It is a well written post. It is also one that I entirely agree with, well except that I made a different MBA choice. Both my wife and I travel a lot and we take a MBA (or ultra book) & iPad combo for the same reasons the OP stated.
I wish I could get some more casual games for my air
I disagree. You always have to hold the iPad which gets very annoying after 10 minutes. You just want to put the thing down. The Smart Cover doesn't help at since it won't be stable at all on your lap or on the bed.
The only time an iPad is more comfortable and natural to use is when walking, in my opinion.
I can't stand using a tablet. I just find it uncomfortable in any position. I'm not a fanboy of anything.
Can't you accept that different people have different wants/needs/likes ? I don't like browsing with my head tilted forward looking down at a tablet, at all.
So I've been living with my 11" Air several weeks now and have had an iPad since it debuted in 2010. There's been quite a bit of discussion regarding the 11" Air making an iPad redundant and vise versa, which was weighing heavy on my decision to buy one. Having lived with both for an extended period I'll offer up my thoughts to anyone considering these devices.
Summary
- The iPad excels at casual browsing and general media consumption, especially when factoring in the 10 hour battery life.
- The iPad is more comfortable and natural to use in relined/relaxed situations such as a sofa or bed.
- The 11" Air is not an iPad substitute.
- The iPad is not a laptop substitute.
- The 11" Air makes a great desktop replacement when combined with an external monitor and mouse/keyboard.
- The Air and iPad make a great team, complimenting one another and fulfilling all needs an average user would have. They are not redundant.
- The 11" Air is superior from a mobility standpoint when compared to the 13".
- The 13" is a better choice if it will be the sole computing device used without an external monitor or iPad.
Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
I have to agree with everything in the topicstart. I've been in the same position recently, got a MBA 11" and I thought it would make my old iPad (1) redundant.
But it turns out, I still use them both a lot. I mainly got the MBA to do some development after hours at work (I wait for the traffic to die down, I prefer spending my time doing something useful than to sit in traffic). I got the cheapest-possible 11" refurb (2010) as it's purely for on the road, at home I have a much more powerful mini.
I recently travelled internationally with the MBA and for the actual travel it was horrible. It didn't fit on the narrow train seatback tables (it was wobbling on the thick ridges of the table). It was nearly out of battery after 3 hours of movie watching (20% left or so). I had to use tethering to my iPhone to get internet as opposed to the built-in 3G of my iPad. And on the plane it was too tight to watch at a decent viewing angle when the guy in front of me put his seat back (I couldn't put mine back, being in the back row). All in all much less ideal than the iPad, I hadn't expected it to be that much of a difference.
The iPad is amazing for travelling. I love the way that even when it's off (standby) in my bag it's retrieving my latest emails, that I can watch movies for 10 hours and that there's no screen standing upright (I always use it in landscape mode, slightly tilted in the official iPad 1 case). I do have to to say though, I never attempt to do any serious typing when I'm travelling, just watching/reading/surfing.
However, this time I was going home for 2 weeks and I couldn't do without a computer at my destination so I brought the air, plugged it into a big screen and had a decent computer available there for the duration. Brilliant way to get my personal stuff done and light enough to carry along with my work laptop. The iPad wouldn't have suited at all.
So I agree with what you said about the iPad. It's a brilliant content consumption device but not much good for creation. There's no Xcode, and no good productivity tools that don't frustrate me within a few minutes. I also don't like the onscreen keyboard enough for serious work (and a damn-you-autocorrect situation is not fun in a serious document)
The MacBook Air is just the opposite for me. It's great to get some work done, quick enough to keep up but I really miss the directness of the touch input and the great apps of the iPad, when I want to sit back and just consume. Other than the form factor I don't even see any similarities really![]()
Next time I'd consider bringing both, but I'm usually stuck with my clunky Dell work laptop and I don't like bringing more than 2 large devices![]()
Plenty of those around.
What do you mean casual games ?
As much as I like my iPad, it does not and cannot replace my laptop. The browser is too limited, the touch interface is also an impediment at times as well.A few days ago i was asking myself the same question on the ipad2 vs the MBA 13". After much research on these forums and talking too few mates i ended up picking up a MBA 13" and i LOVE IT!!.
Very thorough post and good info, but I have to say that it comes across a lot like justifying what you have bought... which is fine. That said, I have the 13" MBA and an iPhone 4s and like that combo as much as you like the combo you have. I'm sure I could make a compelling case why my combo is better, but this is all quite personal. Neither is better than the other since everyone's needs are different. Given the MBA 13" and iPhone, I don't think I'd be able to justify adding an iPad to the mix.