MacBook Pro or Air?

[ecohn15]

I currently have the mid 2008 aluminum MacBook. It is run down and i put too much information on it, so i only have a few MB of space left. THis is causing my computer to be extremely slow. i can't use 312 MB of space for the next year. I also HATE using flash drives for anything other than school work. I keep all my schoolwork on an 8GB flash drive which is half full after 3 years. The battery life on this laptop also sucks. I mean it. i get 3 hours MAX surfing the web, and a little less than 2 hours of taking notes using microsoft word when it is the only thing open. I also have my screen brightness down to the point where i can barely see it and it gets this terrible battery life (I have a lot of research projects, essays, and notes on there)
I have been contemplating getting an Air for a while now. When Apple announced the new ones in July?, i was so excited and told myself "I gotta get this now!" But i also realized that it didn't have all of the ports I would like. HOwever, there were ports on there that i don't currently have on my macbook: SD card slot and Thunderbolt. THe macbook Air also doesn't have a mini display port which I always use to watch videos that are on my macbook and stream them to my tv.

I mainly use my laptop for schoolwork and web browsing. My iMac is for video editing.

I think that the Air is best for me, but I also want others' advice and input in my decision.

OH and i was thinking of getting the 13inch pro or the 13inch air (256 GB - yes i will pay for the extra memory)

I need macbook to be light and portable. I bring it to school every day and my current macbook is a whopping 4.5 pounds which makes my bag SO MUCH HEAVIER

 

[MacDawg]

I went to the 13" Air recently and love it
It constantly amazes me

 

[sumone]

Well some of the problems you stated were wrong with your macbook could be an easy fix. I'm not exactly sure how you care for your devices but I have a 2006 Macbook that's still in great condition. I had it since early 2007 and accumulated a lot of data on it over the years. To clear out space on the Hard Drive I just bought a NAS, since you already have an iMac i'm sure you could stand to delete some of the data off of your macbook.

But in any case to attempt to answer your question. Either device is nice. I think you should just weigh the pros and cons and decide which best suits your needs. You already stated that you prefer the Air so perhaps that's the way you should go. Personally, I am more a fan of the pro. While I like the ultra portability that the air offers I prefer some of the specs on the Pros and apparently Apple just updated the internals on the Pro models. In my opinion with the Pro I get more of what I need for less than I would pay for an air.

Also, as a student I have learned that what you carry your computer in can make a big difference on the weight it puts on your back. Getting a better backpack could greatly improve the strain you say you experience.

 

[RolandNights]

Personally, I would choose the Macbook Pro. Better battery life, way more memory per dollar.

However, if SSD and portability are tops on your priority list, then I would go with the Air. The Air's battery is way better than your current Macbook's anyway. I would also like the novelty of the Macbook Air, to be honest. I've never had a laptop THAT portable before.

 

[jmpnop]

Since all the editing is done on the iMac, the extra power and expandability of the MBP isn't required. I'd definitely go with the MBA

 

[thekev]

Personally, I would choose the Macbook Pro. Better battery life, way more memory per dollar.

However, if SSD and portability are tops on your priority list, then I would go with the Air. The Air's battery is way better than your current Macbook's anyway. I would also like the novelty of the Macbook Air, to be honest. I've never had a laptop THAT portable before.

Not to be nitpicky but the price of a 128GB ssd upgrade is now just $100 or so on a macbook pro. I mean desire for an ssd doesn't have to be a big decision with minimal upgrade pricing on a system like the macbook pro.