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For those wondering: SOLD my iPad and picked up a new 11" = best idea ever!

bobjob186

bobjob186

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2005
598
72
Laguna Beach
So, i've been in and out of the macbook air game since day one, have had everyone they've made every model and at least 2 of each rev. Every time I sell one I can't wait to get one again, it's insane how perfect the Air line is too me. Regardless of that fact, I've been itching to get back in one and so I sold my 64GB 3G iPad and found a guy who sold me a $1000 best buy gift card for $800, had best buy price match an 11" air from microcenter for $949 and ended up paying $41 more to upgrade from the iPad to the 11" air.

What I can say so far is that this is exactly what the el doctor ordered. I have a 15" core i5 as my main machine and the ipad was a great companion too that, but I found myself always going back to the MBP for everything except for sitting on the couch and wanting to check something online really quickly. The ipad was insanely a luxury item for me because I knew if I wanted to check something online that I was going to check out a few spreadsheets and a few work sites that was just a pain to sit and type with two fingers on the ipad with.

In comes the 11" air. My last air's have always felt so fragile to me. I loved them, but I was so afraid of hurting them because of their design. The hinge scared me, the click button on the mouse rubbing the LCD frame scared me. Scratching the metal on the charger/USB port/Headphone Jack/Mini Display port scared me because of their weird angle. This new air though is built like a tank. Strong, well thought out, the trackpad is great, the keyboard is perfect and the ports are so easy to get to.

The ease of usability is what sold me. It's insane how light it is, how small the form factor is yet how much I can do on it. The resolution makes the 11" screen almost a non issue. I haven't noticed any significant increase in my scrolling in excel. Web pages look great. Apps run fast and the battery is perfectly acceptable. 3G would have been an awesome touch but that's probably too much to ask from Apple.

If anyone is on the fence sit down and really think about how much you do on your ipad. This thing can do everything and more, maybe not all the games but Lion will fix that problem. Granted the price jump might be hard to justify but believe me it's worth it!
 
I did the same.

I will be buying an iPad2 though. I loved my iPad. I love the Air too but there's something about the iPad that's difficult to explain.

Doesn't replace a phone, or a laptop but is a device that's still necessary.

Each to their own :)

btw. I'mm amazed at how rock solid this Air is, both in build and in how it operates. A lovely laptop.
 
I think there are many people have done the same thing including my self. However, I opt to get 13 Ultimate instead of 11" after some thinking(was planning on getting 11"). I also want to get the iPad 2 when it is released :p
 
Ya, I went the roundabout way. Someone wanted to straight-trade their 2008 black MacBook 2.2GHz/1GB/160GB for my iPad 16GB Wi-Fi. Great idea, I thought. I maxed the memory and hard drive to 4GB/640GB, used it for a few months, then sold it off for $650. Got Apple to get me the 11.6" at 10% off and now I'm a happy camper.
 
The new airs are great but there is no way I'm giving up my iPad, the Air cannot beat all day battery life and 3G Internet access anyone I need it. I can carry my iPad all day with no chargers and stay connected. My biggest issue will be wanting the next iPad that will undoubtedly support FaceTime.
 
Yes, I was one of those who abandoned the Ipad for the 11" McAir. Best decision I ever made.

But I fault myself as I was one of those who believed I could use the Ipad as a laptop replacement, that is to do Wordprocessing activity. Naught.

Got the 11" McAir and to me it has the same footprint as the Ipad in terms of portability and I have a complete laptop at my disposal to do all of my word processing and other computing.

To be quite frank, I never could figure out a real use (need) for the Ipad. It could not satisfy my computing needs and for carrying around photos and light internet browsing, it simply was easier and more convenient to use my smartphone.

Got to the point that the Ipad simply sat in my closet. But the McAir goes everywhere with me allowing me to pop open the lid and get work done wherever I am at.
 
w4rmk said:
The new airs are great but there is no way I'm giving up my iPad, the Air cannot beat all day battery life and 3G Internet access anyone I need it. I can carry my iPad all day with no chargers and stay connected. My biggest issue will be wanting the next iPad that will undoubtedly support FaceTime.
Click to expand...

I recently got an Air, but still can't bring myself to part with my iPad. As stated above the battery life is exceptional. Also it's a super slick e-reader. Reading books on an iphone or Mac isn't the same experience as reading one on the iPad. I wish I didn't like it so much, because I'd like to recoup some of the money I spent on the air, but I just can't do it :p
 
I'm not the jailbreaking type, but if Apple added native BT/USB mouse support to the iPad, I may never have canceled my grandfathered $30 data plan and never got the Air.

I was using the iPad 3G as an RDP/VNC client to my Mac and Windows boxes back at home, and it was crazy fast nearly everywhere I was.

I was about to pick up a BT keyboard, or even the keyboard-in-a-case setup, but I was really missing that mouse feature because I needed the dexterity and precision to control things on the desktop that the iPad's touchscreen was not giving me.
 
That's encouraging. I think I would need a Kindle + MBA even then I would get complaints from my fiancee asking where Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds have gone :)
 
Everytime I think I've convinced myself to just keep my iPad I see a thread about this very topic. Argh.

I'm seriously considering selling my 16GB and grabbing the 11.6" with 4GB. That damn computer is calling to me....
 
klover, you have to ask yourself what your ultimate purpose for the device is.

If it's just surfing and playing games and media, or if you need the maximum battery life, the iPad is the way to go.

If you're going to be doing any software development, if you want to make use of a camera, if you want to use any particular software that the iPad just doesn't have or won't ever have, get a MacBook Air. At least, those are the things that made me switch. I'm sure there's more, but that was enough for me to say, I need to get back to a Mac and the Air was the best alternative to the iPad for it (The MB/MBP is too bulky).
 
