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

[Z6128]

I'm thinking of returning my iPad for an 11in MBA too. I have a 13in MBP current gen also and I love the ultra portability and quickness of the iPad, but I feel like it's limited in what it can do (which I'm fine with) but I'm just not liking the touch screen and how it gets awkward and heavy to hold at times.

Anyone feel like it doesn't make any sense to have a MBP and a MBA? My MBP is my media server which I use mostly for iTunes and my Apple TV. But I love the lightweight, instant on of the iPad, so I feel like the 11in MBA has the best of both worlds.

 

[zube]

It works great! I use the my 17" MBP as a desktop replacement and I run Photoshop and Lightroom on it for my photography. The MBA is my "portable" laptop.

I see in your sig you've got an air and a pro as well?
Can you tell me how that works? lol

 

[Beaverfish]

Hi Guys and gals,

I'm so glad i found this thread. I have a 64 GB WIFI + 3G iPad (uk) I've been looking at the 11" MBA for sometime, i couldn't decided weather I wanted to sell my iPad and get the MBA just because it was the latest and greatest thing. Anyways i made my mind up and my ipda is now on ebay

Here if your interested.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130468764334&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT#ht_1117wt_1141

I have a question. Would you guys go for the base 11" or the one with the bigger SSD. also how do people find the 11" screensize and battery life?

 

[snouter]

I left my 32GB WiFi iPad on a plane and it never came back.

I was waiting for a gen 2 iPad, but just got an 11.6" 1.6GHz 4GBram and a 128GB SSD.

No regrets.

I liked my iPad, I really did, but now I have a keyboard, usb ports, a full OS, can watch Flash video on c-span.org, etc.

11.6" Air is the bomb.

No backlit keyboard is the one thing that is really sadding me out.

Wish the Air was i3 or i5 ULV based, though the Core 2 Duo seems ok for now.

Otherwise, I love it.

 

[snouter]

Hi Guys and gals,

I have a question. Would you guys go for the base 11" or the one with the bigger SSD. also how do people find the 11" screensize and battery life?

Battery life is nothing special. Better than a laptop, but nothing like the rock solid 10 hours I got with my iPad.

My main issue is that is seems a little slow to fully charge.

 

[Armeniandave]

I would agree that battery life is good but not nearly the same as
the iPad. That would be expected though being a full fledged computer.

Does seem kinda slow to charge but the iPad seemed to take a while also.

 

[gwsat]

Hi Guys and gals,

I'm so glad i found this thread. I have a 64 GB WIFI + 3G iPad (uk) I've been looking at the 11" MBA for sometime, i couldn't decided weather I wanted to sell my iPad and get the MBA just because it was the latest and greatest thing. Anyways i made my mind up and my ipda is now on ebay

I have a question. Would you guys go for the base 11" or the one with the bigger SSD. also how do people find the 11" screensize and battery life?

First off, I love my 13 inch MBA and deeply admire the 11 inch model. I also have, and still use, an MBP. Nevertheless, I would think long and hard before giving up a 3g iPad for an MBA.

Thanks to its built in 3G capability, your MBA gives you the ability to access your email and the Web in locations that that an MBA couldn't deal with. Also, the iPod is even smaller, lighter, and easier to manipulate than an MBA. Most important of all, the MBA would cost you $999 up front.

Recommendation: Save your money and keep your iPad.

 

[thelookingglass]

First off, I love my 13 inch MBA and deeply admire the 11 inch model. I also have, and still use, an MBP. Nevertheless, I would think long and hard before giving up a 3g iPad for an MBA.

Thanks to its built in 3G capability, your MBA gives you the ability to access your email and the Web in locations that that an MBA couldn't deal with. Also, the iPod is even smaller, lighter, and easier to manipulate than an MBA. Most important of all, the MBA would cost you $999 up front.

Recommendation: Save your money and keep your iPad.

Different strokes for different folks, of course, but the 3G point is moot if you also already have an iPhone with 3G access. There's too much redundancy in the functionality between the iPhone and the iPad to justify carrying them both around (which is what I did for several months).

 

[gwsat]

Different strokes for different folks, of course, but the 3G point is moot if you also already have an iPhone with 3G access. There's too much redundancy in the functionality between the iPhone and the iPad to justify carrying them both around (which is what I did for several months).

Those of us who live in the US and have to rely on AT&T for iPhone data plans can't use Bluetooth to tether an MBA to our iPhones. Even if you pay AT&T's extortionate $20 a month extra for streaming from the iPhone, AT&T and Apple have conspired to make Bluetooth unusable for data transfers. The only way to do it is with a physical USB connection between the iPhone and the MBA. Further, up until recently, AT&T's data plan for 3G iPads came with the privilege of downloading unlimited data. In stark contrast, the iPhone data plan is limited to a maximum of 2GB a month. Like I said, the OP should save his $999 and stick with his 3G iPad, especially if he lives in the US and has an unlimited data plan.

