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Does 10 battery life make it more portable than the Air?
- Thread starter Yr Blues
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C64
macrumors 65816
Portability is about weight and size as well. In that area the Air wins, obviously.
Just decide what is more important for you: 10 hours instead of 5 to 7 or a really light MacBook (assuming everything else is enough for your needs).
Personally, I'd say that something really light is also very important. And since there are wall plugs everywhere for people with 2-hours-max PC laptops, I'm sure many people never really need those 10 hours anyways. But again, it's all up to how you'll be using your machine.
Just decide what is more important for you: 10 hours instead of 5 to 7 or a really light MacBook (assuming everything else is enough for your needs).
Personally, I'd say that something really light is also very important. And since there are wall plugs everywhere for people with 2-hours-max PC laptops, I'm sure many people never really need those 10 hours anyways. But again, it's all up to how you'll be using your machine.
gwsat
macrumors 68000
I agree that a 13 inch MBP with a SSD drive is at least as fast as the new MBA and does, indeed, have a 10 hour battery, compared to the 13 inch MBA's 7 hour battery. But for portability, the 13 inch MBP isn't in the same world with the 13 inch MBA, it seems to me. Not only is the MBP dramatically thicker than the MBA, it is more than 50 percent heavier, in addition to which, the MBA has greater screen resolution, 1440x900, compared to the MBP's 1280x800. Finally, a fully loaded 13 inch MBA goes for $100 less than the base model 13 inch MBP with a 256Ghz SSD.
gwsat
macrumors 68000
Actually you could add a SSD to a MBP yourself for considerably less than the $800 Apple charges to add it to a new machine. I used Apple's price and didn't mention the cheaper after market route.
ImperialX
macrumors 65816
Even if you used OWC's SSDs, it's not necessarily that much of a better deal than the MacBook Air for certain people.
The 13" MBA has the same battery life as the MacBook. Jobs said the new MBA uses better battery tests and is double the battery life of the old MBA. This means the MacBook would rate at 7 hours if it used the new battery test.
Old macbook air rated at 5 hours so double the battery life would be 10 hours, same as MacBook.
EDIT: Using the new battery tests, here's how Apple's line-up would rate:
MB: 7 hours
13" MBA: 7 hours
11" MBA: 5 hours
13" MBP: 7 hours
15"-17" MBP: 5.5-6.5 hours
ImperialX
macrumors 65816
Why would the new battery test not have Flash preinstalled when it reports lower numbers than the old one?
Jobs said the jump from old MBA to new MBA isn't just a jump from 5 hours to 7 hours, but actually DOUBLE the battery life, since the new test is harsher and reflect real world use more.