MacBook Air purchase

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rhouck

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Looking to buy the woman a MBA as an xmas present (she has an aging MacBook that is just over 3 years at this point). I think I am going to get the 13"/128gb SSD.

I was just going to buy from the Apple store (with my 8% discount from work); is there somewhere better I should be looking?

Also, I am unfamiliar with the MBA's update cycle: should I be waiting or is the newest one pretty recent?

I obviously have about 6 weeks so not in a HUGE rush (and it doesn't have to be an xmas time gift if there is something ground-breaking that I should be waiting for, but it would be preferable).

Thanks for any input :)
 
Amazon usually has the 8% discount rolled into their pricing. If you don't pay sales tax through them, it can be a significant savings.

The MBA was recently refreshed, I'd say it's mid cycle right now. See http://macrumors.com buying guide for more info. It's unlikely there will be any new models until Ivy Bridge is released (at least April of 2012).
 
I've got that exact macbook air (posting from it now) and have been quite happy with it. Bought mine from Apple w/ education discount.
New airs were released late July, so they're not too old.
 
I'd get 4GB RAM if you plan on running parallels or vmware at any point. I have a 2GB and it's pretty much impossible to run Lion + VMWare/Parallels in that limited RAM.
 
PurduEE said:
I'd get 4GB RAM if you plan on running parallels or vmware at any point. I have a 2GB and it's pretty much impossible to run Lion + VMWare/Parallels in that limited RAM.
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4GB is standard in the 13" now :)
 
Lion is more bloated than Snow Leopard. You're going to want as much RAM as you can get.
 
Thanks for the heads-up on Amazon and RAM. Though she's never done it on her current laptop, I would like to be able to install a Win7 VM in case she has to run any Windows-specific software.
 
I picked up the 13" i7/256GB/4GB Air yesterday after selling my Late '08 UB MBP w/ 120GB SSD and it screams. I run Win7 under VMWare Fusion and it does fine. More ram would be great but I'm very happy.
 
aphex187 said:
I picked up the 13" i7/256GB/4GB Air yesterday after selling my Late '08 UB MBP w/ 120GB SSD and it screams. I run Win7 under VMWare Fusion and it does fine. More ram would be great but I'm very happy.
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How's the fan? I have an original MBA and it's a bit of a hairdryer (better after I replaced the cake-icing-thick TIM installed by Apple with AS5, but still...).
 
^ I am curious as well actually... it drives me up the wall when I hear a Macbook's fan kick on, I am sure the MBA is not any less obnoxious.
 
Zinn said:
Lion is more bloated than Snow Leopard. You're going to want as much RAM as you can get.
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Neither Lion nor Snow Leopard are bloated. Snow Leopard is slimmer than Leopard, and Lion simply uses iOS-style RAM caching; that doesn't qualify as bloat, that qualifies as making use of your hardware.
 
aphex187 said:
I picked up the 13" i7/256GB/4GB Air yesterday after selling my Late '08 UB MBP w/ 120GB SSD and it screams. I run Win7 under VMWare Fusion and it does fine. More ram would be great but I'm very happy.
Click to expand...

I've got the same, I run a Server '08 R2 VM for my server config/programming classes just fine.

Best computer I've ever owned.

PurduEE said:
How's the fan? I have an original MBA and it's a bit of a hairdryer (better after I replaced the cake-icing-thick TIM installed by Apple with AS5, but still...).
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Fan doesn't usually kick in for me, but sometimes when watching a high-def movie file for a long period of time it ramps up pretty high, nothing I can't stand, but surprising the first time. Definitely worse than my MBP 15, but I really expected that considering the size.

rhouck said:
^ I am curious as well actually... it drives me up the wall when I hear a Macbook's fan kick on, I am sure the MBA is not any less obnoxious.
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Yeah it's a bit loud but still bearable, worse than my MBP like I said above but still better than the 13" C2D MacBook I had way back when, it's just a really small machine so the space to displace the heat isn't available.

90% of the time or more for me, that's with a VM running and compiling and installing and stuff, it's just regular fan speed, it ramps up only when doing heavy multimedia stuff.
 
Just got a 13" MBA. 1.8GHz i7/4GB/256GB and the best price was eCost. Good price and real fast shipping for a BTO item from Apple.
 