 

[thelookingglass]

Those of us who live in the US and have to rely on AT&T for iPhone data plans can't use Bluetooth to tether an MBA to our iPhones. Even if you pay AT&T's extortionate $20 a month extra for streaming from the iPhone, AT&T and Apple have conspired to make Bluetooth unusable for data transfers. The only way to do it is with a physical USB connection between the iPhone and the MBA. Further, up until recently, AT&T's data plan for 3G iPads came with the privilege of downloading unlimited data. In stark contrast, the iPhone data plan is limited to a maximum of 2GB a month. Like I said, the OP should save his $999 and stick with his 3G iPad, especially if he lives in the US and has an unlimited data plan.

I wasn't really referring to tethering. You had mentioned that the 3G iPad is nice because it gives you access to email and the web anywhere. My point is that the iPhone also gives you that same functionality so internet everywhere may not be such a good reason to hang onto the iPad if you already have an iPhone.

 

[gwsat]

I wasn't really referring to tethering. You had mentioned that the 3G iPad is nice because it gives you access to email and the web anywhere. My point is that the iPhone also gives you that same functionality so internet everywhere may not be such a good reason to hang onto the iPad if you already have an iPhone.

I have an iPhone and use its Web browser and email clients occasionally. I must say that trying to use the iPhone for such purposes for any length of time is decidedly unpleasant. It can be done but it's slow and difficult. I will concede that for email, the iPad isn't much better than the iPhone, which is to say its sorry, too. The iPad, though is decidedly better than the iPhone for Web browsing. Its exponentially larger display makes using it for Web surfing a pleasure. Also, more apps than I have time to name here are decidedly better on the iPad than they are in the iPhone. One app that comes to mind is WeatherBug. In short, the iPhone is in no way the functional equivalent of the iPad as a Web browser or for many other uses, at least it seems so to me.

 

[omniatlas]

Those of us who live in the US and have to rely on AT&T for iPhone data plans can't use Bluetooth to tether an MBA to our iPhones. Even if you pay AT&T's extortionate $20 a month extra for streaming from the iPhone, AT&T and Apple have conspired to make Bluetooth unusable for data transfers. The only way to do it is with a physical USB connection between the iPhone and the MBA.

Hm, didn't know they made bluetooth unusable for data bluetooth tethering. Works fine here in Australia (Telstra) but I prefer to plug in the cable so I can charge the phone at the same time. Have you tried jailbreaking?

 

[Alvesang]

Hi Guys and gals,

I'm so glad i found this thread. I have a 64 GB WIFI + 3G iPad (uk) I've been looking at the 11" MBA for sometime, i couldn't decided weather I wanted to sell my iPad and get the MBA just because it was the latest and greatest thing. Anyways i made my mind up and my ipda is now on ebay

Just to say it once more: The iPad is by no means a substitute for a MacBook (no matter which one), and neither MacBook is a substitute for an iPad. I understand why one has to sell something expensive to buy something else. But don't expect similar usage from the device you traded the other one in for.

 

[peapody]

Just to say it once more: The iPad is by no means a substitute for a MacBook (no matter which one), and neither MacBook is a substitute for an iPad. I understand why one has to sell something expensive to buy something else. But don't expect similar usage from the device you traded the other one in for.

Good point here. While I have a macbook air, I do miss the portability of my ipad. And when I say portability, I mean being able to sit and read in a car or something, or tote along with me on hospital rounds and access patient charts and documents while standing. Can't do that with a MBA.

I look forward to iPad2 but will be impatiently waiting for case manufacturers to catch up. Moleskin finally made a case with a notepad built in, and now Id have to wait for the 2nd revision to come out. Poop.

 

[gwsat]

Good point here. While I have a macbook air, I do miss the portability of my ipad. And when I say portability, I mean being able to sit and read in a car or something, or tote along with me on hospital rounds and access patient charts and documents while standing. Can't do that with a MBA.

I look forward to iPad2 but will be impatiently waiting for case manufacturers to catch up. Moleskin finally made a case with a notepad built in, and now Id have to wait for the 2nd revision to come out. Poop.

I agree that the MBA is not a substitute for the iPad. When I got my 13 inch MBA, I anticipated that it would replace the iPad. That hasn't happened, though. As you point out, it is easy to use the iPad while mobile. Similarly, the iPad has no lid that has to be opened and the MBAs are significantly heavier, too. Finally, the iPad's incredibly long battery life means that you don't have to worry about it. All that's required is to remember to recharge it every couple of days or so.

