should i get a mba 11 or 13 inch?

getting a mac for the first time, and have seen both. my main concern is that 11 inch might be too small for me, but when i saw it, it seemed fine, just after working a few hours on it might strain my eyes. i'm mainly going to be using it to watch movies, microsoft word, and surfing. also a little xcode (will screen get too crowded with 11 inch?). i won't have any other laptop/computer so this is going to be my main computer, and i'm a college student, but barely use laptop/computer for schoolwork, just mainly entertainment purposes, and a little programming. what do you think would be the best, 11 or 13 inch?

also, how is the volume/sound quality on macbook air? like is it decent enough to watch movies? thanks

edit: also, how does the 11 inch work with websites and netflix due to it's non conventional resolution, like does everything look normal? thx

The only advantage that an 11" MBA has over any other model is its small light weight form factor. Which makes it a very convenient carry around portable. However, there are disadvantages: 11" screen with mid high resolution which will make everything smaller, non upgradeable, store purchased model has a small SSD and only 4 GB of memory (which may be enough for you).

Personally, I would not buy either MBA but instead would buy the late 2012 13" MacBook Pro which is the only model left in the Apple line that is upgradeable for memory and hard drive. (For around the same price as the MBA) But it's your decision.

The 11'' has a conventional resolution. 1366x768 is the de-facto 16:9 standard for low end laptops right now. This is effectively a 720p display and will be able to display HD video. It isn't a particularly attractive display but it does provide for reasonable pixel density on an 11'' display. It only really becomes an issue on some low end Wintel laptops that have larger displays.

The 13'' MBA has a 1440x900 16:10 resolution. This was the standard for laptops several years ago before everyone started throwing 16:9 screens in everything. Compared to a 16:9 screen, it has more horizontal pixels, which means it is easier to have documents side by side. It is quite adequate and looks significantly sharper than the 768p screen on the 11'' MBA.

I would personally rather have the 13'' MBA for its battery life, screen resolution, and larger screen overall. They are essentially equivalent in terms of overall performance though so if you prefer the 11'' form factor, you'll still be getting the same internals.

Go with the 13" Air my friend.