bag, I decided to relegate my MBP to my desk, and get an Rev B. Air w/ SSD.
It's a truly impressive machine... ample power to perform day-to-day functions, and so light and portable that it's like not even carrying it. Only real gripes with it are the overheating issues and the battery life not being as great as I'd hoped. But I would never regret dropping the cash to get it as a "for fun" laptop. Great investment really!

 

[RichardF]

So, I just sold my MBA 1.6ghz 120GB HD and went to a 2.53 13" MBP and already I miss the air. I had gotten the air in April of 09 for 1450 brand new and I was a former air owner back in the early rev A days and it felt good to be back. Knowing that the resale value on the airs fall faster than you can ever imagine I knew the air would have to go eventually so I could salvage some of the value before the next real rev came out. So I sold the air and moved "up" to the 13" MBP. I should have known I would be unsatisfied because I switched from the 2.4 unibody macbook to the air back in april and it I told myself I would never have anything but an air. To bad we forget sometimes.

Benefits of the Air:
Size and Weight: Hands down the size and weight of the machine put it in a different class, you can't pick up any other laptop and feel ok about it after owning the air.
Screen: The screen on this MBP is seriously garbage compared to the air. It's not as bright, and the colors aren't as vivid.
Performance to Weight: Truthfully, I've been using the MBP for about 20hrs now and for about 90% of the things I do the Air feels exactly the same. Might be because of the 6mb of L2 or the fact that most of my stuff is in excel, bootcamp, or online. Regardless, all you should know that is when you see 1.6ghz, or 1.83ghz, or 2.13ghz and then you wish you had the 2.53ghz or higher because it's "faster" don't be fooled, the air gets the job done.

The One benefit of the MBP:
RAM: 4GB standard, and up to 8GB if you have $800 lying around is a huge advantage for the MBP, but you do pay for it in the weight, the size, and the crappy screen, and don't forget the garbage trackpad.

Regardless of what anyone says, there is no benefit to this trackpad other than it feels smoother. It is a step back as far as trackpads go in my opinion.

If you're on the fence about the air and you're saying you can get more for your money in the MBP, you don't really because a computer that weighs 3 pounds and does everything and more than this fat boy on my table right now is worth every single penny you spend. Spend 1349 and get the refurb SSD rev b and never look back. I'll be back in the air world sooner than later.

hope this was helpful.
bob

I took away your comment about the trackpad.

Could you please explain how you felt it is "inferior" on the MBP?

A lot of people want the "glass trackpad" on the next Rev of the MBA.

 

[adamjackson]

I'm going to save this thread for the next time someone is on here asking between MBP and MBA.

I have both and I use the MBA 90% of the time now.

 

[aleni]

you know, my rev B/ssd air is damn nice, but i love the glass trackpad of my UB 17" mbp, but i prefer it to have a physical button like my air, so i can keep my left finger on the button and my right finger on the trackpad. it's better to use than touch to tap in some scenario. at least for me.

rev A is disgusting with core shutdown, but as soon as rev B came out, i bought it again, because i love the thiness of it. it's get the job done.

my 17" always stays at my office desk for doing photoshop with 3000x3000 px.

 

[Scottsdale]

I get the "more power" reasoning of people wanting to switch from the MBA to a 13" MBP. On paper, it's difficult to understand what 1.5 lbs does in weight and what the thinness of the MBA means in use.

The problem is most people WANT the power, but they really don't benefit from it. I would guess less than 10% of MBA users need more RAM than 2 GB. Sure there are a few people forced to use the MBP because they need the RAM... but that group is probably pretty small who actually NEED more than 2 GB of RAM.

Same thing for CPU power, the 13" MBP at 2.26 GHz or 2.53 GHz has almost no advantage over the MBA. Finally, the fact that the MBA comes "standard" or configured with an SSD and the MBP requires custom ordering usually means the MBA buyers will pay for SSD whereas MBP buyers will not. Configured, the MBA wins the battle of speed there. Although, of course people can buy a MacBook Pro 13" and put a nicer SSD in it with its standard 2.5" drive size.

The end result means for more money, people get a quicker MBA that is significantly lighter in reality even though paper reasoning differs. And although the 13" MBP is only 1" thick, it feels so much thicker when compared and considering the weight advantages of the MBA.

The bottom line is that the MacBook Air is truly fun. Although it doesn't seem to be extremely lightweight, most MBA users feel it's extremely lightweight and a HUGE advantage over the 13" MBP. And even though .13 to .86" doesn't seem that much thinner than the 13" MBP, in reality it feels extremely thin and simple to pack away in a tote between a few magazines.

So we will continue to see people leave their MBAs for a "more powerful" 13" MBP that makes all the sense and isn't that much heavier nor that much thicker. And the majority SEEMINGLY come back to the MBA. They realize the MBP's advantages simply don't really matter whereas the weight, thinness, and speedy little MBA is truly a joy to use and a better Mac for its intended target buyers.

 

[Ace134blue]

So, I just sold my MBA 1.6ghz 120GB HD and went to a 2.53 13" MBP and already I miss the air. I had gotten the air in April of 09 for 1450 brand new and I was a former air owner back in the early rev A days and it felt good to be back. Knowing that the resale value on the airs fall faster than you can ever imagine I knew the air would have to go eventually so I could salvage some of the value before the next real rev came out. So I sold the air and moved "up" to the 13" MBP. I should have known I would be unsatisfied because I switched from the 2.4 unibody macbook to the air back in april and it I told myself I would never have anything but an air. To bad we forget sometimes.

