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Lovin my new 11" Air

P

PaulCostello

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 23, 2012
53
0
After getting my iMac in march, i decided to add a macbook to my apple collection. Upon reading MANY posts on this forum, I decided on the macbook air 11" I just received it today, and cant be happier! thx for all the informative (and sometimes not so informative) threads.:)
 
What do you like and don't like about the 11" Air?

The 11.6" seems small in the Apple store, but after 2-3 weeks of usage now it feels like the display is just right. The 13" seemed like a good balance of performance, portability, and size at first but it actually feels large, no different than my sister's 13" MBP, not very portable as it has very similar footprint.

I would love to have the battery life of the 13" on the 11" though. I crave cheaper larger ssd and better battery life, and could really care less about it getting retina display. Retina display, along with graphics will only be detrimental to battery life.
 
Congrats on your purchase dude I got a 27" iMac almost a month ago I love it but it'stoo big for my room I'm going to the store now to return and get the 13" MBA can't wait for the switch! Enjoy your new MBA !
 
plucky duck said:
What do you like and don't like about the 11" Air?.
Click to expand...

I really love the screen size:
i think this (for me) is the sweet spot for mobile pcs. i tried the 13' and (again, for me) it seems huge (compared to the 11". It defeats the entire purpose of totally mobile.)

I love the weight:
air, is an understatement, it feels lighter than my iPad (probally not actually lighter, but it sure seems like it)

the screen:
the 16:10 just seems right. it seems a bit wider than the 13" and to me, it just looks better. i love the brightness and sharpness.

the keyboard:
perfection!

I DONT like that this beautiful aluminum finish seems to be VERY prone to scrathes and scuffs (from what i hear)
Other than that, i really have no complaints, and I've done my homework on this purchase, by gathering info and fooling around with both 11" and 13" extensively at my local apple store.

These are only my opinions.
I would recommend this macbook to any of my friends and family
 
PaulCostello said:
I really love the screen size:
i think this (for me) is the sweet spot for mobile pcs. i tried the 13' and (again, for me) it seems huge (compared to the 11". It defeats the entire purpose of totally mobile.)

I love the weight:
air, is an understatement, it feels lighter than my iPad (probally not actually lighter, but it sure seems like it)

the screen:
the 16:10 just seems right. it seems a bit wider than the 13" and to me, it just looks better. i love the brightness and sharpness.

the keyboard:
perfection!

I DONT like that this beautiful aluminum finish seems to be VERY prone to scrathes and scuffs (from what i hear)
Other than that, i really have no complaints, and I've done my homework on this purchase, by gathering info and fooling around with both 11" and 13" extensively at my local apple store.

These are only my opinions.
I would recommend this macbook to any of my friends and family
Click to expand...

The 11 inch has a 16:9 resolution!
 
I love the 11 inch, but I personally am thinking of going for the 13. I like to watch movies on the go and think the extra size would be an advantage.
 
Really enjoy my 11" MBA. I work at home & don't do the traveling thing but I do love taking the MBA outside or writing emails/letters with it. Also, after staring at the iMac doing DAW-typer work most days its a welcome change for my eyes come the evening.

Glad the OP is enjoying their MBA!
 
I've always found the 11 too small for my liking.. then again, i think the iPad is perfect for a tablet, so I'm not sure why I consider the 11 inch too small. I guess you do hold an iPad closer than a laptop.
 
Dustman said:
I've always found the 11 too small for my liking.. then again, i think the iPad is perfect for a tablet, so I'm not sure why I consider the 11 inch too small. I guess you do hold an iPad closer than a laptop.
Click to expand...

There is no such thing as too small or too large in the displays.

I used a 17 Inch MacBook pro, 13 Inch White Polycarbonate MacBook, 11.6 Inch MacBook Air and I can say that there is no such thing as too small and too large when we're talking about consumer tasks (without XCODE, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Final Cut, ETC.). You will eventually adapt to it. It just looks small or big at the first few days. But after that, it will appear perfect. Apple made sure it goes that way, so no customers of theirs would complain about screen size. However, prejudice people are.
 
My 11" Air is now my main machine. I really can't see myself going back to a 13" laptop (and if I did I think it'd need to be 16:9 aspect ratio).

At first it seems small but you definitely adapt after a few weeks. Mountain Lion is a joy to use on the 11" Air with the excellent integration of full screen apps, swipe navigation and double tap to zoom (safari). You just need to adapt your work flow, but it definitely works.

I love this thing!
 
PaulCostello said:
I DONT like that this beautiful aluminum finish seems to be VERY prone to scrathes and scuffs (from what i hear)
Click to expand...
Don't believe everything you hear.

My wife's 2010 MBA 11 has not a scratch on it, and she hauls it around everywhere and mistreats the daylights out of it.

My 2012 MBA 11 has no scratches either.

Rubber bumpers keep the bottom off the table top, so it keeps the bottom scratch free. Very durable finish, IMHO. I was surprised, as I expected it would scratch as easily as an ipad.

Glad I didn't go for the stupid clear plastic shell on the MBA (tried it, but didn't like it), as protection like that is not needed.
 
Slowly saving for a MBA for when on road, till then using my iPad 3 good to know people like the 11inch MBA.
 
Blackberryroid said:
There is no such thing as too small or too large in the displays.

I used a 17 Inch MacBook pro, 13 Inch White Polycarbonate MacBook, 11.6 Inch MacBook Air and I can say that there is no such thing as too small and too large when we're talking about consumer tasks (without XCODE, Dreamweaver, After Effects, Final Cut, ETC.). You will eventually adapt to it. It just looks small or big at the first few days. But after that, it will appear perfect. Apple made sure it goes that way, so no customers of theirs would complain about screen size. However, prejudice people are.
Click to expand...

Yes, there is such thing. Just because you get used to the compromise, doesn't mean there isn't a trade off.
 
I love my 11" Air, but I love my 13" Pro as well. Best thing about the 11" Air is that it's small and light like the iPad but it's a very capable laptop. I find it great for web surfing while watching TV. My MacBook Pro is still my main computer though because of the larger hard drive and screen. I use my Air mainly for web browsing and a bit of iTunes at the moment but it'll also be used for university work, Angry Birds and maybe watching DVDs with the aid of an external SuperDrive.
 
Dustman said:
I've always found the 11 too small for my liking.. then again, i think the iPad is perfect for a tablet, so I'm not sure why I consider the 11 inch too small. I guess you do hold an iPad closer than a laptop.
Click to expand...

It's not only that. You tend to use the iPad with its own apps or sometimes with pad-optimized websites. You use the MBA with websites designed for larger screens.
 
PaulCostello said:
After getting my iMac in march, i decided to add a macbook to my apple collection. Upon reading MANY posts on this forum, I decided on the macbook air 11" I just received it today, and cant be happier! thx for all the informative (and sometimes not so informative) threads.:)
Click to expand...

Congratulations on your new Mac!

The MBA lineup is an excellent one. I really enjoy mine.
 
I really like the 11" air too. I just had it replaced by the Apple store about 10 days ago, the first one was a disaster, poor quality control all over but this one is 99.9 perfect, slight warp with left front foot off the desk surface but I've seen and heard of so many like this that I feel it's just a fact we have to accept due to the MBA thinness. I use my 15" MBP for desktop and the Air for travel. It's fast!!, light!!, and fits everywhere.
Enjoy
 
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