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how many will replace mbp with new mba
- Thread starter tim100
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Definitely with the instant on. I'm always moving from place to place in between classes and it switches on very fast after opening the lid. Also, it is much lighter to walk around with in my arms. The lower processor and ram is a bummer, but I do not notice anything at all that slows me down. Even Word opens up considerably faster, which was a huge surprise for me. The SSD definitely makes up for the lower processor.
This was not a knee jerk action and I'm not really hating anything, but the two hour battery life on my current MBP was getting to be a real problem. I spend a lot more time running from meeting to meeting and having to run back to my desk to get the power adapter was getting to be a pain.
In addition, this is my company system and I've had it for 3 years now. The thing is old and I'm scheduled for a company paid upgrade. So one way or another I'm going to get a new toy.The only question is what to get?
I was originally looking at getting another 15" MBP, and that would certainly solve my battery problem. But there was the MacBook Air introduction, and I got to thinking...
I have an external Blu-ray burner, and really don't need an internal SuperDrive. Also, I really don't need more more CPU or graphics performance for what I am doing either. I do a lot of HD video stuff at home, and have all that data on giant 3.5" external drives. So, a big internal HDD wasn't really going to help me either. And then there were my friends who upgraded to SSD have been raving about the speed improvements...
I started by pricing MBP 15" with SSD's but that put me over $2300 -- and that is with the bottom of the line MBP 15". Sure, one of these units would probably speed up by video encoding, but any of these systems with SSD was going to be over my budget.
It then became a choice between the MBP 13" and the MBA 13". I concluded that I wasn't going to get much of a performance gain by going with the 13" MBP. Additionally. going to the MBP 13" would mean a significant reduction in screen resolution from what I have already.
To be honest I would go probably with the MBP 13" if it had the same screen as the MBA 13 -- or I would have gone with the 15" if it were about $300 cheaper -- especially if I wouldn't have to deal with the sharp edges on both of the MBPs.
As things are right now the 13" MBA is the best match for my needs.
Wait wait. your current MBP is 3 years old? Well that changes the equation 100%. switch to a new MBA then. I had assumed (obviously incorrectly) that you were using a unibody core iX like me. lol which would seem kind of like a "unnecessary" thing
. I agree with you then, the airs will do what you need it to do. and if you're doing heavy work I'm there's a desktop somewhere for you to do the heavy stuff. seems like there will be a macbook pro update in april that will make more like the mba.
http://www.9to5mac.com/37747/rumor-final-cut-and-massive-macbook-pro-upgrade-for-april-11
I would not assume the next Air will only be available with 4 GB of ram. As much as I like my Air, its the best laptop I have ever owned, my iPad 2 is getting far more use day to day. An iPad 2 with 3G and long battery life is pretty useful. The last few trips I took were with my iPad 2 and 13-inch Air and the Air never came out of the bag.
Which leaves me free to consider a 15-inch MBP as I like the larger screen and greater expandability options. I would snap a 15-inch Air up immediately. Also I'm not really sure that the mass market is ready for no optical drive in a MBP. But Apple has a history of pushing the envelope on issues like this. Couple that with bigger and lower cost SSD and they will have a huge hit on their hands.
Also consider the latest Airs are more than fast enough for most uses and do have a backlit keyboard.
Which leaves me free to consider a 15-inch MBP as I like the larger screen and greater expandability options. I would snap a 15-inch Air up immediately. Also I'm not really sure that the mass market is ready for no optical drive in a MBP. But Apple has a history of pushing the envelope on issues like this. Couple that with bigger and lower cost SSD and they will have a huge hit on their hands.
Also consider the latest Airs are more than fast enough for most uses and do have a backlit keyboard.
My current MBP is the base mid-09 15" model - 2.53GHz CPU and integrated graphics resulting in 25W TDP for the system, and 8GB of RAM. Except for the memory which I need for virtual machines, the current MBA could easily beat that machine at most tasks. If the next version of the MBA has a larger memory capacity then I will probably go that route when I replace my MBP in 2012.
I am starting to wonder if I can replace my 8-core 2.26GHz Mac Pro with a quad core MBP, and the answer is starting to look like yes. I will probably wait another year or so for the Haswell-based machines before I seriously consider making that switch. I have a 30" ACD and like it, so replacing the Mac Pro with an IMac is not a great option. I am hoping we see some more Thunderbolt docking options from 3rd party manufacturers in the next year or so (like a dual link DVI connector on the dock for those of us who don't want to use a glossy 27" monitor for working with photographs).
I am starting to wonder if I can replace my 8-core 2.26GHz Mac Pro with a quad core MBP, and the answer is starting to look like yes. I will probably wait another year or so for the Haswell-based machines before I seriously consider making that switch. I have a 30" ACD and like it, so replacing the Mac Pro with an IMac is not a great option. I am hoping we see some more Thunderbolt docking options from 3rd party manufacturers in the next year or so (like a dual link DVI connector on the dock for those of us who don't want to use a glossy 27" monitor for working with photographs).
