4 Months Later and I still love my macbook air 2011

[luist3k]

Never had an Apple computer before. I considered Apple products to be way overpriced and I used to do a lot of gaming, so OS X felt short to me.

Then I got into a MBA program, so now I have no time for gaming and mobility is a must, so I went for an 11' Air and... WOW.

I still have my other laptop, an Asus G73JW, collecting dust. Haven't touched it in 3 months because the Air is a great product that it do all I need.

Main reasons:
1. It's LIGHT and PORTABLE. It's perfect for travelers.
2. OS X it's great by not being great. What I mean is that I just turn it on and go right to the work.
3. Software is easy. Lion feels natural. Now and then I pop up the Preferences Settings trying to discover something, like I used to do on Windows. But it feels that everything works right.

Of course, you can't do a lot of gaming as the GPU sucks, but overall it's the right piece of hardware for my needs.

Things to consider: I don't do software development. I use Office for Mac, MindNode, Mail, Calendar, FaceTime, Safari and iChat most of the time. So you can get some context on my comment.

For me is Macbook Air 11' i5 4GB Ram >>>> Asus G73JW (stuff don't add value just for having it, you must use and need it (now or on the future), so the latest technological piece of hardware is not the best option right now for everyone).

Not a Star Wars fan but remember... "Only the Sith Think in Absolutes"

 

[GKDAIR]

Yeah I use to be a heavy console gamer, but decided to switch over to PC because I would be going to college and I needed a powerful PC anyway, why not one that can play video games?

It lasted almost a year before crashing on me once. I didn't do anything wrong to it either. Just decided to not wake up from sleep mode. 150$ later it was fine, and literally the week before college it decided to break down again.

I had been looking at buying a Macbook since last year, so I figured "Hey, why not, I need a computer and one that will last me a good 3-5 years" So I finally suckered up some money and bought this macbook air I am on now.

Like I said its literally the best laptop I have ever owned. I love how it takes less than 10 seconds for this thing to turn on. I love how it instantly wakes from sleep. I love all the finger motions I can do on the track pad, I love actually preferring the track pad to a mouse. Editing my work for school is so much easier on this machine. I have no bugs or glitches my students have on their windows computers.

I love it! Hopefully getting an iMac sometime in the next couple of months too!

 

[Soulman]

MBP 13" (Feb 2011) vs. MBA 13" (July 2011) Winner by clear decision!

Hi all.

I bought my macbook air 2011 13 inch 128 sad back in early october. My Windows Gaming Laptop (An asus) finally crashed on me for the 2nd time in less than 2 months, so I finally said screw it and bought a mac.

4 months later I still love it. More then I have any other computer before. I can honestly say I will never go back to Windows.

Anybody else have similar stories?

I got MBA July 2011, and am still in love with it. I sold my 2011 13" MBP that I had got in Feb to my newphew for $400 (the kid was 16). He plays guitar in a band. I had both of them for over a month, as I prepared the MBP for him and and it was a clear decision the MBA won hands down!

 

[djshack]

Two years later I still love my MacBook Pro. And it's my third Apple laptop (iBook G4 -> white Intel MacBook -> MacBook Pro).

The only one I wasn't fully impressed with was the white MacBook. That thing was way too fragile.

 

[Soulman]

4th Mac Laptop

Two years later I still love my MacBook Pro. And it's my third Apple laptop (iBook G4 -> white Intel MacBook -> MacBook Pro).

The only one I wasn't fully impressed with was the white MacBook. That thing was way too fragile.

Wow! Almost the same run of Mac Laptops (iBook G4 2004-stolen -> Intel Black Core Duo MacBook 2006-still in use, -> MacBook Pro 2011-newphew -> MBA 2011).

 

[djshack]

Wow! Almost the same run of Mac Laptops (iBook G4 2004-stolen -> Intel Black Core Duo MacBook 2006-still in use, -> MacBook Pro 2011-newphew -> MBA 2011).

Almost... But my MBP is 2009. And I would love a brand new 13" MBA. Pretty sure those run faster than my MBP does currently.

 

[unagimiyagi]

If there is a consensus best laptop ever created out there HAD to be reached, the mba 13 2011 model would be the choice.

On a related note, going back to windows laptops is not fun. That's when you really appreciate your mba. It's really hard to switch back, for both hardware and software reasons.

 

[SRLMJ23]

I just got my Mac Book Air 13" 128gb on Christmas Day and I can tell you that I already love it and it's the best computer I've ever owned. I was a Windows guy, but my MBA has made me a Apple guy, oh and did I say I love my MBA??

 

[sahni130]

hey guys!
So the other day I sold my 2010 13 inch MBP because I got tired of carrying it around school and it was all dented and scratched. Silly reasons, I know.

