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Am I missing something?? Macbook Air poor buy?

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LittleGwen

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2012
274
0
USA
So.... I had to say goodbye to my much loved macbook that I've been using for 6 years... and purchased the macbook air because it's very light and easy for me to carry around. Plus, I don't need as much firepower as I would get with Macbook Pro since I just need an everyday light laptop. However, when I brought it to work after purchasing it, all my coworkers were asking me why on earth I bought the Macbook Air instead of the Macbook Pro. When I attend classes at my school, all the students there are carrying Macbook Pro as well. I thought since the Air was lighter, it would be more popular with students. I haven't seen one student (besides me) who has the Air and the majority of students here use a macbook. Am I missing something here? Is the Macbook Air looked down upon by Apple fans or what?:confused:
 
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plucky duck

macrumors 6502a
Jan 5, 2012
579
107
So long as it meets your needs at a price point you're willing to accept, why does it matter to you what others deem as value or poor value? Value is in the eye of the beholder.
 
1

184550

Guest
May 8, 2008
1,980
2
The only thing that matters is your need(s). If the MBA meets your needs then it's a great buy.
 
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stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
What are the other students doing that the MBA is inadequate?

One opinion is that the students are carrying older MBPs. When the MBA first came out it was pretty expensive.

Now that the MBA is priced very well, the MBP isn't really that much more powerful.
 
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knarzie

macrumors regular
Aug 5, 2008
217
2
Yes regular mac users point and laugh at people like you. And ffs, you NEED a pro. An MBA is not made for tasks such as emailing, web browsing and using office.
 
S

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
knarzie said:
Yes regular mac users point and laugh at people like you. And ffs, you NEED a pro. An MBA is not made for tasks such as emailing, web browsing and using office.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that the 2012 MBA is faster from a computational aspect than a 2010 MBP, trivial details.
 
T

TrollToddington

macrumors 6502
Feb 27, 2011
312
1
kodeman53 said:
Why do you care about what other people think?
Click to expand...
It's called 'peer pressure' and 'group acceptance'. If you are different (inferior) to the others they may refuse to communicate with you or they may look down on you. If I were in OP's shoes I wouldn't pay too much attention to what the others think about my computer.
 
G

GREEN4U

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2010
678
392
LittleGwen said:
So.... I had to say goodbye to my much loved macbook that I've been using for 6 years... and purchased the macbook air because it's very light and easy for me to carry around. Plus, I don't need as much firepower as I would get with Macbook Pro since I just need an everyday light laptop. However, when I brought it to work after purchasing it, all my coworkers were asking me why on earth I bought the Macbook Air instead of the Macbook Pro. When I attend classes at my school, all the students there are carrying Macbook Pro as well. I thought since the Air was lighter, it would be more popular with students. I haven't seen one student (besides me) who has the Air and the majority of students here use a macbook. Am I missing something here? Is the Macbook Air looked down upon by Apple fans or what?:confused:
Click to expand...

Well I'm a graduate student in the sciences and I completely agree with you. For some reason, a lot of people here have the Macbook Pro but not the Air. It should be the other way around, as the extra weight is annoying. If only they knew how light it actually was and how powerful-enough it is. Just keep telling them how fast it is with the SSD when they give you crap. I kind of equate it to driving my Prius. A lot of people doesn't think it can go past 80mph for some reason or it's weird to drive, but it drives just like a regular car. In fact with the proper driving skills I can outdrive almost anyone.
 
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dwburnell

macrumors regular
Aug 26, 2010
118
0
It honestly depends on what you are using the computer for and the screen size. In my research the 13" air is a better investment than the pro because of the size, the screen, and the ssd. If you need a bigger screen and more upgradability the 15" or 17" pro might be better. Honestly do what's best for you, not what other people say and that includes here :D.
 
caligomez

caligomez

macrumors regular
Feb 8, 2011
246
88
San Juan, PR
My guess would be that:

1) Your friends might think that the Air does not carry enough storage for their needs (which they assume would be your needs as well).

2) They might believe that the Air is underpowered (if they are assuming this from the performance of the original 2008 Air).

