Buying Advice...

[ASmith1106]

Hi everyone,
I will be a first time Mac buyer here in the next 6 or so months. I'm a college student majoring in Elementary Education, with a minor in educational technology (so I blog, do digital storytelling, skype, dabble in Photoshop, etc). My current Dell is starting to, well, crap out on me, and I think it's time to invest in something that will last me the long haul.

I'm torn between the base 13" MBP and the 11" MBA. Being a student still (and for yet another year and a half... sigh), I have a small list of what I want in a laptop, especially one that I hope to have well after college:

Portability: I want to be able to take my computer to study, class, what have you, and not have to break my back or lug around a ton of chargers
Storage Space: I'm not sure if 64 or 128 gb will last me on an Air. I have an external harddrive, but that kind of defeats the point...
CD drive/eternet port: I know you can add these to the Air via dongles... but having them built in sure would be nice
Price: I'm in college, and going to be a teacher... I know this is a costly investment, and don't want to pay more for things I don't need...

So, my question for you all: Which one would be better suited for my needs? I'm really a Mac newbie, so all feedback would be great!!

 

[Orlandoech]

If you TRULY need an optical drive then get the 13" MBP. The MBA does have an SSD which will be faster for some operations.

If it were mere, and you could afford it, I would buy the 13" MBA and buy a 3rd part DVD-+RW from www.newegg.com

 

[Macman45]

You Will Need Storage

Hi everyone,
I will be a first time Mac buyer here in the next 6 or so months. I'm a college student majoring in Elementary Education, with a minor in educational technology (so I blog, do digital storytelling, skype, dabble in Photoshop, etc). My current Dell is starting to, well, crap out on me, and I think it's time to invest in something that will last me the long haul.

I'm torn between the base 13" MBP and the 11" MBA. Being a student still (and for yet another year and a half... sigh), I have a small list of what I want in a laptop, especially one that I hope to have well after college:

Portability: I want to be able to take my computer to study, class, what have you, and not have to break my back or lug around a ton of chargers
Storage Space: I'm not sure if 64 or 128 gb will last me on an Air. I have an external harddrive, but that kind of defeats the point...
CD drive/eternet port: I know you can add these to the Air via dongles... but having them built in sure would be nice
Price: I'm in college, and going to be a teacher... I know this is a costly investment, and don't want to pay more for things I don't need...

So, my question for you all: Which one would be better suited for my needs? I'm really a Mac newbie, so all feedback would be great!!

The MBA is great, but 256 won't stash all your essays and stuff. Consider the Air as a luxury and the base pro as a must. I have both, but I am old...Not wise, just old

 

[Naimfan]

Hi everyone,
I will be a first time Mac buyer here in the next 6 or so months. I'm a college student majoring in Elementary Education, with a minor in educational technology (so I blog, do digital storytelling, skype, dabble in Photoshop, etc). My current Dell is starting to, well, crap out on me, and I think it's time to invest in something that will last me the long haul.

I'm torn between the base 13" MBP and the 11" MBA. Being a student still (and for yet another year and a half... sigh), I have a small list of what I want in a laptop, especially one that I hope to have well after college:

Portability: I want to be able to take my computer to study, class, what have you, and not have to break my back or lug around a ton of chargers
Storage Space: I'm not sure if 64 or 128 gb will last me on an Air. I have an external harddrive, but that kind of defeats the point...
CD drive/eternet port: I know you can add these to the Air via dongles... but having them built in sure would be nice
Price: I'm in college, and going to be a teacher... I know this is a costly investment, and don't want to pay more for things I don't need...

So, my question for you all: Which one would be better suited for my needs? I'm really a Mac newbie, so all feedback would be great!!

Get the Pro. The Air requires you to give up a LOT of capability and capacity to get a smaller form factor.

Also, the MBP can be expanded down the road, so you can add RAM and a different hard drive. And note that the RAM on an Air cannot be upgraded and that many people complain about running Lion with 4 GB (I have NO idea how people can stand the base 11" Air with 2 GB RAM).

 

[Quinoky]

The 11" MBA is really only for those who need productivity on the road alongside their powerful machine. As a main computer, the 11" screen is just too small.. 13" is really minimum.

So, especially since you want your new laptop to last you through the years, I'd recommend the 13" MBP since you are then able to upgrade the RAM and the storage (whether it be an HDD or an SSD). The MBA 13" has no upgrade options whatsoever (apart from the semi-proprietary SSD which is awfully expensive from third party sellers).

 

[ASmith1106]

Thanks so much guys! I was sorta thinking the Pro would be the way to go, and you definitely confirmed that thinking. Now to keep saving and hope this computer lasts me through at least the end of the semester!