Macworld: Why Macbook Air? ...

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21 Replies Last post: Mar 14, 2008 5:23 AM by smax013 1 2 Previous Next

joeyjames

61 posts since
May 5, 2007

Feb 23, 2008 12:01 AM

Why Macbook Air?

Hi guys,i am planning to purchase a new MB,i am just ordinary mac user,it 's for personal use only can you tell me wich one is the best ,i mean i like Air because it is light,mb is ok,mbp is faster than the rest.thanks in advance.

joeyjames

CheeseHead

182 posts since
Mar 16, 2002

1. Feb 23, 2008 2:46 AM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

Unless you have a need for the Air I would not recommend it for personal use. You should go with a MB if your looking for a smaller laptop. It is more expandable, faster, and cheaper than the Air.

albloom

2,251 posts since
Apr 21, 2004

2. Feb 23, 2008 4:26 AM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

Joey, my take on the Air is that it is designed for the VP who can't
spell Mac and has his or her secretary preload the machine before
a business trip.

KPO'M

1,851 posts since
Nov 29, 2001

3. Feb 23, 2008 6:11 AM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

It depends on what "personal use" is. Will you be doing anything graphics-intensive (such as lots of video editing)? If so, then the Pro is the best option. Will you need lots of disk space? Then perhaps a base MacBook or an Air with a Time Capsule is in order. If you'll be using it at home most of the time, a base MacBook might be just fine, and is quite a bit cheaper with the same amount of RAM and a faster processor. However, if you'll be traveling a lot, then the Air is a great choice. I've been using one for about 2 weeks now, and every time I pick up my 5.4lb old PC, it feels very heavy by comparison (the PC is roughly the size of a MacBook Pro).

If all you'll do is basic Internet, e-mail, personal finance, iTunes, and iPhoto use (or even some basic word processing or simple Numbers use), then the Air should be fine. I'd recommend the $99 external DVD, though. It's much more convenient than using Remote Disc, and it's pretty small and can be tucked away on a shelf the 99% of the time you won't need it.

MacosNerd

318 posts since
Jun 8, 2007

4. Feb 23, 2008 7:32 AM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

Here's my $.02 regarding the air.

People seem to be lining up in the love or hate camps. Not too many people are in the middle it seems.

I consider myself in the former camp, being that I love the design. That said, I believe that apple (rightly or wrongly) is marketing this to the travel warrior who frequently is on the road. The design has a number of sacrifices because of size, and weight. To that end, its not a machine that is geared to be the main machine of a user. Its under-powered compared its larger brethren and the storage is meager.

If you travel a bit but not a lot, I'd look towards the MB or the MBP. I've owned both and found that the 13" screen was too limiting for my needs (photoshop/aperture/Dreamweaver) and the GPU/Processor a little slow for Photoshop and Aperture. I moved to a MacBook Pro and found that its a great machine, perfect balance of size and power for my needs.

If you need the mobility then the iMac would be a better choice because you get more computer for your $$

FranksterOne

138 posts since
Aug 18, 2007

5. Feb 23, 2008 8:11 AM

in response to: MacosNerd

Re: Why Macbook Air?

The scoreboard will tell the tale. I bet they move a ton of these this year. Will be interesting to see how many they sell.

-Frankster One
http://www.shouldbefree.net/

KPO'M

1,851 posts since
Nov 29, 2001

6. Feb 23, 2008 11:43 AM

in response to: MacosNerd

Re: Why Macbook Air?

MacosNerd wrote:

I consider myself in the former camp, being that I love the design. That said, I believe that apple (rightly or wrongly) is marketing this to the travel warrior who frequently is on the road. The design has a number of sacrifices because of size, and weight. To that end, its not a machine that is geared to be the main machine of a user. Its under-powered compared its larger brethren and the storage is meager.

That's the case with every subnotebook, and I think that's what some in the "hate" camp don't realize. Every subnotebook is a compromise, and fares worse than a standard notebook on a features for cost basis. Even the beloved 12" Powerbook had less processor cache, a small screen, a 4.6lb weight, and was pricey compared to the iBook. With the Air, rather than try to build a slightly smaller notebook than the MacBook with specs in between the base and the pro (which was their strategy with the 12" Powerbook), they decided to build a much smaller notebook with specs slightly below the base MacBook. Just keep that in mind when making a decision.

minischneides

311 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

7. Feb 23, 2008 12:12 PM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

joeyjames wrote:

Hi guys,i am planning to purchase a new MB,i am just ordinary mac user,it 's for personal use only can you tell me wich one is the best ,i mean i like Air because it is light,mb is ok,mbp is faster than the rest.thanks in advance.

You describe yourself as just an ordinary Mac user and for that reason i would right away say that the Macbook Air is out of the question.