Well, if the storage space is good for you, then more power to you. And an MBA is almost just as quick (and certainly more efficient) than a 13" pro, so for most everyday tasks, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

I say pay no attention, as you have a comparable machine, with a sleek and lightweight design, which is bound to make people ogle (and secretly wish they had it)..;)
 
Blackberryroid

Blackberryroid

macrumors 6502a
Aug 8, 2012
588
0
/private/var/vm/
LittleGwen said:
So.... I had to say goodbye to my much loved macbook that I've been using for 6 years... and purchased the macbook air because it's very light and easy for me to carry around. Plus, I don't need as much firepower as I would get with Macbook Pro since I just need an everyday light laptop. However, when I brought it to work after purchasing it, all my coworkers were asking me why on earth I bought the Macbook Air instead of the Macbook Pro. When I attend classes at my school, all the students there are carrying Macbook Pro as well. I thought since the Air was lighter, it would be more popular with students. I haven't seen one student (besides me) who has the Air and the majority of students here use a macbook. Am I missing something here? Is the Macbook Air looked down upon by Apple fans or what?:confused:
Click to expand...

My colleagues went for the Pro because they said they hated the Air, it gets hot.
 
L

LittleGwen

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2012
274
0
USA
I'm not worried what other people think.. I'm just wondering if there's something i'm missing here... if macbook air is generally considered a poor buy.. there are some products that the general feel is crappy and overpriced.. NOT saying macbook air is... but that's why i'm asking what the general consensus is. I don't care if the general public think that what I bought is ugly or out of style. What I do care about is if what I bought is something that's overpriced, and perhaps the general public knows this except me.. which is why I started this thread in the first place. that's all.
 
Consultant

Consultant

macrumors G5
Jun 27, 2007
13,314
34
LittleGwen said:
I'm not worried what other people think.. I'm just wondering if there's something i'm missing here... if macbook air is generally considered a poor buy.. there are some products that the general feel is crappy and overpriced.. NOT saying macbook air is... but that's why i'm asking what the general consensus is. I don't care if the general public think that what I bought is ugly or out of style. What I do care about is if what I bought is something that's overpriced, and perhaps the general public knows this except me.. which is why I started this thread in the first place. that's all.
Click to expand...

Some people want a computer with cheap harddrive storage.
Some people want light computer with SSD.
MacBook Air is actually the most popular Mac in terms of unit sales.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,870
LittleGwen said:
What I do care about is if what I bought is something that's overpriced, and perhaps the general public knows this except me.. which is why I started this thread in the first place. that's all.
Click to expand...

It isn't overpriced. It is actually very competitively priced when compared to PC Ultrabooks. It has a very fast SSD, uses the latest Intel ULV processors, has perhaps the best trackpad in the business, and is made from premium materials. Compared to the base 13" MacBook Pro, the 13" MacBook Air has significantly faster storage, a slightly slower processor, a higher resolution screen (albeit with less color depth), more portability, and a similar price point. SSDs cost significantly more than HDDs.
 
A

Ay_Zimmy

macrumors 6502
Jan 9, 2010
272
1
Long Island, NY
LittleGwen said:
So.... I had to say goodbye to my much loved macbook that I've been using for 6 years... and purchased the macbook air because it's very light and easy for me to carry around. Plus, I don't need as much firepower as I would get with Macbook Pro since I just need an everyday light laptop. However, when I brought it to work after purchasing it, all my coworkers were asking me why on earth I bought the Macbook Air instead of the Macbook Pro. When I attend classes at my school, all the students there are carrying Macbook Pro as well. I thought since the Air was lighter, it would be more popular with students. I haven't seen one student (besides me) who has the Air and the majority of students here use a macbook. Am I missing something here? Is the Macbook Air looked down upon by Apple fans or what?:confused:
Click to expand...

Well it matters your preference. Everyone says get the pro because it has better parts inside. But the air is a different level of portability and experience. Most people will say get the pro, but it's a matter of preference of what you want.. Do you want to spend 1199 and get better parts and bigger. Or would you rather spend 999 and get something small and sleek. What you want and need from a laptop defines its true value. I myself have a pro, but when it croaks I'm looking into an 11 inch air.
 
