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Has the excitement of MacBook Air been diminished by MacBook Alu?

powerbook911

powerbook911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
4,009
398
I loved the MacBook Air and had always planned to pick up the first revision of the product, hoping for a bit of a speed and storage boost.

However, with the release of the new Alu MacBooks, I feel a lot of what was appealing about the MBA has been equaled by a cheaper, much more powerful machine.

Who else feels this way? Yes, with MacBooks you gain 2.5 pounds, but you save money and more important get much faster processors, ability for more ram, and a lot more storage at higher speed (comparing hard drives not SSD).

Now, when I go to get my next notebook. I don't know which I'll pick. I love portability being on my desktop most of the time, but I must say you sure get a lot more with the MacBook, and now it looks arguably as nice as the Air.

Thoughts?
 
well, if you're thinking about bang for the buck, obviously the macbook wins.

The air was never a cheap machine, so I don't think its value has been diminished.

Let's put it this way, I am going to be happy with the new macbook air and its 128gb SSD, and it's a more refined product now since it's the second revision.

Everyone else will buy a macbook.
 
Now that the MB has almost all its features and has gotten lighter in the process, it is hard to purchase an Air over a MB.
 
I think both computers just got much more attractive, but the MB by a bigger margin.

I never figured I would be an MBA owner, but I still think it is a great machine. The storage and graphics should help it along, and the price is looking a lot better for the SSD version.

It would have made more sense with the new macbooks to knock the Air down to 12" or so or introduce a complementing netbook.

The line is now quite blurred between the MB and MBP, but the MB only really caught up to the MBA on backlighting (KB and display) and lack of ports.
 
Simply put, the MB looks UGLY next to the MBA ;)

In addition, it still feels like a brick when compared to the MBA :eek:
 
mhnajjar said:
Simply put, the MB looks UGLY next to the MBA ;):
Click to expand...

Totally agree!

I mean, that black bezel around the screen of the new MBs gives it a heavy and clunky feel.

The minimalism of the Air has a very "airy" feel to it.
 
Like I said in another thread, people like the MBA because it's light and portable, and yet it maintains a normal keyboard and screen. It also looks better than the old AND new MBP and MB, in my opinion.


Although I do agree with gotzero. The tapered sections of the MBA don't add much at all to the internal volume where the components sit. so if they made the edges and taper more like the new MB, they could have made a 12" MBA without changing the internal volume.
 
powerbook911 said:
I loved the MacBook Air and had always planned to pick up the first revision of the product, hoping for a bit of a speed and storage boost.

However, with the release of the new Alu MacBooks, I feel a lot of what was appealing about the MBA has been equaled by a cheaper, much more powerful machine.

Who else feels this way? Yes, with MacBooks you gain 2.5 pounds, but you save money and more important get much faster processors, ability for more ram, and a lot more storage at higher speed (comparing hard drives not SSD).

Now, when I go to get my next notebook. I don't know which I'll pick. I love portability being on my desktop most of the time, but I must say you sure get a lot more with the MacBook, and now it looks arguably as nice as the Air.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I thought I'd be tempted by the new MacBook, especially if it got significantly lighter, but once I saw the photos of their ugliness, I realized Air is the last of good-looking notebooks from Apple. For the next few years at least. The next revision will likely bring a redesign similar to the new MacBooks and Pros. So I'm only more convinced I want Air.
 
Not at all.

I really like the new MacBooks and may get one for my wife, but my love for my Air is just as strong.

I own the first generation, but just bought the second generation. It fixes two of the real limitations of the first generation, so I am now ever more excited about it.

For me, portability is worth paying more for.
 
Thanks guys. All good points.

I'm still torn between the MBA $2500 new model and the $1600 new MacBook. Both are great machines. I'll decide someday! ha-ha. :)
 
I have a gen 1 Air, bought on the first day available at the local AAPL store. On Thursday the right hinge started going and it looked like this, by Monday, both sides were broken. I dropped it off last night for repair (est 5-10 days) and picked up a 2.4ghz MB to hold me over since I can't afford to be without a computer for my work.

So far I think the MB will probably replace my Air as my primary computer. It's much faster, doesn't get hot even when running lots of things at the same time, and has much more storage space.

My constant overheat problems, loud fan noise, and poor GMAx3100 graphics on the air were disappointments.

The MB feels very solid like an ingot, where the air feels light, delicate, but high quality.

