Thinking about getting a Macbook Pro 13......

[Pasco08]

I have been debating between getting a pro 13 or an Alienware i fly a lot and want something portable with a good screen been leaning towards the apple because i have a massive Itunes library with a lot of movies and wouldn't mind being able to watch those in flight. This would just be my first apple computer and would be new to the Apple OS. So for portability how portable and durable is a pro 13? And is the screen have a lot of glare?

 

[lclev]

If the choice is between apple versus alienware, and having owned both, apple by far.

If you travel a lot why not the 13" Macbook Air? Best battery life around - 12 hours (I own one so I can say yes, it will get that unless you are playing constant movies then less.) Weight is less than 3 lbs.

And with either a MB Air or MB Pro you will have:

- a sturdier built laptop
- more reliable
- no need to run anti-virus
- few updates and you can choose when or if to install those few.

There will be a learning curve if you are use to a Windows environment. If you post your questions on this forum we will help you through it. This is where I learned how to navigate OS X after 30+ years of Windows.

I have owned one alienware and have a friend who has a 15" model. Both have had hinge breakage and video card issues but hopefully that has been fixed with the newer models.

As for screen glare - both my MB Pro and MB Air do not have the retina screens and I do not have any glare. Newer models have the retina displays which are fabulous but I can not speak to a glare factor.

Lisa

 

[Rod]

You did say you have a massive music/movie library so one issue for you might be storage. The stock standard MaBook Air only has 128Gb and 256Gb. I advise most people to pick up a 1Tb external USB HD for additional storage space and backups.
The MBA is really designed to be a workstation (which it does very well) not a storage device but for portability and function it's fantastic.

 

[Rod]

The 13 inch MBP 500Gb is what I use, it is heavier than the MBA but has the retina display plenty of storage for media and is pretty hard to beat as an all purpose travelling companion.