I am coming from a 2006 original macbook. I also own an iphone 5 and an ipad 3.
The screen of the air is just not good. I guess I've been spoiled by using retina iOS devices for three years already. When scrolling I see ghosting. The colors don't seem very vivid, despite having used the calibration tool. It all looks a bit grayish, and the font smoothing seems to wash it all out even more. Turning that feature off doesn't seem to change much. Yes, the speed, weight and battery life are awesome, and the design the keyboard and trackpad are great. But you look at the screen all the time, and I can't but feel I am looking at a laptop that would have been great, in 2009.
I'm considering swapping it for a retina pro. At first the cost held me back, and I am going on a 6 month trip and figured carrying around the extra weight would be a hassle. But it's not that much heavier, and the battery life is still 7 hours from what I've read. If the haswell retina pros would have been released already the choice would be obvious.
I might end up taking the air on the trip and selling it upon return to get the retina pro haswellthen I have the best of both worlds. Just hope I won't lose much money this way.
In any case, it's a shame to be disappointed after paying almost $1400.
(By the way, what's up with Mountain Lion? Scroll to the top or bottom and you're treated by a bump and a piece of gray felt. And a notification center is irritatingly placed where search used to be.)
The screen of the air is just not good. I guess I've been spoiled by using retina iOS devices for three years already. When scrolling I see ghosting. The colors don't seem very vivid, despite having used the calibration tool. It all looks a bit grayish, and the font smoothing seems to wash it all out even more. Turning that feature off doesn't seem to change much. Yes, the speed, weight and battery life are awesome, and the design the keyboard and trackpad are great. But you look at the screen all the time, and I can't but feel I am looking at a laptop that would have been great, in 2009.
I'm considering swapping it for a retina pro. At first the cost held me back, and I am going on a 6 month trip and figured carrying around the extra weight would be a hassle. But it's not that much heavier, and the battery life is still 7 hours from what I've read. If the haswell retina pros would have been released already the choice would be obvious.
I might end up taking the air on the trip and selling it upon return to get the retina pro haswellthen I have the best of both worlds. Just hope I won't lose much money this way.
In any case, it's a shame to be disappointed after paying almost $1400.
(By the way, what's up with Mountain Lion? Scroll to the top or bottom and you're treated by a bump and a piece of gray felt. And a notification center is irritatingly placed where search used to be.)