I am uncertain whether I will replace my first generation iPad with the replacement model when it is released. Unless the new iPad has some truly remarkable features, I suspect that I will stick with the current one at least until its Applecare coverage expires in April 2012.

 

[foiden]

The 11" comes remarkably close to the size to work against the iPad. However, iOS and Mac OSX are different animals and have grown to have their strengths and weaknesses. For me, my iPad is irreplacable because I use it as a music stand sheet reader. You need a particularly flat computer with a nice touch interface to accomplish that.

On the other hand, iOS has been getting insane amount of apps. Even for gaming, it's starting to really come into its own even if not for the same gaming styles as on the laptop. The 11" 2.3 pounds is great, though. I've never held a lighter fully functional laptop in my life. It feels like almost nothing in my hands. Still, the winning achievement is power vs. battery life. With iPad's iOS, I have never had the experience of running software that is typically so demanding and getting the battery life out of it. I've played full blown games on it for the entire day and didn't plug the thing in until next morning.

That's not only hard to pull off on a laptop, that's hard to pull off on any portable system out there save 2. The Neo Geo Pocket Color, and the Nintendo DS. Yet the difference in graphical/audio power and space (plus limited multi-tasking) is not even remotely comparable to iOS.

I like to think of iOS and the new Airs as a little window to where we see our technology going in the future. Our future is seeing more and more powerful devices crammed in smaller spaces while maintaining screen real-estate. Stuff that runs cooler and with better and better battery life, as well. It's been kind of the trend of technology up until now, for the last 30+ years. I don't see it changing.

It's been done by others before, but now it's been Apple's turn to push the industry this direction. It's always nice to know *someone* is doing it.

 

[A Macbook Pro]

MBA wins over iPad, but only when you have an iPhone. iPhone to use for small stuff and MBA for around the house stuff. iMac as the main computer and that's the best possible setup. Without iPhone, iPad + MBA is the best combo.

 

[thelookingglass]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; zh-cn) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

MBA wins over iPad, but only when you have an iPhone. iPhone to use for small stuff and MBA for around the house stuff. iMac as the main computer and that's the best possible setup. Without iPhone, iPad + MBA is the best combo.

Yep, agreed. IPhone and MBA together cover just about all use cases. Since I picked up my 11 incher, I've barely used my iPad. Tried to use it again last night, but now actually prefer browsing on my MBA. safari on the iPad is slower than Chrome on my MBA and I have to worry about page refreshes constantly.

Also bought a Kindle 3 and find myself reading on that a lot more than I did on the iPad. I was never one to complain about the weight of the iPad, but the kindle is so much smaller and lighter than the iPad that it's a lot easier to carry around. I'm also starting to prefer reading on my MBA over my iPad because the iPad screen makes text look more pixelated.

 

[gwsat]

Yep, agreed. IPhone and MBA together cover just about all use cases. Since I picked up my 11 incher, I've barely used my iPad. Tried to use it again last night, but now actually prefer browsing on my MBA. safari on the iPad is slower than Chrome on my MBA and I have to worry about page refreshes constantly.

Have you tried the Atomic Browser app for iPad? I have found it to be clearly superior to Safari. The Atomic Browser supports tabs. Thanks to iOS 4.X's newly added multitasking capability, this means that, even if you shift from the Atomic Browser to another app, when you go back to the browser all of your tabs are still fully loaded in memory and ready to go. I have really loved this feature.

 

[thelookingglass]

Have you tried the Atomic Browser app for iPad? I have found it to be clearly superior to Safari. The Atomic Browser supports tabs. Thanks to iOS 4.X's newly added multitasking capability, this means that, even if you shift from the Atomic Browser to another app, when you go back to the browser all of your tabs are still fully loaded in memory and ready to go. I have really loved this feature.

Yep, I have it. It works well for a while and then begins to crash if I have too many tabs loaded at once (which is never all that many - 4 or 5 tops).

 

[gwsat]

Yep, I have it. It works well for a while and then begins to crash if I have too many tabs loaded at once (which is never all that many - 4 or 5 tops).

I agree that the Atomic Browser is a little crash prone. I have decided to hold my nose and live with it, though. The advantage of being able to load multiple Web pages at once has made having to deal with its occasional crashes worth the hassle to me. Still, I wish the developers could figure out a way to make the Atomic Browser more stable.

 

[zodqyv]

Count me in with those who bought an 11.6" Air and love it, but also kept their iPad and love it too. They are unrelated devices as far as my usage is concerned.