03-03-2011, 01:22 PM

Hey guys, I tried searching this forum for threads regarding the late 2010 macbook airs, but there doesn't seem to be much interest regarding these laptops.

I'm looking to purchase the Macbook air 11" sometime in the next few months and would like some input on it.

My main uses for it are browsing, email, youtube, word processing. Just all the basic things that the average uses their laptops for. I was wondering how the base model Macbook air 11" holds up against the base 13" macbook pros in the things I would use the machine for.

thanks guys

03-03-2011, 01:34 PM

i have the base model and it is really speedy even on bootcamp partition its very responsive. my only beef with my baseline is the 64 gb hd. its just not alot of space. i would have been much happier with 128gb worth of space. the ram was fine and the processor was fine. just the space that bothered me.

03-03-2011, 02:00 PM

I had the opportunity to use the 11" MBA for a month or so, and I really enjoyed it, apart from the limited storage on the unit. The one I was testing only had the 64gb drive, which only provided 60gb of storage. Once the OS, our core business software load and disk encryption were complete, I had about 30gb of storage available. I have about 20gb of music I keep with me, so that brought me to 10gb free - and I was VERY uncomfortable being that close to full. Spend the extra dollars, get the 128GB drive, and it should be a great computer for what you want to do. The solid state drive made up for the slower processor, and it felt much snappier than I expected. Just as an FYI, one of our CIOs is currently using an 11" as his primary workstation with no complaints.

03-03-2011, 02:18 PM

Bear in mind though with the Air that there is no optical drive and you cannot upgrade it!.
Think long-term, i.e. will you maybe want a better machine in the nearish future? If so and you have the Air you will have to get a brand-new machine.

Just trying to give the other side to have an Air.

- Simon

03-03-2011, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by EvenStranger

I had the opportunity to use the 11" MBA for a month or so, and I really enjoyed it, apart from the limited storage on the unit. The one I was testing only had the 64gb drive, which only provided 60gb of storage. Once the OS, our core business software load and disk encryption were complete, I had about 30gb of storage available. I have about 20gb of music I keep with me, so that brought me to 10gb free - and I was VERY uncomfortable being that close to full. Spend the extra dollars, get the 128GB drive, and it should be a great computer for what you want to do. The solid state drive made up for the slower processor, and it felt much snappier than I expected. Just as an FYI, one of our CIOs is currently using an 11" as his primary workstation with no complaints.

I've never used my computers for much of the storage. I have about 100 mp3s, a few movies, and a couple games on my iMac which has 500gb of storage, I've only used 68gb of that. Would you suggest that I just go for the base model macbook air, or do you think it would be safer to go for the 128gb option?

Another question is that whether the speed meets or exceeds the performance of the macbook pro for general things like web browsing, video playback, etc.

thanks!

03-03-2011, 08:12 PM

For info sake: The flash storage unit on the Air can be upgraded, it's the memory that can not since it's soldered on the logic board. However, before you decide to upgrade the flash storage unit, you might want to pay a visit to your banker and inquire about a small loan...

This from OWC: 360GB OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express Solid State Drive for MacBook Air 2010 Edition. for $1,179.99

03-04-2011, 10:35 AM

i appreciate that you posted about the owc ssd drive. i think it would have been a little better if you had posted that there are 2 OWC memory models below that that are available. the cheapest around 500 which is a site more reasonable then 1179.00.

03-04-2011, 10:45 AM

Personally, if storage isn't that big an issue for you, I'd spend the extra $100 on moving to 4gb RAM instead of 2gb and keeping the 64gb drive. Chscag is right, the storage can be updated later, and prices will come down. RAM can't... what you get is what you get. So get more RAM up front. You'll see better performance with more RAM. I can't say the speed of the 11" is faster than the MBP, but it's not sluggish. For what you are describing, I think you'll be fine.

For the 11", you're paying for portability. The computer is amazingly small and light, but still maintains a great deal of power. It's a full computer, not a "netbook" with a scaled down OS. If by chance an 11" with a 128gb drive comes through my office, I'm swapping my 13" again and going back to 11".

03-04-2011, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by safarisurfer

i appreciate that you posted about the owc ssd drive. i think it would have been a little better if you had posted that there are 2 OWC memory models below that that are available. the cheapest around 500 which is a site more reasonable then 1179.00.

It was just for comparison sake. You can always get the smaller flash unit upgrade for less ($500 is still a bunch of money). The whole point is that you can indeed upgrade the storage, it's the system memory that can not be upgraded.

03-06-2011, 12:58 AM

I was debating on whether to get the 13" or 11" Air and ultimately went with the 11" with 128 gb ssd and 2 gb of ram. My everyday computer is a Toshiba Portege R705 with an i5 processor and 8 gb of ram and a Momentus XT hybrid hard drive. I use my computers for basic office tasks, web surfing, photo editing, iTunes stuff but no gaming.

After only a few days with the Air, I can honestly say that it appears to run faster than the Toshiba. Storage is a bit of an issue so I opened a Sugarsync account and that took care of my one concern. I was a bit concerned about 2 gb of ram instead of 4 gb but that has not been a problem.

The Air may not be able to handle all things for all people but it sure fills the bill for me!

03-06-2011, 12:53 PM

I use an Air daily but it's attached to a 24" cinema display - amazing to think hey.

So the machine itself, well...

- no backlit keyboard which can suck at times. Touch typing is harder in bed when it's on your knees.

- no ethernet port, that's cool I just use a USB adapter

- the guys are right about the storage

I find the screen a little too small when working on it away from home for longer than a couple of hours but that may be because I'm used to the cinema display.

03-09-2011, 12:44 PM

I was exited when Apple released the 11 inch air but when I went to look at it I was really turned off by the shape, how it is wide on one end and narrow on the other. I will wait for the next update but I am not hopeful that the shape will change. I would rather have it a bit thicker and uniform in shape. Might be a little ocd here.

03-09-2011, 02:39 PM

I doubt seriously that Apple will design the next "Air" machines to be thicker. The reason for the new design was to make it smaller and lighter, while increasing its overall computing power. It's an excellent machine for the business traveler or typical road warrior. There's not another machine like it.

03-18-2011, 08:05 PM

can anyone confirm that mba 11 will have a refresh in june with sandy bridge? i have been ready to buy one but am holding out for a potential june refresh. i am even thinking about getting the ipad2 for the interim...thanks.

03-18-2011, 08:10 PM

What makes you think there will be a refresh in June? No one knows that for sure and the refresh cycle for the Air has been different and longer than other Macs. The current Air machines were refreshed last October. See the following LINK for when to buy.