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Amazed. The 4 Gig MBA 13 is a DRASTIC improvement.

Spacekatgal

Spacekatgal

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 9, 2009
203
0
I've had both the Rev A and the Rev C Macbook Air, and this is such a drastically better machine, it's not even funny.

You guys can complain about the backlit keyboard, or 2 gigs RAM being standard - but it does not change the fact that Apple hit it out of the park with this one. This machine is fast enough for light PS work and IL work with 4 gigs of RAM. The battery drains pretty quickly doing PS work, but it's clearly much better than it used to be.

Apple really knocked this one out of the park. The MBA deserves to replace the crappy white Macbook.

Bri
 
I guess the sparks flying off of it from the speed will light up the keyboard. :D

Though I've been one of those murmuring about the lack of backlighting, since I've been using the 2010 MBA 13", I've memorized more key locations. It's easy to touch type the letters and numbers but I've always depended on the backlighting locate the correct function key or modifier key or special character.

Today I installed some software from a remote SuperDrive. It didn't take as long as I expected. Plus the USB ports are faster than the ones on the 17" MBP 2010. The Apple product designers and engineers have done a great job of making minimalism as painless as possible.
 
Good to hear. I got the 11.6 64gb with the 4gb ram... Glad the 90$ will be worth it. Can't wait. Here Thursday unless fedex can sooner. :)
 
Spacekatgal said:
I've had both the Rev A and the Rev C Macbook Air, and this is such a drastically better machine, it's not even funny.

You guys can complain about the backlit keyboard, or 2 gigs RAM being standard - but it does not change the fact that Apple hit it out of the park with this one. This machine is fast enough for light PS work and IL work with 4 gigs of RAM.

Apple really knocked this one out of the park.
Click to expand...
I agree completely.

My Rev A, was a very nice machine for what it was at the time. I used it during thousands upon thousands of miles of travel, and it never faltered. But boy was I ready for a new one.

The very moment the Apple store was back online on launch day, I ordered my MC504LL/A with 4GB Ram. I've put loads of time on it in a very short period already and could not be happier.

Cheers... :)
 
Spacekatgal said:
Apple really knocked this one out of the park. The MBA deserves to replace the crappy white Macbook.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments - nice to see an older Rev MBA owner confirm what I've been thinking that this is a huge improvement over anything past... but I have to disagree to that last part of your assessment, the MBA deserves to replace the 13" MBP IMO. ;)
 
I totally agree. I am completely astounded by the new Air. I have a 'fully loaded' 13'' Air - the screen is amazing and much more crisp than 13'' macbook pro; the speakers are also much better than 13'' macbook pro. Battery life is also great, I am averaging 7-8 hours of use on one charge.
 
awesome, just want I want to hear. The only problem with 4 gigs seems to be that you need to order online instead of at the local store so shipping time takes a few days.
 
hammerfang said:
awesome, just want I want to hear. The only problem with 4 gigs seems to be that you need to order online instead of at the local store so shipping time takes a few days.
Click to expand...
I called around and found an Apple store about 2 hours away that had a maxed out 11.6" in stock. I decided to make the trip and am using my 11.6"/4GB/128GB MBA right now. ;)
 
wirelessmacuser said:
I agree completely.

My Rev A, was a very nice machine for what it was at the time. I used it during thousands upon thousands of miles of travel, and it never faltered. But boy was I ready for a new one.

The very moment the Apple store was back online on launch day, I ordered my MC504LL/A with 4GB Ram. I've put loads of time on it in a very short period already and could not be happier.

Cheers... :)
Click to expand...

The thing is, for the people that have used the old one - it was a machine laden with compromises. The screen sucked. The battery sucked. The speed was atrocious. The RAM sucked. Multitasking was unreliable.

The original MBA was a great concept, because the weight and form factor of the machine were excellent. But the speed and usability of the machine was uncharacteristically compromised. For this box, they're made huge strides in usability. It really is the MBA we've been waiting for.

