13inch Pro Users, why did you choose the Pro over the Air

[iCandii]

Upgradeable/ SuperDrive/ backlit keyboard , also seemed a bit more sturdy. I schlep my MBP to& from school , in my backpack and
My heavy books my squish the snot out of an MBA lol

 

[Adamantoise]

Well I was going to use my laptop for Photoshop CS5, Adobe Lightroom 3 and MATLAB.

It just seemed I should have 8GB of RAM for my uses, and since the Pro was user upgradable (RAM and HDD/SSD) ... It just made sense to me. Call me old fashioned but I'm not ready to let go of optical media just yet, that was another reason I chose the Pro over the Air.

It also didn't hurt that it was cheaper than the Air.

 

[Kafka]

Screen (Pro display looks much better, more important than resolution to me)
Storage.
Cost.

I sold my MBA.

 

[Fishrrman]

"why did you choose the Pro over the Air"

More in/out ports
Firewire
DVD drive (yes, I still use it)
Better value for money spent

This was almost 2 years ago, though.
The Air is still very nice, if it suits your needs and you have considered, and can live with, its limitations.

 

[Merkyworks]

Well I have owned a 13" MBP 5,1 build and now my current 15" MBP 8,2 build.

I havnt gone with an MPA for the following:

-no backlit keyboard
-processors options are way below that of its 13" MBP cousin


I think that the MBA is a great laptop but think its place is in the light duty/office user environment, anything more and you really start to see its weaknesses.
With SSD prices dropping and cloud storage becoming more cheaper and more readily available I think the lack of internal storage is a dying argument. Also the lack of an optical media drive is ok by me, I took out the drive in my 15" and replaced it with a second HD, I like this much better.

 

[Broojo02]

Mainly the hard drive, I wanted to create a partition for windows and 128GB isn't quite enough for me.

 

[johnhurley]

I havnt gone with an MPA for the following:

-no backlit keyboard
-processors options are way below that of its 13" MBP cousin

Hey merky ... the latest mba's do have a backlit keyboard. The latest processors in the current mba's are not significantly different in speed either. Looks like some old information you are thinking about maybe.

 

[WarpSpawn]

With SSD prices dropping and cloud storage becoming more cheaper and more readily available I think the lack of internal storage is a dying argument.

I'd hazard a guess that it is still a very compelling one for many though. SSDs are still much more expensive for a given amount of storage and cloud services generally involve additional subscription fees. Upload speeds can be painfully slow as well.

 

[flashflooder]

For me, it came down to one issue: storage.

Even the 256GB option (which is so expensive, I would never spring for it anyway) feels like too little space.

The MBP feels a lot sturdier to me, as well.

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Hey merky ... the latest mba's do have a backlit keyboard. The latest processors in the current mba's are not significantly different in speed either. Looks like some old information you are thinking about maybe.

The newest MBA's no longer have backlit keyboards.

 

[dlimes13]

For me, it came down to one issue: storage.

Even the 256GB option (which is so expensive, I would never spring for it anyway) feels like too little space.

The MBP feels a lot sturdier to me, as well.

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The newest MBA's no longer have backlit keyboards.

Umm, yes they do. Unless I am hallucinating, my MBA's keyboard (July 2011, latest gen.) has a backlit keyboard.

 

[Mojo1]

Display: the 11" MBA gave me a headache in 15 minutes and eyestrain symptoms that lasted for 8+ hours.

Price: I paid $900 for the base-model 13" MBP during the Amazon "Special Offers" Kindle sale.

I'm now using the MBP with an external NEC 24" display.

I like the idea of a light-weight portable Mac, but I don't use a portable outside my house very often. The MBP is simply a better value for the money.

 

[alent1234]

only thing the MBA has going for it is the cute and thin factor

Pro has better screen, more storage, expandability, optical drive if you need it

 

[miker2209]

I still bought the 13" MBP even though the MBA meet my needs. I just don't like the thought of not being able to upgrade the RAM or the HDD. And the speakers on the MBA isn't that good. I just installed an SSD and now and i feel my MBP is alot more snappier than the MBA with pre-installed SSD. 😉
The only reason i think people would go for the MBA is because it is super thin, besides that MBP are better investment for long term use.

 

[yomibro]

Being able to upgrade storage/memory whenever I wanted and not having to purchase and carry an external DVD burner around were my main reasons.

 

[Mojo1]

I would have liked to be able to use the 11" since it would fit in a tiny messenger bag that I use. But since it came down to the 13" options (assuming the MBA 13" plays nice with my eyes...) the MBP was the way to go.

 

[BrickbookPro]

I am leaning towards the air at the moment after realizing I won't be missing the superdrive. Were the processor speeds significant for you guys? Is the battery life better in real world testing (I don't trust the review sites).

Cost, storage, power, in that order.

 

[Merkyworks]

Hey merky ... the latest mba's do have a backlit keyboard. The latest processors in the current mba's are not significantly different in speed either. Looks like some old information you are thinking about maybe.

Well then I stand corrected on the backlit keyboard, however while the differences between a 13" MBP processor and a 13" MBA processor are close they are still not the same unit so that argument will stand.