I still love the air design and when I play with the new versions in November, might change my mind again.
 
i picked up the new macbook today (replaces my air)

My initial decision to get the air was the aluminum, back lit keyboard and the led screen. I grew to love the light weight and the the external superdrive was good for the times i needed to burn a cd. the core shutdown, noisy fan ultimately led to me getting rid of it since it was my main computer.

the new macbook ($1599 model) has about the same type of screen. the keyboard feels much more stiff and the backlight is the same.

The biggest difference is the weight. you WILL notice the difference and honestly the Air feels much better on your lap or to carry around the house. I will stick to this macbook for now and see if the Air gets any cosmetic updates next year and see how the heating issues are.
 
Weight

Correction to the original poster: The new MB is 1.5, not 2.5, pounds heavier than the MB Air.

Question to those who've tried old vs. new MB vs. MBA: Is the weight difference really that noticeable?
 
Catonow said:
Correction to the original poster: The new MB is 1.5, not 2.5, pounds heavier than the MB Air.

Question to those who've tried old vs. new MB vs. MBA: Is the weight difference really that noticeable?
Click to expand...

had the air and go the new mb....the weight is noticeable coming from an air. the macbook almost feels too heavy as I am used to the light air
 
Mhaddy said:
Did you sell your Air, and if so, how did you go about doing that?
Click to expand...

I put it up on craigslist. took a steep hit on it, but at the end I did not want to deal with the issues anymore.

Will wait to see if they update the air further next year and then purchase another one.
 
bidwalj said:
the new macbook ($1599 model) has about the same type of screen.
Click to expand...
So no real notifiable differences between the Air's screen and the new MB's screen?

That was my biggest concern. I really didn't like the old MacBook's screen, but loved the Airs. If the new MacBook screen was different from the Airs, that'd rule it out for me.
 
The new MB is much more appealing then the old MB, compared to the Air, but they still target completely different markets.

The updated Air is very competitive for what it is trying to be, with the right group.

Now that neither have firewire, unless you need that second USB slot, or you really need the audio input, or a built in DVD, you really don't give up anything by getting the Air.

It has Penryn, it has a bigger hard drive - both slightly slower than the MB, but plenty fast. You still have a much sexier, svelte machine.

I think the NEW MB is more appealing then the OLD Air, but that is always the case.
 
aristobrat said:
So no real notifiable differences between the Air's screen and the new MB's screen?

That was my biggest concern. I really didn't like the old MacBook's screen, but loved the Airs. If the new MacBook screen was different from the Airs, that'd rule it out for me.
Click to expand...


just consider the new macbook an air with the superdrive and the extra goodies and no fan noise or core shutdowns. the screen is just as bright as the air's and the backlit keys on the high-end macbook are the same as well. only difference you will notice, and it is a big difference, is the weight and thickness if you actually sit with the computer in your lap.
 
bidwalj said:
I put it up on craigslist. took a steep hit on it, but at the end I did not want to deal with the issues anymore.

Will wait to see if they update the air further next year and then purchase another one.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm wondering if I should do the same and prep for the release of Snow Leopard's heavy reliance on GPU's...
 
aristobrat said:
So no real notifiable differences between the Air's screen and the new MB's screen?

That was my biggest concern. I really didn't like the old MacBook's screen, but loved the Airs. If the new MacBook screen was different from the Airs, that'd rule it out for me.
Click to expand...

I think the screen on the MB's are glass, while the Air still the regular kind. I compared them in the store today, and I assume that the Air's screen is not being updated.
 
I am a designer and I have a discerning eye. I was so upset by the poor quality of the screen on the macbook I just bought that I had to register.......my first mac laptop was the macbook air.......the screen seemed a little fishy.....I was so used to my higher-end air screen. Turns out there is something fishy (read the gizmodo mini review, its spot on about the screen). The MBP and the MBA have higher quality lcds with really good viewing angle, color fidelity, and contrast. The new macbook does not.

Compared to my MBA and the new MBPs I saw in the store the new/aluminum macbook has a TERRIBLE viewing angle, feels much less bright (half as bright?) and leans towards a really cool color temperature when the viewing angle shifts.

I guess I'm spoiled with the MB Air......now I know where the price difference is really coming from.......I was hoping the new macbook could replace my air.....but the screen is abysmal......if you want to do any kind of photoshop work.....its just horrible.......and i'd be really annoyed watching a movie because theres no good angle to look at it where blacks are all black (from top to bottom)

I'm considering returning the macbook and getting the new bumped up macbook air (assuming they keep the nicer screen) or trying something awful and seeing if i can swap the macbook air screen for the macbook screen. I was really hoping my eyes were deceiving me in the apple store....but, just compare a mba to the new macbooks......even just the desktop......its rough.
 
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