I say that for a few reasons...

The Macbook Air is made for a very specific audience, road warriors. It has less power then any other Mac that you can buy, it has a small hard drive, only one USB port and no Firewire, the list goes on. Although it is light weight, it is not practical for the average Mac user to have.

That leave your decision between the Macbook Pro, and the Macbook. By saying you are the ordinary Mac user I suspect that you use your Mac almost exclusively for the internet, email, and perhaps a small bit of photo editing. You will not require that much power and so the Macbook would easily be able to handle everything you throw at it. If you enjoy the screen size and have a little bit of extra coin then I would recommend getting a Macbook Pro. I believe that the regular Macbook now comes with 1GB of ram which will be plenty. I have a black core duo Macbook with only 1GB of RAM and I push it to its limits, when running 10 or more applications at once it can get sluggish but overall it can handle just about anything you need to do with it. In the end it comes down to how much you care about screen size and how much money you have to spend.

Hope that helped,

Thomas

2GHz Core Duo Black Macbook - 10.5.2 - 16GB iPod Touch - 30GB iPod Video - LaCie Big Disk Extreme+

CheeseHead

182 posts since
Mar 16, 2002

8. Feb 23, 2008 2:00 PM

in response to: minischneides

Re: Why Macbook Air?

minischneides wrote:

You describe yourself as just an ordinary Mac user and for that reason i would right away say that the Macbook Air is out of the question.

I say that for a few reasons...

The Macbook Air is made for a very specific audience, road warriors. It has less power then any other Mac that you can buy, it has a small hard drive, only one USB port and no Firewire, the list goes on. Although it is light weight, it is not practical for the average Mac user to have.

Exactly. People just have to have enough sense to realize that a Ferrari won't make a practical family car.

The MB can be hooked up to an external monitor if you require a larger display, and it would still be far cheaper than a MBP. You could take the money you save and pick up one of those hot 32GB Touches.

KPO'M

1,851 posts since
Nov 29, 2001

9. Feb 23, 2008 4:41 PM

in response to: CheeseHead

Re: Why Macbook Air?

CheeseHead wrote:
Exactly. People just have to have enough sense to realize that a Ferrari won't make a practical family car.

The MB can be hooked up to an external monitor if you require a larger display, and it would still be far cheaper than a MBP. You could take the money you save and pick up one of those hot 32GB Touches.

True, though a MacBook Air is a bit more practical than a Ferrari.

In the end, it's going to come down to priorities for the original poster. A Pro might be more than an "ordinary" Mac user needs (unless "ordinary" includes serious video editing), in which case it's down to the MacBook Air and MacBook. For value for the money, the MacBook (base) is the better deal, since it is more expandable, has Firewire, and has a built-in optical drive. For the ultimate in portability, the Air has the edge since it's so light and thin. Both have sufficient processing power for basic tasks. Leopard isn't as bloated as Vista, so having the slowest Mac currently sold isn't much of a hindrance. To me, the biggest hindrance will be the 80GB hard drive, but

I suspect that many of the design elements of Air will be incorporated into the rest of the line. The port door design, the multi-touch touchpad, and the LED backlighting are great design elements. At the same time, future Air designs might have a second USB port, Wireless USB, maybe a SIM card slot, more RAM (or expandable RAM), and larger hard drives as technology permits. Perhaps a future version will even incorporate the docking station concept seen in the patent applicaton. Nonetheless, it will always be behind the regular MacBook (and rightfully so, since there is more room inside the MacBook case), but it should be at or near the front of the universe of subnotebooks. The closest Vista/XP subnotebook in concept to the Air is the Lenovo Thinkpad X300. It has more ports, a higher-resolution screen, a replaceable battery, and available internal DVD, but is thicker, weighs about 9 oz more in its full configuration (about an ounce less than the Air in its base configuration), has only the more expensive 64GB SSD available, and relies on a low-voltage processor (albeit one running at 2.0GHz). And, of course, it runs Vista or XP while the Air runs OS X.

Something to keep in mind is that the Air isn't for everyone, nor are the base MacBook and MacBook Pro. That's why Apple makes all three. Each has compromises. Choose whichever one best-suited for a) what you will use it for, b) where you will use it, and c) how much you are willing and can afford to spend, and don't look back.

minischneides

311 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

10. Feb 23, 2008 4:50 PM

in response to: KPO'M

Re: Why Macbook Air?

KPO'M wrote:

I think everyone in this thread is basically dead on, though the Macbook Air is not practical for the average Mac user. At a higher price point then the Macbook it is less powerful and comes with less features. As KPO'M said that the Macbook and Macbook Pro are not made for everyone either, this is true in some ways. The Macbook a amazing computer for most Mac users, I personally could use more power, but my Macbook can handle just about anything (an in many cases has). Based on the details have provided us, I would say the Macbook is your computer, though get the higher end white model or the black model so that you get a Superdrive instead of a crappy Combo Drive.