Anywho, my 2011 11 inch air will be delivered tomorrow and I am way excited!
I don't mean to hijack the thread but for internet, Word, iTunes, and Netflix, the 2GB of ram should be fine, correct? I'm assuming that with the i5 and the SSD, it should be speedier than m mbp?

Also, how do you guys deal with the limited amount of storage? What are some tips to sort of, have my media with me all the time?

 

[onthecouchagain]

Anyone else think the creaking doesn't have to do with the screws? Mine seems to creak on a very specific area when pressed (right side near the Return and / keys), and it's quite audible. It just doesn't seem like a moderately loose screw could cause such a loud click. And if the screw really was loose enough to be that loud, it'd be visibly loose, but none of them look loose at all; in fact, they look very tight.

I don't know...

 

[Queen Apple]

Totally in Love

I bought an MBA 11.6" less than a month ago, which was my first Apple computer- although I had been using, and still own, an iPad 1. I bought the model with 4 GB memory and 128 GB storage. That purchase followed the purchase of my first iPhone (white 4s), which preceded the purchase of an Airport Extreme router! Yes I'm broke now, but I love them all!

I am still smitten with the MBA, and I learn something new about it every day. In general, it is light & portable, fast, intuitive, sleek and pretty. The feel of the keyboard is silky and smooth. I've found that I love the sheer simplicity of anything Apple. The learning curve, coming from everything PC and Android, was almost nonexistent. I thought that I would "suffer" from the potentially difficult change, but it never happened. Outside of some programs I use that are Windows specific, I have switched everything else over to the Mac.

After using the iPhone 4s (which does have its non-so-perfect days), I will NEVER go back to Android, and after using the MBA, I will never buy a new PC ANYthing. I also LOVE the people from the Apple Stores where I go, and love speaking to people from tech support whose language I can understand. Please, that is not a racial statement; it is just a reality.

I am a VERY happy Apple gal!!

 

[adnbek]

No offense but it kind of sounds like you don't take care of your products at all.

[.......]

My macbook air has survived car rides unprotected, college unprotected, and even been bumped on some walls and hard tables, and the worst thing thats happened is a tiny scratch on the bottom..

No offense but I found it funny that you criticize a person as not taking good care of his stuff, only to proceed next to bring up examples of worse treatment on your part. All the guy did was put a lightweight object on top of his Air and you blast him for it.

I understand you love your Air (or maybe you just don't like to hear issues about a product you just purchased?) but your blatant attack was unjustified.

And streaks on the Air's screen is a common issue for some (I had read about it from many who had developed similar issues, which is why I got the pro instead). It's not due to mistreatment but rather the screen being too close to the keyboard when shut, so any small amount of pressure on the top will cause the trackpad and keyboard to leave marks on the screen from the pressure.

 

[Xgm541]

I still have my 2010 and still love it like I just got it yesterday!

 

[Acronyc]

I got my 2010 11" in December 2010 and 15 months later its still going strong. No slowdowns, no major problems, and only a few crashes in the entire time I've owned it (far less than the Windows machines I've owned for the past 22 years). It had some creaking which was fixed at the Apple store with a quick bottom plate reset, otherwise it hasn't had any servicing. There's a minor "gradient" effect on the bottom of the screen, but all within tolerable levels. This was my first Mac and has been by far the best computer I've owned. I use it every day and plan to continue to do so at least for another year or two before I upgrade. Still amazed I can run SWTOR acceptably through bootcamp and even get some gaming in now and then.

Mine is the complete opposite. I have a Macbook Air 13" 2011 now that I used to replace my Alienware M11x. Given the avalanche of issues that I have encountered, I am actually ordering a new Alienware laptop right now.

I had exactly the opposite experience as you. I moved to the MBA from the M11x R2 because of multiple issues: faulty hinge, screen replacement required three times (and the R2's screen is awful, much much worse than the MBA IMHO), broken keyboard, and a chassis that was falling apart because it wasn't put together correctly. In the few months I had it it was serviced five times. I finally got a replacement from Dell and promptly sold it to get the MBA, for which I have no regrets. I can honestly say that the M11x was the worst computer I've ever owned.

 

[yongren]

Despite my initial fears about the small screen on the 11" , I love it so much that after 7 months of use I decided to get rid of my 22" HD display.

I simply realized I don't need it, and I'm just as happy without it!

(The extra cash from reselling the display was nice to.)

 

[LordVic]

i do wish i spent the little extra fand upgraded to the 13", not necessarily cause of the size, but the higher resolution, as well as more ram and SDD space would have been nicer.