L

LYFK

macrumors regular
Oct 24, 2007
139
1
I think a lot of people get the MBP because the MBA makes too much sense.
 
ixodes

ixodes

macrumors 601
Jan 11, 2012
4,429
3
Pacific Coast, USA
Ay_Zimmy said:
Everyone says get the pro because it has better parts inside.
Click to expand...

This is simply not true. Apple uses the same high quality parts in all laptops. The only difference is the type, performance, and configuration.

When you buy an Apple computer, you are paying for the name as well as a very good machine. It's no different than buying any luxury item.

Buy a Mac and you'll have a top of the line computer you can count on.
 
V

vodkaPT

macrumors regular
Jun 10, 2012
106
27
Lisbon, Portugal
I'm having more or less the same non-problem, my friends or coworkers when they see my MBA it's always the same script:

"oh, a MBA, so cute (...) but why you didn't bought a real PC?"

And I never know what to say, because this is a real PC, this mba is more powerful than the majority of pc's of my friends and coworkers, they are just been ignorants... and is that ignorance that piss me off.

But is hard to explain.., sata III, usb 3.0, RAM DDR3 1600, i5 1.8 (this is partially hard even explained, despite the fact that goes to 2.8Ghz if needed, Ivy Brige, SSD is another hard thing to explain why makes a huge difference to HDD, HD 4000 that is quite powerful for a integrated grafic card... and finally USB 3.0 that allow me easily to even access a windows 8 parallels partition from a external HDD.

An even friends that are buying PC recently, are notebook bellow 800€, which are by far worse than my MBA... but they don't thing so.
 
iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,792
906
vodkaPT said:
I'm having more or less the same non-problem, my friends or coworkers when they see my MBA it's always the same script:

"oh, a MBA, so cute (...) but why you didn't bought a real PC?"

And I never know what to say, because this is a real PC, this mba is more powerful than the majority of pc's of my friends and coworkers, they are just been ignorants... and is that ignorance that piss me off.

But is hard to explain.., sata III, usb 3.0, RAM DDR3 1600, i5 1.8 (this is partially hard even explained, despite the fact that goes to 2.8Ghz if needed, Ivy Brige, SSD is another hard thing to explain why makes a huge difference to HDD, HD 4000 that is quite powerful for a integrated grafic card... and finally USB 3.0 that allow me easily to even access a windows 8 parallels partition from a external HDD.

An even friends that are buying PC recently, are notebook bellow 800€, which are by far worse than my MBA... but they don't thing so.
Click to expand...

Well, you can't blame people for calling MBA a cute notebook, or ultrabook. Or more importantly, a less "real" notebook. Except for ugly looks and heavyweight, a $1300 Asus laptop beats MBA on each spec. CPU, graphic, RAM, storage, screen estate.

People shouldn't get an MBA for power, it's designed for one top priority; ultra mobility.

  • SATA III? Who cares, most PCs have it too and it's not like you're going to replace your SSD (officially) anyway.
  • USB 3.0? Most PCs and laptops get their hands on it far before 2012.
  • Intel HD4000? Well .. 60% improvement over already suck@$$ HD3000 is still sucks. Enough for daily desktop activities, video playback, and that's about it.
  • TurboBoost? MBA uses ULV Intel CPUs, it compromises even more when compared to notebook CPU. It's a bit slower to save power.

MBA is enough for common people, but let's just say some of us are not easily satisfied when it comes into computer.
 
iSayuSay

iSayuSay

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2011
3,792
906
ixodes said:
This is simply not true. Apple uses the same high quality parts in all laptops. The only difference is the type, performance, and configuration.

When you buy an Apple computer, you are paying for the name as well as a very good machine. It's no different than buying any luxury item.

Buy a Mac and you'll have a top of the line computer you can count on.
Click to expand...

Well, as far as I can see, MBP screen color and quality still much better than the one on MBA. It might has a bit higher pixel density, but MBA's display color is always a bit off. Almost like iPod Touch to iPhone.
And I'm not even comparing it yet with iMac or ATD display.

So it's not exactly a slimmed down Pro.
 
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