I'm going to do exactly opposite: sell my 2 weeks sparkling 13 new air and keep the ipad and Mac mini. My hands always get tired after a long time using the touch pad. I guess I won't buy any laptop in the future
 
I'm tempted to do the same, but then.. I would have two laptops.... the iPad's all-touch interface is what makes it truly different.
:D
 
BeyondtheTech said:
klover, you have to ask yourself what your ultimate purpose for the device is.

If it's just surfing and playing games and media, or if you need the maximum battery life, the iPad is the way to go.

If you're going to be doing any software development, if you want to make use of a camera, if you want to use any particular software that the iPad just doesn't have or won't ever have, get a MacBook Air. At least, those are the things that made me switch. I'm sure there's more, but that was enough for me to say, I need to get back to a Mac and the Air was the best alternative to the iPad for it (The MB/MBP is too bulky).
Click to expand...

Well, my decision is going to be based on a few things:

1. I have a custom built PC for gaming, heavy-lifting, etc. that covers those areas very nicely.

2. I sold my MBP this summer and need to get back to OS X. I have software (iWork, Office, Bento, and Things) that are collecting dust.

3. The iPad is great but I'm increasingly bumping into its technical limitations. Goodreader, Pages, etc. have helped cover some file management and word processing needs but they are limited.

4. I need a laptop. I have an old Asus that is about 9 lbs and ugly.
 
Sold my iPad due to the purchase of 11" Macbook Air myself. Big fan of the iPad, but for my personal use - browsing,video, podcasts, zero gaming - I was inclined to a MBA as a 2nd laptop the moment they were announced and couldn't really justify owning both an MBA and an iPad. Plus, I was motivated by the knowledge the iPad resale value will plummet in 3 months - not an issue if I was using it a lot, but it'd nag in the back of my mind if I was barely using it. Sold my 3G 32gb iPad w/Apple case on eBay for £552 (they're £600 new).

The one and only thing I reeeeally miss is reading comics & manga on it though, simply cannot be replicated on a lappy. For this purpose, I may consider buying the lowest spec iPad2, or a cheap as chips 16gb wifi iPad1 in 6 months.
 
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YES 100% agree to thread starter: I was one of those who abandoned the Ipad for the MBA. Still waiting for it to be delivered. Cannot wait to check it out. iPad is sold...it was such a pain to type on it - especially when you wanted to compose longer mails or work in spread sheets.

Perfect for point and click browsing - felt natural. But also somehow slow and a slow response time when clicking and doing things on the iPad.

For me, I learned my lesson: if you want to type you need a keyboard. point.
Flash is everywhere - not on the iPad! WHY??? These stupid battles companies are fighting and users are suffering. Yes HTML5 video...great...not everywhere.

Do you agree or am I alone with this "wisdom" :eek:
 
Personally, I rarely missed flash. What really grated on me was the lack of ram, specifically it's effect on browsing. I used iCab, it's good and 1m times better than Safari, but constantly loading everything in a new tab purely so you wouldn't have to reload the original page really began to grate after a while. Got an iPad at launch, was happy with it for a long time, but after running the OS4 Beta's at the earliest opportunity, as good as it was, it made me yearn for "proper" browsing again, "proper" multitasking, play mkv's natively, no more blasted syncing etc. When the 11" MBA appeared, decision made. It accompanies my 15" MBP brilliantly.
 
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Love my new 13" MacBook Air, but there is no way I would ever give up my iPad. Its two entirely different devices. I prefer the iPad when it comes to my nightly casual internet browsing from the couch.

In addition, the iPad is by far the best ereader on the market. My wife has the Kindle and its like a toy compared to my iPad. For example, I have loaded my iPad up with a bunch of books, PDFs, and technical documents. In addition, I read my local newspaper (The New York Post), Maxim magazine, and Mens Health regularly on my iPad.

Throw in the awesome games and other apps. No way I can give that up.
 
Bobjob186 said:
The ease of usability is what sold me. It's insane how light it is, how small the form factor is yet how much I can do on it. The resolution makes the 11" screen almost a non issue. I haven't noticed any significant increase in my scrolling in excel. Web pages look great. Apps run fast and the battery is perfectly acceptable. 3G would have been an awesome touch but that's probably too much to ask from Apple.
Click to expand...

Well said. I have both an iPad and an 11" MBA ... since I got my 11" my iPad gets used rarely whereas my 11" is getting used all day and evening. I love it!

This pleasure some get from using the 11" I wonder if it's similar to people's passion for the old 12" powerbook? That was before my Mac days.
 
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PhoneI said:
Love my new 13" MacBook Air, but there is no way I would ever give up my iPad. Its two entirely different devices. I prefer the iPad when it comes to my nightly casual internet browsing from the couch.

In addition, the iPad is by far the best ereader on the market. My wife has the Kindle and its like a toy compared to my iPad. For example, I have loaded my iPad up with a bunch of books, PDFs, and technical documents. In addition, I read my local newspaper (The New York Post), Maxim magazine, and Mens Health regularly on my iPad.

Throw in the awesome games and other apps. No way I can give that up.
Click to expand...

PDFs are a bit easier to read on the iPad for the simple reason that you can go full screen. But this is a moot issue using the Kindle for Mac app. Full screen works great. And I imagine when the Lion update is released and full screen capabilities are unleashed systemwide, this will be even less of an issue.

The other thing I love about the MBA is the fact that I don't feel the need to handle it gingerly for fear of damaging the moving parts in the hard drive. I have seen too many people with failed hard drives resulting from throwing around their laptops too much. Also nice not to have to hear the clicks of the hard drive anymore. This puppy is totally silent most of the time.
 
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