The new one is a recent refresh... and I so happen to have one (very new) that is built with 4 GB that I'd be willing to sell if you're interested. The 11" version.

Extremely good condition, minimal use.
 
jimbean21 said:
The new one is a recent refresh... and I so happen to have one (very new) that is built with 4 GB that I'd be willing to sell if you're interested. The 11" version.

Extremely good condition, minimal use.
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ygpm
 
mAxDaRam :) regardless of what you/she is gonna do with it...... you'll be glad you did.
 
My wife is like 5' 3 and 110 pounds, not very big. Do you think the MBA 11 would work, or is the screen just to damn small?
 
Well, I'm 5'10" and 165lb.. love mine.
 
Verge said:
My wife is like 5' 3 and 110 pounds, not very big. Do you think the MBA 11 would work, or is the screen just to damn small?
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Hard question to answer. That would be on a per user basis. I would just go to an Apple retailer and experience both. Best Buys now carry Apple if there isn't an Apple store near you.

Personally, I think the 11" is perfect, and my ideal setup is a 27" iMac for home use, and an 11" MBA for anything on the road, since most of the things I do on the road don't require high amounts of processing power.
 
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It's more of a question of eyesight I'd say. Personally the 13" 4gb 128gb is the perfect size/config for me without getting too expensive.
 
jterp7 said:
It's more of a question of eyesight I'd say. Personally the 13" 4gb 128gb is the perfect size/config for me without getting too expensive.
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The eyesight thing is a valid point, but the iPad and other tablets are 10" or less. A lot of it is just how close you are to the screen in the first place. Every font size can be increased, so I suppose once again preference is the real deciding factor.
 
But a tablet is held like a regular 8.5" X 11" paper which is natural since we have been using that size since kindergarten. A laptop is different you definitely want the bigger screen. Especially for doing real work, or school work.
 
rsantos97 said:
But a tablet is held like a regular 8.5" X 11" paper which is natural since we have been using that size since kindergarten. A laptop is different you definitely want the bigger screen. Especially for doing real work, or school work.
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It's an assertion that someone would want a bigger screen. Netbooks are commonly around this size. Clearly there are many whom have purchased 11" MBA's and have been pleased with the size. Personally, I would get the 11", you would get the 13". I don't "want" the 13" size.

Additionally, the 13" MBP has a resolution of 1280x800. The 11" Air has a resolution of 1366 by 768. Therefore in-so-far-as screen real estate by resolution, the 11" Air has greater than that of the 13" MBP. Sure, the 13" Air has an even higher resolution than that, but to say that because the 11" is smaller it isn't useful for "real work" is ridiculous.

To me the portability is what helps me get work done in the first place. You might argue that an additional 2" isn't a big deal to carry around and for you might not be. For me it is. Either MBA is more than capable of getting work done, but it will up to the end user which one will be more useful for them. I think the size and weight of the smaller MBA is worth it over a slightly larger screen and resolution. Other people like yourself would rather make the trade-off the other way.

I only would tell the op to see for themselves and make their own decision, because we can't know what he would prefer (or what his gf/wife would prefer.)
 
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UnknownSouljer said:
Additionally, the 13" MBP has a resolution the 1280x800.
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I don't understand this at all, and didn't even realize it until you pointed it out. Why doesn't Apple just use the same screen that's in the 13" Air?
 
CEpeep said:
I don't understand this at all, and didn't even realize it until you pointed it out. Why doesn't Apple just use the same screen that's in the 13" Air?
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because they hate me. this is the main reason i sold my mbp 13". i thought i would be able to deal with the low resolution, but not so much.
 
CEpeep said:
I don't understand this at all, and didn't even realize it until you pointed it out. Why doesn't Apple just use the same screen that's in the 13" Air?
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From a marketing standpoint, it's differentiation. They need to have the models adequately different to justify their existence. This 'problem' will cease if the rumors of a 15" MBA comes true and Apple decides to merge the MBP/MBA lines, which I understand is their ultimate goal since power and portability in smaller packages is becoming a reality.

Whether that rumor pans out or not is yet to be seen, but it does make sense in an Apple sort of way.
 
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