MacBook Pro for a new Air?

[bass93]

I have the MacBook Pro in my signature. Would I possibly be able to put an ad on Craigslist and trade my Pro for a new Air? An 11 inch model. I really like the speed and portability of them.

I mainly use my computer for heavy web browsing, Pages, light use of iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband, Lots of iTunes, etc.

I'm going to college this fall and will be writing toooonnnss of papers. I'll be majoring in Communications. Electronic Media Major.

I would be losing my backlit keyboard which I love, but wouldn't use it a ton at college. I'd be losing SD card slot, but I have a USB adapter for that. I'd be losing my SuperDrive, but I haven't used it in 8 months or more. I'd also be losing my ethernet. And the college that I'm going to doesn't want us using routers. And they only have wireless in the main buildings, not the dorms. So I'd have to buy an adapter for that. I'd also be losing a lot of hard drive space, but I can use and external drive for all my iTunes. I already have a drive for Time Machine. I would be getting a smaller screen, but I could get a 20' refurbed 1080p monitor for $100 for in my dorm.

Would this be a smart move? Just wondering if I'll be losing anything else. Sorry this has gotten to be a long post. Thanks to any of you that respond

 

[torbjoern]

I have the MacBook Pro in my signature. Would I possibly be able to put an ad on Craigslist and trade my Pro for a new Air? An 11 inch model. I really like the speed and portability of them.

I mainly use my computer for heavy web browsing, Pages, light use of iMovie, iPhoto, and Garageband, Lots of iTunes, etc.

I'm going to college this fall and will be writing toooonnnss of papers. I'll be majoring in Communications. Electronic Media Major.

I would be losing my backlit keyboard which I love, but wouldn't use it a ton at college. I'd be losing SD card slot, but I have a USB adapter for that. I'd be losing my SuperDrive, but I haven't used it in 8 months or more. I'd also be losing my ethernet. And the college that I'm going to doesn't want us using routers. And they only have wireless in the main buildings, not the dorms. So I'd have to buy an adapter for that. I'd also be losing a lot of hard drive space, but I can use and external drive for all my iTunes. I already have a drive for Time Machine. I would be getting a smaller screen, but I could get a 20' refurbed 1080p monitor for $100 for in my dorm.

Would this be a smart move? Just wondering if I'll be losing anything else. Sorry this has gotten to be a long post. Thanks to any of you that respond

If you really want the Air, I think you should get it. But you have to make sure you get it with 4 GB of RAM.

 

[bass93]

If you really want the Air, I think you should get it. But you have to make sure you get it with 4 GB of RAM.

I could do with 2GB since that's what I have right now. The ones with 2GB are amazingly faster than what I have. Especially after using one. But yes, 4GB would be much more desirable.

 

[siurpeeman]

if it's the macbook pro in your sig, i don't think you'd be able to find someone to do a straight up trade. you'd have to offer cash in addition to your mbp.

 

[bass93]

if it's the macbook pro in your sig, i don't think you'd be able to find someone to do a straight up trade. you'd have to offer cash in addition to your mbp.

I have car audio stuff, home theater, PS2, printers, etc to add to it.

 

[MacHamster68]

hmm you didn't mention all the sacrifices you have to make for the MBA , thats a hell of a lot and a lot of usb connections you have to use which you don't get in the MBA so you need a hub too
and yes you forgot one thing , in your MBP you can have a huge harddrive or you can replace it whenever you want for not much money
with a MBA you stuck as you bought it as the ssd is a non standard part so you only get what apple has on offer , apple even tries with all the power they have to stop other companies to do a upgrade , not to mention apple made it deliberately difficult to get to it anyway
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/11/apple-kills-super-fast-macbook-air-ssd-replacement.ars

and another thing order your MBA if you get one with the max ram possible , you might not need it now , but the ram is soldered to the logicboard , so cannot be upgraded in the future unless you are a real talent with the soldering iron

so you feel your MBP is a bit slowish , for the money you have to put towards the MBA you could upgrade your MBP with a ssd and add double the ram and you will see the slowness is gone and it will outperform the MBA in every way apart from ...maybe battery life

but like i said before ..its your wallet and your cash, you love the small MBA then get it i will not stop you , but dont come and cry if it doesn't work out the way you planned and you run out of usb ports

the MBA is nice especially the 11" its so cute , but after all its apples idea of a netbook so a lot of features of the other MacBooks have been left behind to make it that small

 

[darknite38]

NO, don't get the air. Look at everything you are losing because of it. No ethernet? No SD card slot? Less battery life? No backlit keyboard? Keep the computer you have now, it works fine for your needs. The macbook air is more of a burden it seems rather than something that will make you more productive.

 

[bass93]

hmm you didn't mention all the sacrifices you have to make for the MBA in the other post
and yes you forgot one thing , in your MBP you can have a huge harddrive or you can replace it whenever you want for not much money
with a MBA you stuck as you bought it as the ssd is a non standard part so you only get what apple has on offer , apple even tries with all the power they have to stop other companies to do a upgrade
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/11/apple-kills-super-fast-macbook-air-ssd-replacement.ars

and another thing order your MBA if you get one with the max ram possible , you might not need it now , but the ram is soldered to the logicboard , so cannot be upgraded in the future unless you are a real talent with the soldering iron

True..true...Dang, why does Apple make so many amazing products..lol. I guess maybe someday, I can get an ultraportable. I guess we'll see.

NO, don't get the air. Look at everything you are losing because of it. No ethernet? No SD card slot? Less battery life? No backlit keyboard? Keep the computer you have now, it works fine for your needs. The macbook air is more of a burden it seems rather than something that will make you more productive.

Yeah, you're right. I'll think it over.

 

[zainjetha]

I think the question is 'What are you not giving up'...

I currently use an 27-inch iMac and a MacBook air. The vast majority of the time I am on my iMac,- the Air stays in my bag, just for when I leave the house, for instance when I head to campus for lectures, or when am on long train journeys. I do not keep very many things on it and I keep my iMac on, and do LogMeIn, so that I can access my stuff on there. Works out pretty good. MacBook Air is perfect for my on-the-go needs which are basically highly intensive browsing and mail. And it has good battery life. However, make no mistake, it could not be my primary machine.

 

[cr2]

It was hard for me to decide..but MBP is the way to go.

I am new to Mac but it was hard to decide when I wanted to try my first mac. MacAir, MBP and iMac each one has its advantages. I decided to go with MBP 13 with base config and then upgraded with a 7200rpm 500gb harddisk and 8gb RAM.

I suddenly found myself spending a lot more time using Aperture 3 (which I got without a lot of expectations as I use f Photoshop, but I was wrong). Two months later after my fist mac, I am waiting for new MBPs. I will get 15 inch with best processor.

If I had lot of money then would have loved to get an Air, it is too convenient to carry around.