Apple Updates MacBook Air Line With Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt and Backlit Keyboards

StealthGhost said:
MBP is where it's at, or will hopefully be at least. They need to refresh it, bad.

13inch MBP is so slim and light already, MBA seems useless except for right now it has better specs than the PRO o.0
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The MBP have just had an update so your not going to see anything changing on them recently.

Comparing the 13" Air ~ £1400 for the same money still with an SSD you can get..not a lot

The most basic MBP with a 256GB SSD is £1,519.00 - Thats with a lower rest screen but higher clock speed.
If you want the same res screen you then looking at £2,029.00 for a faster CPU and bits.

So at the moment unless speed/high res and your getting the top MBP, the MBA is now a very good package
 
I don't know about this Mac mini upgrade. Dropping the optical disk drive can be a plus or a minus for many. I think it's a bad idea for a desktop computer. Sure it's a good idea for a HTPC and a Server but I'm gonna need a cd/dvd player for my desktop. I'm expecting a separate SuperDrive to be a necessity but that adds around $200 to the package price. For me the best takeaway from this is that there will be some great closeout prices on the previous model. I just might get one of those.
 
Ordered

Order in. Maxed out 13". Giving my 2010 MBP to family member.

Excited to rid myself of the back pain running through airports.
 
These are ULV processors

42streetsdown said:
The backlit keyboard's return is nice, but the processor choices are a bit saddening. I guess Apple chose to go with cheaper processors to increase their profit margin or maybe to offset the cost of SSDs.
Still only $50 off for education pricing. Kinda makes the MBP look more attractive.
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Actually these are new ULV processors. Because of how thin the MBA's are, they need a different CPU than the MBP's. They can't be compared.

AS for which one is better, it depends mostly on what you use your laptop for. If you want to use FInal Cut Pro (even the new one), the MBP would make more sense. BUt if you want to use it for Word, Excel, Internet, itunes, the MBA will more than usffice.

These CPU's while having a slower speed than MBP's, because they are paired with the SSD, are faster than the previous Core 2 Duos the MBP used last year.
 
manu chao said:
You can get a 128 GB SSD for $150 less in a 13" Air compared to 13" MBP. And even for 256 GB SSD (at $1600) the Air is still cheaper than a 13" MBP (even with third-party SSD, it is $1200 + $450).

Of course, the MBP has a noticeably faster CPU, an optical drive, higher RAM options, dual internal storage drive options.
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Don't forget:

1280 by 800 MBP

1440 by 900 MBA
 
Neodym said:
If Apple continues to abandon optical drives in their computers (see the new Mac mini), soon you will _have to_ use an external Superdrive if you want to read optical media on a Mac...
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What an observation, do I also need an external drive to read my floppy discs?

Now I'm pissed, I just realized I can't use my floppy discs on any current Mac. I have not needed it for 10 years, but now that I know I can't use it, I'm pissed.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

And already people are complaining because the back lit keyboard is back but integrated graphics.....

I bet you folks are a nightmare to go shopping with!!

Solid update IMO.
 
Really don't know what to do...if upgrade now to a 13" MBA 256ssd, or wait for a refresh of the MBP line. :confused::confused:
 
I'm so jelly of the back lit keyboard.
My MBA is just fine though:)
I doubt I'll upgrade again until the MBA has a total redesign.
 
1st post after years of lurking!

Just ordered a maxed out 11" to replace my 4 year old black macbook! Over $2k after taxes and applecare- ouch!

Will be downloading lion for my 2010 c2d imac when I get home from work.

Does anybody know if I will be able to make a bootable dvd from the lion purchase for my imac and use it to install lion onto the old macbook (c2d, 2 gb RAM, leopard) without upgrading to snow leopard? My wife will be using it, and I'd like to put lion on it, but not if I have to shell out another $30 to for an outdated OS for a 4 year old computer.
 
Nomar said:
Just ordered a maxed out 11" to replace my 4 year old black macbook! Over $2k after taxes and applecare- ouch!

Will be downloading lion for my 2010 c2d imac when I get home from work.

Does anybody know if I will be able to make a bootable dvd from the lion purchase for my imac and use it to install lion onto the old macbook (c2d, 2 gb RAM, leopard) without upgrading to snow leopard? My wife will be using it, and I'd like to put lion on it, but not if I have to shell out another $30 to for an outdated OS for a 4 year old computer.
Click to expand...

See https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/18/make-an-os-x-lion-boot-disc/
It is very simple to do, you can use this method to burn a boot disc or make a bootable flash drive.
 
Just got my call

My 11" Middle one = whatever that is called will be in the store tomorrow at this time. The shipment did not come in today.

It will be in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow - love the service I get....

Make sure you call before you head to the store...

All the best

JB

Finally moving from iPad - my workhorse is my 3.33 6 core with 2 ACD's - my old MBP will be retired LOL
THANK GOD - been waiting to get out from behind the CPU and write!
 
cfedu said:
What an observation, do I also need an external drive to read my floppy discs?

Now I'm pissed, I just realized I can't use my floppy discs on any current Mac. I have not needed it for 10 years, but now that I know I can't use it, I'm pissed.
Click to expand...

#1... You used floppy disks 10 years ago? In 2001? Damn.

#2... Many, many, many, many many people use CDs and DVDs. I enjoy watching a DVD on my computer sometimes. People like ripping their CD collection to their Mac. Some folk even-- get this-- install new software and games on CDs and DVDs. Some people even like to boot from an OS CD when their Mac OS installation is in trouble.

Yes, optical drives are still very useful. Many games even require CDs to be in the drive to play.

Have you even been using Macs for 10 years?
 
The difference for educational pricing between the 11" Ultimate MBA and a 13" Ultimate MBA is only $90. Hmm... The smaller footprint and lower weight vs larger screen and longer battery size. Not an easy decision.
 
Looks like all the hardware today is still Snow Leopard compatible. Feel free to image or clone back.
 
Presumably these are sandy bridge and can turbo boost where required? Anyone know what clock speeds they turbo boost to? About to buy my first mac, I think...
 
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