But i was under very tight budget concerns then

 

[za9ra22]

Anywho, my 2011 11 inch air will be delivered tomorrow and I am way excited!
I don't mean to hijack the thread but for internet, Word, iTunes, and Netflix, the 2GB of ram should be fine, correct? I'm assuming that with the i5 and the SSD, it should be speedier than m mbp?

Also, how do you guys deal with the limited amount of storage? What are some tips to sort of, have my media with me all the time?

I picked up my 11" Air yesterday - I doubt you'll be disappointed!

The 2Gb RAM is really the minimum for a usable system, but after installing a bunch of software on mine, it performs pretty well on all the usual tasks. The more apps and windows that are open the slower it gets, but the SSD makes paging a lot faster than with a traditional hard drive, so low memory doesn't have quite the same performance penalty.

I typically use flash drives if I need to move data on or off the system, and something like a 32Gb SDHC card in an adapter makes for a useful addition to the on-board storage, should it be needed.

 

[Melaman67]

Love my 2010 MBA!

Minnus, you wrote:

"I have 3-5 computers at any given time. I build my own desktops, and I like to sample various laptops - particularly due to form factor. I am not dependent on any one machine, and a new machine requires time to configure and set up.

Why CAN'T something sit on top of it? What laptop besides the air lacks the ability to support a little weight on the lid? Regardless, it happened when someone was tidying the place and decided to stack a few of my electronics. I don't blame the person at all - I have never had an issue stacking multiple laptops and honestly would have done the same myself.

No offense? Offense is taken when it is very apparent that you do not treat your Macbook Air as well as I have for you to make such assumptions. Bump it on walls and hard tables? The genius bar agreed to repair my machine each time because it is literally "new" in condition. No scratches. No dents. Spotless. I am not so spoiled as to not pamper devices that I pay well over 1k for."

If you truly do build machines, then you would know that placing something heavy on top of your MBA screen (on the casing), would be a nomination for the Darwin Awards! I've owned some very sturdy laptops (Toshiba Qosmio F35 x 2) and when they finally met their doom (thanks to Micro$oft's BSofD), I decided Windows machines would never grace my table top again! As much as I loved those lappies, at least I had the brains enough to know you don't place heavy objects on the lid! (Have a Vista, which gets used maybe once every 3 months if it's lucky, and that's usually only for editing php files, but I still take care of it!)

I have had an iMac since 2009 and love it! The MBA 2010 (October version), was a recent purchase in a local electronics store here in Japan where I live. It's a US version, sold just 3 months after it was purchased as new, back to the store, because the user couldn't work out how to use it and went back to Windows. It was sitting there ever since. At $500 it is an absolute bargain and fully updated and running like new! (It practically is!) - Even my iPad's have taken a bit of a backseat since I got the MBA!

After reading your posts, it is apparent that you are trying to sway Mac users to convert to gaming machines. I'm also calling BS on your posts, because your excuses for switching back to Alienware machines, is well, just lame.
And if you're not a fan of MBA or Macs in general, why are you here?
Go play on your Alienware machine - oh, just be careful - don't put anything on the lid - I'm pretty sure the techies from wherever you bought it from, will not be as generous and courteous as the dopplegangers at Apple! Have a nice day!

 

[bogatyr]

If you truly do build machines, then you would know that placing something heavy on top of your MBA screen (on the casing), would be a nomination for the Darwin Awards! I've owned some very sturdy laptops (Toshiba Qosmio F35 x 2) and when they finally met their doom (thanks to Micro$oft's BSofD), I decided Windows machines would never grace my table top again! As much as I loved those lappies, at least I had the brains enough to know you don't place heavy objects on the lid! (Have a Vista, which gets used maybe once every 3 months if it's lucky, and that's usually only for editing php files, but I still take care of it!)

He said someone else placed items on it while cleaning. I've had the same thing happen to mine, my GF moves it and puts crap on it like she would any other laptop. Hell, at work I can stack 5+ ThinkPads on each other or nearly anything else on them without a problem. It is more common for a laptop to be able to support objects on them than for a laptop to not be able to. So I wouldn't fault the person who was cleaning for putting something on his laptop - it happens.

After reading your posts, it is apparent that you are trying to sway Mac users to convert to gaming machines. I'm also calling BS on your posts, because your excuses for switching back to Alienware machines, is well, just lame.
And if you're not a fan of MBA or Macs in general, why are you here?
Go play on your Alienware machine - oh, just be careful - don't put anything on the lid - I'm pretty sure the techies from wherever you bought it from, will not be as generous and courteous as the dopplegangers at Apple! Have a nice day!

So if someone has a bad experience with a product and company, they can't voice that bad experience to people buying said product? That seems to go against everything forums are for.

Bad experiences can, and will, happen with every company and product on Earth. I've had bad experiences with Dells, other have had great experiences with them. I've had great experiences with Lenovos, others have not. Don't fault people for having a different experience than you have. It happens. That's life. They also have every right to voice their experience so someone buying a product is aware of that possibility and they can weigh it against the other experiences voiced.

