11" -> 13" and regretted it?

[Sounds Good]

In your case, though, if you are at home working with an external monitor, the 11" is perfect. You could have a tiny computer for when you leave the house (go into the kitchen, etc.), and a massive one at your desk (because of the external display), pay less money for it, and get exactly the same performance. I'd get an 11"

I know exactly what you mean. My only thought here is that once I've got a light/portable laptop I'll probably find myself moving to the kitchen table or coffee table much more often -- AWAY from the external monitor... which means I might actually *appreciate* the larger 13.3" screen. Know what I mean? I dunno... tough call.

 

[dcorban]

I wonder if "power nap" allows iTunes to continue streaming Airplay music.

As for the 11" or 13" debate, I find that 11" is fine if you use a desk and the computer is relatively close to your face. For lap use, 11" is too small.

 

[mattopotamus]

I wonder if "power nap" allows iTunes to continue streaming Airplay music.

that is what i was wondering about airplay to apple tv

 

[sveintj]

So 11 inch has this really cool form factor, slightly bigger (and much better) than an iPad, but battery life and screen size makes it a slightly less perfect choice for many.

But for sofa-surfing I suspect it must be totally perfect ?

 

[mattopotamus]

So 11 inch has this really cool form factor, slightly bigger (and much better) than an iPad, but battery life and screen size makes it a slightly less perfect choice for many.

But for sofa-surfing I suspect it must be totally perfect ?

perfect for that! As my main computer though, i need something with just a little longer battery life

 

[palpatine]

So 11 inch has this really cool form factor, slightly bigger (and much better) than an iPad, but battery life and screen size makes it a slightly less perfect choice for many.

But for sofa-surfing I suspect it must be totally perfect ?

Perfect is a moving target. I prefer my iPad. It's difficult to beat a retina display and the iPad form factor

 

[sveintj]

Perfect is a moving target. I prefer my iPad. It's difficult to beat a retina display and the iPad form factor

Yeah, but if you have to respond to an email with more than a very short sentence it is a bit tedious...?!

----------

Yeah, but if you have to respond to an email with more than a very short sentence it is a bit tedious...?!

And furthermore, I have an iMac up in the home office, so I need something with an high WAF-factor so as to be able to keep it in our lounge

 

[Mopar]

I was just using Apples published numbers so it was an apples to apples comparison so to speak. I can easily get 4 hours and have gotten as much as 4.5. I don't expect I'd get 7 hours with a 13" either but I imagine 6 wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Ah, you have a 2010 machine. Mine's 2011. My wife has a 2010 13.3" and she gets great battery life out of hers. She's a school teacher and uses it almost non-stop for 8 hours every day without charge. We can get close to 10 hours out of that machine.

Mine, however, struggles to even get close to 4 hours - mostly around 3.5 hours. I use it every day, on the road, and I'm always nervous about running out of batteries.

I love the form factor of the 11.6", but battery life stinks.

Put it this way, I used to own a PowerBook 5300 from 1996 - yes 1996! - and it had battery life equivalent to today's 11.6" MBA.

If I could get 3 hours battery life out of a 10.4" Mac laptop 16 years ago, why hasn't it improved?!?

And yes, I know the battery was bigger in the PowerBook, but honestly, technology should have moved on by now.

 

[Puonti]

I wonder if "power nap" allows iTunes to continue streaming Airplay music.

that is what i was wondering about airplay to apple tv

I doubt it. Power Nap to me sounds like "short periods of activity inbetween full-on sleep". In other words the computer will for all intents and purposes be asleep, then occasionally check for small things like e-mail, reminders and the like as well as updates and wether it needs to do a backup (but only if it's plugged in to mains). It does those, then goes back to sleep.

Streaming through AirPlay does not fit the profile - especially with video it's a constant transfer of data. As far as I know AirPlay does not attempt to transfer the whole audio / video file in one go and store it at the receiving end for playback in real time, which would be the only way to allow Power Nap to do its thing (short period of activity, then back to sleep).

 

[aleni]

If you learn multi touch gestures and use of spaces rtf you soon learn how to get around the screen issue!

that was i was thinking when buying the 11". Lion has fullscreen feature that's gonna help with the vertical space, but it wasn't.

 

[SteveSparks]

I travel extensively and will be on business trips for 1-2 weeks with my 13" air as my primary computer. I appreciate the bigger screen and better resolution for those extended periods of time.

During the time at home, it is connected to a 27" display.

However the 11" which I did use, has really a lot less desktop space, even in full screen mode than I really desire. I have an 11" and a 13" in the house here and while my wife appreciates the 11" size, she uses the system just a few hours a week for work and spends the rest of her time using her iPad.