I know for some people, they wanted a maxed out MBA with i7 processors and discrete GPUs. But for me, I just wanted something that would address the ram, battery life, and multitasking. It's done all of that and more.

I really do think most people could use this model as their primary laptop.

Bri
 
Spacekatgal said:
I've had both the Rev A and the Rev C Macbook Air, and this is such a drastically better machine, it's not even funny.
Click to expand...

I also have a rev C and a new 4GB MBA 13, and I agree there's really no comparison between the two. It 's been a very long time since I've been this pleased with a computer purchase.
 
hammerfang said:
awesome, just want I want to hear. The only problem with 4 gigs seems to be that you need to order online instead of at the local store so shipping time takes a few days.
Click to expand...

I have also called into some of the Washington, DC stores and they are also carrying the "Ultimate" configs in the stores. I just happened to have my 13.3 "Ultimate" sitting at FEDEX for Monday pickup even though the Apple store had it in stock.

Looks like there are alternatives to an online purchase.
 
HagusofNWN said:
I have also called into some of the Washington, DC stores and they are also carrying the "Ultimate" configs in the stores. I just happened to have my 13.3 "Ultimate" sitting at FEDEX for Monday pickup even though the Apple store had it in stock.

Looks like there are alternatives to an online purchase.
Click to expand...

My local Apple store in Fort Worth has the ultimate versions, too.
 
HagusofNWN said:
Looks like there are alternatives to an online purchase.
Click to expand...

I got mine at a local Apple store. I had to ask one of the manager-types if they had one in stock, and even he seemed uncertain and had to check. For whatever reason, they weren't really advertising that they had them, and most of the guys working the floor didn't seem even to know about them.

That was a few days ago, so maybe things have changed as more people have asked for them. But the point is that you may have to ask the right person to get the right story.
 
HagusofNWN said:
I have also called into some of the Washington, DC stores and they are also carrying the "Ultimate" configs in the stores. I just happened to have my 13.3 "Ultimate" sitting at FEDEX for Monday pickup even though the Apple store had it in stock.

Looks like there are alternatives to an online purchase.
Click to expand...

I was in the same situation, but I decided to pick the one from the store on Saturday and I'll be returning the one that FedEx just dropped off.
 
Spacekatgal said:
The thing is, for the people that have used the old one - it was a machine laden with compromises. The screen sucked. The battery sucked. The speed was atrocious. The RAM sucked. Multitasking was unreliable.
Click to expand...

The screen on the MBA (Even the RevA) is/was top notch! Compare it to the 13" MB screens of the same era and it's bar-none the best screen on an Apple Portable from 2008.

When the RevB's came out in October 2008 the speed was also decent (due to the better SSD than in the RevA) and Multitasking was fine. The October 2008 machines are fine machines. They're just a little long in the tooth for power-users right now.

That being said, I agree that the new models are strides ahead again (even while keep the same/worse CPUs).
 
neteng101 said:
Thanks for the comments - nice to see an older Rev MBA owner confirm what I've been thinking that this is a huge improvement over anything past... but I have to disagree to that last part of your assessment, the MBA deserves to replace the 13" MBP IMO. ;)
Click to expand...

I moved from a rev C to the new 11.6 MBA maxed out. I'm very happy with it and already I see that my new one is faster in many ways than my rev C (with SSD).
 
Right on about what store folks do and don't know.

Called and confirmed a 4gig version of the 13" in stock.

Get to the store, nope, don't carry 4gig versions.

Asked them to advise the person answering the phone (politely, I might add).

Apple associate seemed surprised, went to the back to check. Nope, no 4gig versions in stock.

Apple associate then talked to the wife that actually called the store, she gave the person a name he recognized. Another seemingly surprised look, went to the back.

Came back with word they indeed had an ultimate 13" in stock and would I like to purchase.

I had a 2 gig 13" model I wanted to return which is what I thought caused the hesitation at the store, but now it seems simply an issue of miscommunication.

Contrary to what I've read on this forum, I had to pay the 10% restock fee.

Bottom line, just got to be politely persistent sometimes when it comes to the Apple Store.
 
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