Getting a bit confused

First, if a Dell from 2008 can do something, a Mac from 2013 can do it much better. That includes games.And the Air will not be able to watch true HD videos without scaling, while the Retina can. Since Haswell computers should only be a week away, there is no reason not to wait to see what Apple does. Haswell should bring better graphics and maybe battery life, all great for a portable device without a dedicated GPU.

 

Not sure what you mean by "full HD". 720 and 1080 are common HD resolutions. You know the specs of the screen. It exceeds one and it doesn't meet the other.

Sounds like you're confusing "retina" and "HD" since you mention the smaller screen. HD is HD regardless of the physical screen size. Either it is capable of HD resolutions or it isn't. PPI doesn't determine whether it's HD or not.

 

"Full HD" is 1080p aka 1920x1080. 1440x900 isn't anywhere close to "Full HD" so no, the Air can't display 1080p HD on the built-in display. If you have a 1080p external display then sure, plug the Air into that and you get full HD.

 

Speaking as someone who owns a 13 inch rMBP, I can say that the display does make a difference for everything from browsing the web to playing games. Neither is equipped for serious gaming given that fact that they don't have discrete graphics cards, but they are fine for light gaming. I run Minecraft on mine frequently, and it looks pretty cool with the Retina display. In regards to waiting for Haswell, I believe that it makes some pretty big improvements when it comes to integrated graphics, but it really comes down to how soon you need to purchase one, and if you have the time to wait for Apple to refresh your chosen model with Haswell. Remember to check the Apple refurbished store, I picked my rMBP there for $1270.

 

In regards to Haswell vs. discounted Ivy Bridge, I would say that it depends if you are able to get a better model with your money. For example, for me:

Haswell 13 inch rMBP vs Ivy Bridge 15 inch rMPB: 15 inch Ivy Bridge for sure.

Haswell 13 inch base rMBP vs Ivy Bridge 13 inch rMBP w/ 256GB SSD 1.6ghz: I would go with the Haswell in this scenario.

Just depends on what you want to spend and your needs. Looking at the current models, for me its rMBP over MBA hands down, but we'll see what new models bring us.

 

Might be better to see how Haswell actually performs in Macs before suggesting Haswell over IB or vice versa. Tad premature to offer "solid" advice.

 

Full HD 1080p means it has a total of 1920x1080 pixels. A 4" phone with a 1920x1080 screen is Full HD 1080p as is a 60" TV with a 1920x1080 screen.

As far as performance questions go we really have to wait and see what kind of chips Apple chooses to put into the Haswell 13" rMBP. They could go with something that's almost the same as the current CPU/GPU, or they could choose to use one of the more expensive chips that have really good new integrated graphics.

 

True, but we do know two things for sure: 1. It will be faster (to what degree, we don't know) and 2. It will offer much better integrated graphics performance.

 

You do realize that 13" is tiny right?

 

Who you been dating?

Joking aside, 13" is a great computer size for portability and "workability."