I'd hazard a guess that it is still a very compelling one for many though. SSDs are still much more expensive for a given amount of storage and cloud services generally involve additional subscription fees. Upload speeds can be painfully slow as well.

This is one of those grey areas if you ask me, I mean anyone who is thinking about a MBA has to know they are paying a premium for the laptop and SSD's at this moment in time are a premium HD so it is unrealistic to make the MBA or its form of HD storage ad hear to an economical model.
That being said someone who already has an iCloud account could take advantage of cloud storage. If cloud storage is not an option then there are many slim external 2.5" HD's that can be used.

To me the MBA is great for a business user, heavy traveler or light computer user with minimal storage needs. Once you get outside that user group the MBA starts to have major downfalls for users.
Then to stir the pot even more you have to take into account that tablets are becoming the next big sector and laptops like the MBA will start to fall off unless they gain the power of the MPB, we will see if the supposed 15" MBA fills that void.

To me the best would be if Apple dropped the 11" MBA to the price point of iPad's, I would buy one then. I say this because while i would love to have an iPad or tablet device I just cant justify the cost for the usage I think I would get out of it, however i would pay that price for a laptop that had more open usability and is not locked into only using apps. But this will never happen unless they discontinue the 11" MBA.

 

[dylin]

for your intended usage, i would say the air is more than enough.

 

[Vook]

optical media 🙂

 

[warvanov]

After considering the MBA, I chose the MBP for several reasons.

1) I wanted an internal superdrive, primarilly to rip music and movies, and I don't have another machine that I could use to do this.

2) This will be my primary computer for several years, and I wanted something with the specs to support whatever operating system or software I'm going to be using 3 or 4 years from now.

3) My music collection has always been limited by a small internal hard drive, and I wanted something that I could expand with my music to keep everything all in one place.

4) The ultra light weight style of the MBA is neat, but for me it's not worth the trade off in losing processor power, RAM, drive space and the optical drive.

 

[MrKennedy]

I sprung for the 2011 MPB before the Airs were updated this summer. I wish I had waited, but my last MB was about to die and I needed a stable workstation for school and my internship.

One of the plusses, in my situation, is that my MPB fits perfectly in a pricey leather bag that I bought a few years ago. An Air would have too much wiggle room in the laptop compartment.

 

[shoppy]

Storage is my biggest gripe, I travel 1/2 the year and like to have al my family hots and films on my HDD. I resolve the issue by having both, I still have dislikes of both, but these are settled with the 17" and 15" pros.

 

[mark28]

I am leaning towards the air at the moment after realizing I won't be missing the superdrive. Were the processor speeds significant for you guys? Is the battery life better in real world testing (I don't trust the review sites).

The Macbook Air battery life sucks. Might as well get an iPad 2 which has good battery life and is even more portable on the road?

 

[dontwalkhand]

Firewire 800
I carry these portable Firewire hard drives, and they are very useful when needing to service the Mac, and the file transfers are faster than USB 2.

Upgradability, Storage, ODD
I use this computer as my primary computer, and so it will need to last me a couple years. The MBPs hold up better than the Air, even my old multi-body Pro still worked just as well as the first day I got it, until I sold the thing.

Storage is important because I store A LOT of files, for clients, and the ODD is important as I also burn files into discs for clients. (Believe it or not, discs are still cheaper than buying each client flash drives!).

Planning on upgrading the hard drive to a 750GB soon, but right now the 320 is holding up a lot better than the 160 I had in my old MacBook.

Edge to edge glass
Come on, who doesn't like this? (Except for the people who don't like glossy screens 😉

Power
It is more powerful than the MBA, and has all the power I need to do some work at the collaborative office, at home, and at school (when I go back to school).
My MacBook Pro suits my needs perfectly, and I do not need it to be thin as the Air, and I don't need the power of the 15" or 17" versions.

 

[sliesnham]

I very nearly bought the MBA 13 but decided to wait a while to think about it a little longer and ended up with the MBP 13. I was moving from a 2008 MBP 17 high res so quite a change. My main motivation was speed and portability this time around. The MBA, at first, appeared to offer everything I needed but then I thought of the times I needed to use the optical drive, rare but I still need it sometimes. Then I need ethernet at work so would have to buy the USB adaptor for the MBA. Then there's the 4GB RAM limit, I thought this would be okay because my 17" had 4GB and I was running VM Ware. As such this wasn't a deal breaker but now having upgraded to 8GB on the MBP it makes a huge difference and I'm not running VM Ware any more, nor am I a heavy user. I'm regularly at about 5.5GB of used RAM so this has been a big improvement in usability. I think the screen is a little more vibrant on the MBP although the MBA screen is still good. I now just leave all apps and programs open and just close finished files.

So, I personally think it worth sacrificing a little bit of weight for a bit more power and versatility. I have also just installed a Vertex 3 240GB SSD so I think I have a real powerhouse of a very portable laptop. The MBA doesn't quite tick all the boxes in this regard for me, but it is still an awesome laptop.