Can anyone tell me what my classic MacBook 15 inch will be worth next year when the new retinas come out ? It's the latest version (mid 2012) . Also 13 inch MacBooks make no sense the only people using that are those who only consume media and the only thing that fits that profile is an iPad with retina .... If u had a serious use for a computer like photo / video / music creation you would most obviously get 15 inch to compare things side by side, network remotely , game , view multiple menus ect
For several years now companies have been developing these really neat devices. Basically you take a plastic enclosure that can stand on it's own, and you (pay attention this is the tricky part) insert a larger display panel inside the enclosure. The ancients called these "external monitors".
I have a 13" MBP, and use it professionally for photo editing, color correction, etc. (My wife is a professional photographer) Any real, serious professional would never EVER use a laptop display for photo editing, least of all a twisted nematic laptop display. Not unless they calibrated it each and every time. I do my work on a monthly calibrated 27" Apple Cinema Display. There are certainly uses for the 15" MBP, but the notion that the 13" isn't capable of doing work is ludacris. The 13" profile makes it portable for other situations though, and is a preferable form factor for being on the go.
I don't know what you meant by 'network remotely', but there are no additional network features on the 15" that aren't present on the 13". You've got it on gaming, but that's not why I bought my 13".
The blanket statements like that are as bad as people who don't use their computer for anything other than PC gaming not being able to wrap their head around owning a Mac at all, not realizing that it's a preferable platform for certain OTHER applications. For you, it sounds like the 15" MBP is the better option. The 13" is actually very popular among professional photographers as they often are using much more powerful desktop platforms back at the studio for post processing, but a 13" MacBook is a great machine to carry to an on location shoot, download images from CF and SD cards and put them on backup media (we always keep at least two copies of every image, usually the Mac and an external drive at the same time). It's more portable than the 15 or 17, also works well for tethered shooting.
As a desktop replacement with no external display solution, you might find yourself limited with the 13" MBP. However, in our situation it's perfect. I have a more powerful desktop setup, but lately I've been using the 2012 MBP, it's so fast I often don't feel like switching over to the desktop and just connect the displays to the MBP and do the work there. I never edit photos on the laptop display, it's just not as accurate and is unacceptable for professional, paid work.
Beyond that, it's a great laptop to take to conferences, seminars, classes, meetings, etc. Just great portability. Also great for this stuff right here, sitting in the living room and posting on MacRumors.
It's not perfect for everyone, but it's perfect for me. The portability is what's key here, while still being powerful enough to handle desktop class applications like CS6 (Photoshop and Lightroom).
But, if it were my only machine, or I did everything without external displays, you bet I'd be on the 15" model or even the 17" model. Or, if I gamed with my laptop, or was doing work that a larger display is needed but color accuracy is not a concern (like music production), then the 15" would have some applications as a mobile working platform. But in a situation where the work is never done on the laptop display (aside from categorizing, backing up, and storing photos), it's not needed.