Is the MacBook Pro portable at Uni?

[rekhyt]

I currently have a MacBook Pro 15" right now but I will be off to boarding school in August. I'm not exactly sure if the MBP 15" would be portable, and was contemplating about purchasing the upcoming new MBA 13" in June/July, but was put off by the lack of specs.

Boarding school is very similar to uni in terms of living, so I was wondering if anyone at an Uni could offer some advice on this. I'd need to bring along books for classes as well, so I wasn't exactly sure if this would work.

Thanks in advance.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Well, it IS a laptop, so it is built to be portable. My machine before this was a 15" HP (that lasted me 6 yrs before dying a slow and painful death!!), and I took it everywhere- and it was considerably heavier than the 15" MBP. I myself bought at 13" MBP because I loved the size of the iPad, and this while bigger, isn't TOO much bigger. I don't know what you think is lacking- it's a good machine. BUT, if your 15" is in good working order, why would you replace it?

 

[T34418leONE]

If I was you I would go for the MBA 13" and purchase an external HD to keep all your backups and music/photos in your room. then you'll be able to have a really portable beast with the convenience of storage in your room.

 

[ECUpirate44]

I cary my 15" mbp in my backpack all day long. Its more important to have a comfortable backpack than anything.

 

[Kyzelios]

I didn't have any problems carrying my older 15-inch notebook around back when I was in school, if anything the most important thing is that you have a good padded bag or backpack to protect your computer with a comfortable shoulder strap.

 

[eaf7s]

I never had a huge problem with my 15" but I just got a 13" and I can tell you...it definitely feels like a world of difference. But it's personal preference really. You'll be fine with either but the 13" is just less bulky. But let's be honest. All computers are pretty bulky/unwieldly/awkward...

 

[MartyF81]

I walk around with my MBP 17" all the time, it is a little heavy but totally manageable.... The 15" is easily portable. If you want to get a smaller one just to be MORE Portable... well the smaller one will do that. But the 15 is perfectly portable.

 

[kidwithdimples]

It's a little heavy if you're carrying notebooks and other stuffs with it. Sometimes I wish I had a MBA instead.

It's manageable though.

 

[entatlrg]

But let's be honest. All computers are pretty bulky/unwieldly/awkward...

I think you're about to get a whole lot of disagreement on that comment!

Buckle up.

 

[iZero]

I walk around with my MBP 17" all the time, it is a little heavy but totally manageable.... The 15" is easily portable. If you want to get a smaller one just to be MORE Portable... well the smaller one will do that. But the 15 is perfectly portable.

+1. I carry my 17 inch around daily. In hand, it's not bad at all. In a bag with shoulder strap(s) it's not even noticeable. Naturally a 15 inch would be even less trouble. And a 13 inch less still. If your computer is working well as it is, there's really no reason I can see for getting another, unless you just want to, or if you're really worried about carrying it around. The MacBook Air is designed specifically for that niche and would be wonderful for it, if you went that route My wife has the latest 13 inch MBA and it's like carrying a few pieces of paper. That thing is amazingly light.

 

[cvs]

The 15" is a bit larger but apart from that it is only 500gr heavier.

My pack usually holds the laptop charger, my notes and maybe a book or two, so the 500gr difference is really unnoticed.

I think it mostly depends on the size of your backback, if it small enough the 15" may stretch it enough to make it uneven and weird looking. My bpack can hold a 5Kgr 18.4" Sony (although painful to my back), so I am sure it can handle the 15" MBP.

To add to that, some people like ultra portable, MBA or iPad style.
I have a 5 year old 1.2 Kgr 10" Fujitsu with an ultra-low-voltage cpu that runs slooooooow, so I'll be replacing it with an iPad2, if I want to go ultra portable.

 

[daigohgoh]

get the MacBook Air.