Base 13" 2012 mbp v base 13" 2012 air?

It really comes down to what you value more - portability vs. limited future upgradeability for the MBP (vs. almost none for the MBA). For your uses either one will be perfectly fine performance-wise.

 

13" mbp... Its easily upgradable.

It is £859 in the Apple Uk Edu store with 3 year warranty and a free £70 iTunes card. Go through Quidco and also get another £30 cashback.

Sell the iTunes card for £50, sell the 500gb HDD and use the cashback to pay for a Samsung 830 256gb ssd. And in the future you can put 16gb memory in there too.

 

http://www.apple.com/why-mac/compare/notebooks.html

This comparison will show you that the 13" MBP and MBA are very similar and the difference comes down to processor speed. Sure, the MBA has a SSD, but each of the base models use the same GPU that shares memory with the system. Because of this, I would recommend the MBP.

And yes, there is more expandability with the MBP and chances for modification in the future. This would make the money you spend go father especially when it comes to making sure you can continue to use a computer even past its perceived life expectancy. I would always go with the MBP over the MBA.

 

For you, the MBA anyday

I was in this position just a month ago. I went for the Air and regret nothing.

I'd definately go for the Air. Yes - it is less upgradable, but it is still the superior machine in my opinion.

I feel - and again this is opinion - that the 13" Pro is an obsolete machine compared to the Air. It offers very few benefits - the major being the upgradability.

Other than that, the Pro can only offer a slightly faster CPU, and added I/O in the form of Ethernet and an optical drive.

The Air, on the other hand, boasts a better display (higher resolution, and without the glossy black bezel). It has much faster drive speeds leading to near instant app-launches, and significantly faster boot times - which you will find yourself appreciating very often.

The 2012 13" Air is a remarkable machine. It is fast enough for everything I do - which involves web development, and light photoshop like you said.

Even the i5 model has a CPU which supports HyperThreading, and thus has four virtual cores.

It is also worth noting that the Air has the exact same graphics card as the 13" Pro.

Design is a matter of taste, but I like the silver bezel and tapered design of the Air. The tapered design is nice for typing (which you do a lot of in uni) as the keyboard is at a slant. Typing is unnatural on the 13" Pro.

All in all - unless you plan to do video editing or professional photoshop (which you wouldn't do on a 13" anyway) - get the Air.

Final addition : The SSD on the Air is in fact upgradeable.

EDIT: I saw you asked if the SSD is noticeable. YES. Much more so than the processor difference. Apps launch almost instantly, and boots are very quick. Everything just seems swift. Plus - SSD Macs can sleep for longer and use PowerNap in Mountain Lion

 

I use the 13" for pro audio and video with no problems.

 

You've missed two important specs:
1280 x 800
1440 x 900

That is quite a big step up - 1440x900 is the same resolution as the 15" Pro.

I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly?) this is the first time you have been to University? You will appreciate the weight difference if you have to carry it anywhere. Thinner also means that if you are carrying it in a bag you can get more of your other stuff in.

A 13" Pro with the Samsung 830 SSD upgrade discussed above and 16GB RAM will put the Air to the sword - no doubt about that. But you can never upgrade the Pro to increase the resolution of the screen, nor can you remove the glossy glass from in front of the panel, nor can you make it thinner or lighter.

At the end of the day it is about picking the best overall computer. Between the two in 9/10 cases it will be the Air. This is what the Verge say:

Finally - if you can I would wait (normally term starts in mid/late September?). Wait and see what the Retina Pro brings and how it is priced.

 

Yeah but with the Pro, you can always upgrade the RAM down the road/post purchase.

 

I'm going to try to not repeat what the other posters have already pointed out, but I'm pretty sure you can already figure that you won't regret either purchase.

One thing to point out is that the MBP has a built-in optical drive, while the MBA will require an external drive (sold separately). If that's not an issue, you might want to consider the Air.

I personally own the 2012 13" MBP and it is by far the best computer I have ever owned. The screen resolution took a little getting used to (my prior laptop was a 17" with a 1600x900 screen) but it's not an issue at all now. The color reproduction on the MBP's screen is superior than the MBA's screen, for what it's worth to you. I love knowing that I can easily upgrade the RAM, replace the hard drive with a solid state drive, take out the optical drive and add yet another hard drive or solid state drive, etc. Future upgradability is a big deal for me, and that is why I chose the MBP.

So to reiterate- both machines are great choices. You'll be happy with either one!

 

They are both nice machines.

I compared both literally side by side in an Apple store. When I ran routine stuff ( safari, pages, quicktime, itunes), I was very surprised at how much zippier the MBP 13" was. And this was with the 500 GB HD in the MBP. Looking at the specs, I would have expected little difference for simple uses, or even advantage to the MBA due to the SSD.

Swapping in an SSD would make the base 13" MBP faster yet.

Counterpoint: The MBA 13" screen is notably better, especially if you don't the regular option of using an external monitor at home. It's more than the resolution. The MBA screen is less "glossy", closer to the matte screens, for those who prefer it. To my eyes, the 2012 MBA 13" screen looked better in the store lighting than the glossy 15" RETINA MBP screen.

My very slight general preference would be the MBP, for my situation. But look at the screens side by side. If you go for the MBA, go for the 8 GB RAM if you can get it. That will give more leeway if your performance demands go up.