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Macbook Air or The "New" iPad

T

thehenryfrancis

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 29, 2012
3
0
Manchester, UK
Hi,
just sold my iPad 2 with the intention to buy The New iPad but have realised I can afford the Macbook Air 13" refurbished from my local Curry's (like Best Buy).

Do I go for the new iPad or Macbook Air? I only really use Facebook and Twitter, and generally browse around websites. Do school work every now and then but next year in College I will be working much more.

I love the usability of the iPad and the portability of it, and the screen on the iPad 3 is said to be amazing. The battery life on the iPad is much longer also. Having said that my dying Samsung laptop struggles to cope and is really quite dodgy and I would rather have a reliable computer like the Macbook Air and I've always wanted a Mac.

Cheers for your help.

Henry
 
Try the iPad for 14 days and return it. I go the cheaper route first.

I would not buy a MacBook until they offer retina quality, which they inevitably will.
 
Hi,

Just sold my old jet ski with the intention to buy a new jet ski but have realized I can afford a certified pre-owned Accord from my local Honda dealer.

Do I go for the new jet ski or the Accord? I only really use jet ski a few times a year. Do stuff around water every now and then but next year in College I will be around water much more.

I love the usability of the jet ski and the portability of it, and the engine on the jet ski is said to be amazing. The fuel economy on the jet ski is much better also. Having said that, my dying Ford Pinto struggles to cope and is really quite dodgy and I would rather have a reliable car like the Accord and I've always wanted a Honda.

Cheers for your help.

Bobo
 
I had the same problem. I love the MBA however the iPad is better for me, so I stuck with it and glad I did:) think more on it ;)
 
There is also the fact that I do have access to my Dad's car but seeing as it isn't my own I can't really use it whenever I need it.
 
I love the new iPad and it has become integral to my computing experience. That said, if I can have only a Mac or iPad, it would be a Mac. And I say that as someone greatly disappointed in Lion.

For my money, I would get 11" MBA (4GB version) over 13" MBA. 11" screen is in fact 11.6" (vs. 13.3"), which translates to mere 1.7" diagonal difference (or 1.16" horizontal and 1.47" vertical). Resolution difference is even smaller at 74 pixels horizontal and 132 pixels vertical. Real life battery life difference is about 30 minutes in favor of 13".

For some, these differences can make all the difference, but I like the portability that 11" offers (20% lighter, 22% smaller by volume), not to mention $100 cost saving (which I can use toward something like an iPad).
 
nutmac said:
I love the new iPad and it has become integral to my computing experience. That said, if I can have only a Mac or iPad, it would be a Mac. And I say that as someone greatly disappointed in Lion.

For my money, I would get 11" MBA (4GB version) over 13" MBA. 11" screen is in fact 11.6" (vs. 13.3"), which translates to mere 1.7" diagonal difference (or 1.16" horizontal and 1.47" vertical). Resolution difference is even smaller at 74 pixels horizontal and 132 pixels vertical. Real life battery life difference is about 30 minutes in favor of 13".

For some, these differences can make all the difference, but I like the portability that 11" offers (20% lighter, 22% smaller by volume), not to mention $100 cost saving (which I can use toward something like an iPad).
Click to expand...

Cheers, it's £750 for the 13"Macbook Air Refurbished here, compared to £850 for the new Macbook Air 11.6" from Apple. So yeah for £650 I can get a 11.6" version refurbished but only with 64GB in size and that isn't big enough for me. Therefore it's more of a question between the two.

Spoken to many about this and nearly all say get the Air. Think I might get the Air.
 
Think about how you'll be using it. I've decided to go with an iMac/iPad combo because of my use case. When I'm on the go, the most important things are mobility (lightweight) and the ability to read and annotate PDFs. When I'm at home the most important thing is to have a nice big screen and lots of HD space and processing power. So the iPad/iMac combo just made sense, and a MBA wouldn't be ideal in either situation.

But your usage needs may be different (I'm sure they are!) So you just need to think about what will better suit your needs.
 
Personally, I wouldn't want an iPad to be my main device. If your computer is on the fritz I would just go ahead and get a MBA and be done with it.

That said, if you don't need to take your main computer with you then I would suggest a Mac Mini/iPad combo. This is the setup I am using at home now and it is working out well so far.
 
bobobenobi said:
Hi,

Just sold my old jet ski with the intention to buy a new jet ski but have realized I can afford a certified pre-owned Accord from my local Honda dealer.

Do I go for the new jet ski or the Accord? I only really use jet ski a few times a year. Do stuff around water every now and then but next year in College I will be around water much more.

I love the usability of the jet ski and the portability of it, and the engine on the jet ski is said to be amazing. The fuel economy on the jet ski is much better also. Having said that, my dying Ford Pinto struggles to cope and is really quite dodgy and I would rather have a reliable car like the Accord and I've always wanted a Honda.

Cheers for your help.

Bobo
Click to expand...

oh man, that was so funny! :rolleyes:
 
thehenryfrancis said:
Cheers, it's £750 for the 13"Macbook Air Refurbished here, compared to £850 for the new Macbook Air 11.6" from Apple. So yeah for £650 I can get a 11.6" version refurbished but only with 64GB in size and that isn't big enough for me. Therefore it's more of a question between the two.
Click to expand...

Yeah by all means go for the refurb. I didn't think 2011 models would be that cheap but more power to you if you can get it.
 
iPad is a great secondary device but I wouldn't want to use it to type research papers. The tech is growing but were several years away from tablets being the new personal computer.
 
I you can afford the Air do that. Geesh. :D

I have an 11" and it's about as light as the iPad! Love it.

However, the iPad is cheap comparatively; less than half the price. So this is serious monies.

Note: Apple is actually selling a version of the Air with only 2GB NOT upgradable. Steer clear of it. ;)


YMMV
 
I have both: a 13" 256GB i7 MBA and a 32GB 4G iPad. The MBA is a necessity for me at college, it's much better for typing essays, and I dual boot windows 7 for coding in visual studio. Basically it's my workhorse, used for converting video, video editing, programming and report writing. All things that either can't be done or aren't as ideal on an iPad.

I use the iPad for media: textbooks, movies, music, web browsing, gaming. Web browsing especially is great on the retina display.

I'd go for the air, especially f you're going to college next year. It can do everything, and really the iPad is a companion device that can do some things better, but can't do everything.
(11" is fine, since the resolution is quite high, but I'd go for 4GB RAM)
 
I also own both. However, my new iPad has been sitting on my desk getting dusty while my Macbook Air goes everywhere with me. While both are great, if I could only have one, I would definitely keep the Air.
 
I only have the MBA; I am a transfer from the PC (Lenovo) world and looked at the iPad when I bought my Air and decided that for me, the laptop was more versatile. But, of course, to each his own.
 
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