If you provide us more specifics of what you mean by average Mac user and what type of stuff you do on your computer we can give you a more detailed idea of what we think you should purchase.

2GHz Core Duo Black Macbook - 10.5.2 - 16GB iPod Touch - 30GB iPod Video - LaCie Big Disk Extreme+

KPO'M

1,851 posts since
Nov 29, 2001

11. Feb 23, 2008 5:45 PM

in response to: minischneides

Re: Why Macbook Air?

I'd avoid the black MacBook as it seems that you pay $150 for the privilege of getting a black case (you can customize the white MacBook with the same specs as the black one on the website for $150 less than the black one). Agreed, though, that if you can clarify what "ordinary" Mac programs you use most often, and what you have now, we can do a better job of assessing which is best suited for what you need.

minischneides

311 posts since
Dec 14, 2007

12. Feb 23, 2008 5:53 PM

in response to: KPO'M

Re: Why Macbook Air?

KPO'M wrote:
I'd avoid the black MacBook as it seems that you pay $150 for the privilege of getting a black case (you can customize the white MacBook with the same specs as the black one on the website for $150 less than the black one). Agreed, though, that if you can clarify what "ordinary" Mac programs you use most often, and what you have now, we can do a better job of assessing which is best suited for what you need.

You are most definitely right about paying extra for the black case. But if you really prefer the look it may be worth it, and it doesn't get as visibly dirty. I know the black was worth the extra for me. It's just about preference.

2GHz Core Duo Black Macbook - 10.5.2 - 16GB iPod Touch - 30GB iPod Video - LaCie Big Disk Extreme+

eskaywoo

287 posts since
Apr 24, 2001

13. Feb 28, 2008 9:46 AM

in response to: joeyjames

Re: Why Macbook Air?

This is my opinion:

MacBook

Great general purpose laptop computer that runs OS X. It's got almost everything you need in a computer (except maybe SD card readers and PC card/Xpress card slot). It's durable and quite portable. The battery life on this is quite good. The screen is decent enough for almost everything, even to run Photoshop and Dreamweaver. I use mine for my design work and paired with a 20 inch monitor, it's great. The size is great for moderate travel, and the weight is average compared to other laptops in the market. It's about the same size and weight as my previous 15" TiBook. But the screen is only 13".

MacBook Pro

The big brother of the MacBook. It is loaded with everything the MacBook has and more. Backlit keyboard, ambient light sensor, larger speakers (louder too) and a 15" widescreen LED backlit display. It's shell is aluminium and that makes it pretty light and strong for it's size. It's got a dedicated 3D video card and an 3/4 Express card slot for expansion. If I had this, I wouldn't need my 20inch display. The 15" screen alone is good enough for artwork. This is a workhorse. I find it generally cooler than my MacBook, due to the metal skin being a better heat dissipator. Not to mention, the 17" screen of the bigger pro model is definitely great!

MacBook Air

Having played with my friend's Air, I must say, I love it. It's fast enough for general work like Mail, Safari (web browsing), Office productivity, and presentations. The best thing about the Air is the weight and thinness. Despite it's thinness, it is quite sturdy. The top (LCD part) flexes a little, but otherwise really strong casing. But it is a huge compromise. It lacks an optical drive, only one USB and the battery is non-removable by the user.
I recommended it to my friend because he travels a lot and uses his Mac for making quotations, answering emails and browsing the web. And he already has a 12" Powerbook, and plans to get a 20" iMac for his office. Hence his Air is meant as a travel computer. He almost never uses his optical drive, but that could be replaced with an external drive.
The Air is a minimal machine meant for people who already have too much to carry. As I mentioned, the weight really made me fall in love with it. But I am not going to get one. Because it does not suit my needs.

Your needs

"...personal use only..."

My Verdict : MacBook

joeyjames

61 posts since
May 5, 2007

14. Feb 28, 2008 11:46 PM

in response to: eskaywoo

Re: Why Macbook Air?

Hi Mr. eskaywoo,thanks a lot ,youre right i travel a lot ,in fact i travel almost 2 times a year,i think Air is fine,i forgot to mentioned i alresdy have a PBg4,15 inc.and its heavy,its time to sell it to somebody,i heve again a question for you ,by the i work on the Ship famous Cunard Line i from Philippines ,i my ship go to new york all the time do you have an idea how and where i can possibly buy a new and inexpensive Air in New York,and also one more question how to change the iphone to different language,like if i want it Chinese or Polish,thanks very much indeed,,

Joey

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This Question is Answered

Feb 23, 2008 12:01 AM

Why Macbook Air?

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