Benefits of the Air:
Size and Weight: Hands down the size and weight of the machine put it in a different class, you can't pick up any other laptop and feel ok about it after owning the air.
Screen: The screen on this MBP is seriously garbage compared to the air. It's not as bright, and the colors aren't as vivid.
Performance to Weight: Truthfully, I've been using the MBP for about 20hrs now and for about 90% of the things I do the Air feels exactly the same. Might be because of the 6mb of L2 or the fact that most of my stuff is in excel, bootcamp, or online. Regardless, all you should know that is when you see 1.6ghz, or 1.83ghz, or 2.13ghz and then you wish you had the 2.53ghz or higher because it's "faster" don't be fooled, the air gets the job done.

The One benefit of the MBP:
RAM: 4GB standard, and up to 8GB if you have $800 lying around is a huge advantage for the MBP, but you do pay for it in the weight, the size, and the crappy screen, and don't forget the garbage trackpad.

Regardless of what anyone says, there is no benefit to this trackpad other than it feels smoother. It is a step back as far as trackpads go in my opinion.

If you're on the fence about the air and you're saying you can get more for your money in the MBP, you don't really because a computer that weighs 3 pounds and does everything and more than this fat boy on my table right now is worth every single penny you spend. Spend 1349 and get the refurb SSD rev b and never look back. I'll be back in the air world sooner than later.

hope this was helpful.
bob

Your nuts if you think that a 1-inch laptop is fat. Move to a 4-inch toshiba and see which ones fat

 

[bobjob186]

I took away your comment about the trackpad.

Could you please explain how you felt it is "inferior" on the MBP?

A lot of people want the "glass trackpad" on the next Rev of the MBA.

Having an actual trackpad button just makes me efficient compared to the entire thing being a button. I like the feel of it, but I rather they just have it all tap and scrap the clicking of the glass trackpad.

 

[mcpryon2]

I'm a former Air owner. I had a Rev A and a couple Rev Bs. Right now I have a 17" MBP, which I got for doing audio and video, but I just picked up a Mac Pro. Now, when I sit on the couch using my 17" it just seems too big.

I'm not sure what it is about the Air, but I have a feeling I'll be coming back really soon. If I was guaranteed to get one with no lines, I'd sell the 17" MBP and get it immediately. Really, the fear of the lines is the only thing stopping me right now. I'm guessing they're still the same problem on the refurbs.

 

[aleni]

Your nuts if you think that a 1-inch laptop is fat. Move to a 4-inch toshiba and see which ones fat

1inch is thin compared to other notebooks. but when you ever experienced the macbook air, so i'd say yes, 1 inch is thick enough for daily use.

 

[NikFinn]

Having an actual trackpad button just makes me efficient compared to the entire thing being a button. I like the feel of it, but I rather they just have it all tap and scrap the clicking of the glass trackpad.

Coming from having a MBP for almost 3 months, I agree completely.

 

[GeekGirl*]

I have done this myself more then a few times, enjoy what you have.Scottsdale it not always needing more but wanting what the Air doesn't have, quiet fans,no lines,...

 

[mykoljay]

I had the MBA Rev.A since day 1 of its release. Just sold it and got the new MBP 13 (and upgraded to 4gb ram). It was about an even trade.

Anyhow, I do think the MBP is more solid feeling and quicker. Kind of agree that I liked the MBA trackpad more, but maybe I have to get used to it.

But I definitely agree that the MBP is huge compared to MBA. I never carry it around like I did with my Air. I would even throw it in my bag with my huge work Thinkpad and not notice it was on me. Btw, I never had any issues with my Rev A (other than the fact that it couldn't run hd).

Anyhow, my feeling is that I wanted to the latest gen of Apple and the resale was still fairly good on my Rev A (on Craigslist) and now I'm waiting for the Tablet as my computer-always-on-me. If it doesn't pan out to my expectations, I'll get a netbook with Win7 and the newer Ion processor within the next 6 months.

Basically, lesson for everyone - get the MBP 13, MBA, iTablet and iphone!!! And then you'll have no regrets

 

[Scottsdale]

I understand people not getting the glass trackpad... However, I read a poll that over 80% found the glass trackpad a really amazing feel and "much better" than the plastic the MBA has. In addition, the built in button means no "finding" the button with the thumb or finger.

Anyone that doesn't "get" or isn't amazed by the glass trackpad probably hasn't used one much or just is one of the few... not many who love and find it a huge difference.

If one thinks about it, the trackpad is usually the only interaction people have with their computers when surfing the web, scrolling through and reading a PDF, and etc. It's a lot of time.

When I first got the glass trackpad on a MB, I hated it. I didn't know where to click. I thought it felt nice but when I was scrolling I would often shrink or increase the text size on web pages because I usually left my thumb on the button of the MBA and this was causing two finger enlarge and decrease functions.

However, within a week, I was completely addicted to the glass feel. I had wondered why there was ever a separate button. The button made no sense on prior trackpads. Apple really thought out this one. Glass, how ingenious. Now, the problem is going back to an MBA and the button and plastic again. It is the ONLY inferior part of the MBA I feel commonly every time I use my MBA.

Glass is super inexpensive to make. Apple hit a home run with the glass trackpad. It probably costs next to nothing for another big time reason for people to switch to the Mac. The problem is most people don't understand how big the difference is unless they have used it for a week. I hope the next MBA has a glass buttonless trackpad. It's a lot of value added with a few cents worth of cost to manufacture it.

Don't knock it before you try it.

 

[jtmav]

Is there any issue with weight/size/depth when it come to the glass trackpad unit? I know it seems trivial but maybe the Air couldn't accommodate the unit within the current design. If this seems ignorant it's beacuse I can barely spell engineer never mind understand what they do

JTMav

 

[NT1440]

Garbage trackpad?