With all that said - I converted to Apple a few months ago and I love both of my MBAs (one for work, one for personal). I've had excellent service with Apple as well.

 

[lil' brudder]

Also, it still irks me there's no dedicated forward delete key. I would have loved for Apple to use the power on button as forward del, and have the power switch be off to the side sort of like on the Pros.

I've been used to using fn + delete to forward delete since getting my MacBook, so I think the power button is a good thing, especially given the "instant" on-ness of the MBA.

 

[nagromme]

The MacBook Air is THE best computer for 90% of the population, whether they realize it or not! (That’s assuming we don’t call an iPad a computer.)

If someone said “what computer should I get?” and I couldn’t ask any questions about their needs, then I’d recommend the bottom-end 11” Air. It’s the most affordable, obviously, and external storage can be used for less-used files in a pinch.

If I could ask questions about needs and budget, I might recommend a higher-capacity 11” or a 13”. And maybe the addition of a big external screen. Only for very few people (some kinds of games) would I recommend a MacBook Pro. (I’m a gamer and I make do with my 11”... I’d rather turn down the detail than lug something bigger. Gaming from my Air to a projector is great!)

I do all my work (Photoshop, Flash, Lightwave 3D) on an 11” Air—after using a 13” since they first came out. The fast SSD is the best thing about it, but the one-hand-grab portability is a close second! My iMac gathers dust, and I can’t remember where I put my PC...

Now here’s what’s odd:

I KNOW people love the Air, and it’s Apple’s cheapest laptop. I see people swarming them in stores. We know Apple is selling a ton of them, outpacing the industry. So why have I NEVER IN MY LIFE seen anyone else own one? I go to multiple coffee shops weekly, as well as libraries and various meetings. I see tons of MacBooks and Pros and iPads. But not one Air. Ever, in all the years they’ve been making them. (And for that matter, nobody has ever noticed my Air, even when it was new—and I had one of the first, four years ago, when it seemed impossible to even build such a thing.)

It’s like the Air only exists online and not in real life. This is weird to me.

 

[theSeb]

I see quite a lot of airs when I commute throughout the UK and Europe. In fact, I definitely see more and more Apple laptops on trains and planes than I used to just a couple of years ago.

I still love my 2011 MBA that I bought 2 days after it was refreshed. But I wish the screen had better viewing angles, closer to my MBP. Having said that, it's still better than most windows laptops in this regard.

 

[rrgjl]

I'm not sure what to think about minuss' story. I guess he was just really unlucky, judging from all the people being so enthousiastic about their Airs, and usually negative comments are over-represented on the internet as people like to complain. So I'd say the chance of there being a general issue with the mb Air is rather slim.

Anyhow, I really like my 13" Air as well, and I can also agree with people saying it's the best laptop they have bought so far. Same goes for me. And no, of course not just because of the speed of the SSD or something like that. It's the whole feel of the laptop, and the complete Apple experience. I just absolutely love it. Quality, software, screen, speakers, touch pad, isight, keyboard (what a great keyboard it is!)... just about everything about it. Now I might sound biased and Apple fanboyish, but I don't think I am. I love technology, and have had many computers / laptops and built several desktop systems myself. I have definitely not started hating Windows since I went to Apple full time, though I do like OS X much better.

 

[Liquinn]

I'm not sure what to think about minuss' story. I guess he was just really unlucky, judging from all the people being so enthousiastic about their Airs, and usually negative comments are over-represented on the internet as people like to complain. So I'd say the chance of there being a general issue with the mb Air is rather slim.

Anyhow, I really like my 13" Air as well, and I can also agree with people saying it's the best laptop they have bought so far. Same goes for me. And no, of course not just because of the speed of the SSD or something like that. It's the whole feel of the laptop, and the complete Apple experience. I just absolutely love it. Quality, software, screen, speakers, touch pad, isight, keyboard (what a great keyboard it is!)... just about everything about it. Now I might sound biased and Apple fanboyish, but I don't think I am. I love technology, and have had many computers / laptops and built several desktop systems myself. I have definitely not started hating Windows since I went to Apple full time, though I do like OS X much better.

I love my MBP and I agree with you, I don't have an Air but I know what you mean about the entire experience; and the backlit keyboard too.

How come you bought a Air over a Pro? I love the form factor of my 13" Pro and the power it has

My next purchase could either be a 11" Air or another MBP, perhaps a 15". I guess the Air would be a hell of a lot more portable than a Macbook Pro teehee.

Glad you like your Air though ^_^

 

[thestickman]

Had my MBA for just over a month. Can't imagine not having one.