Resolved MBA 11 or 13 - University Student Use

[yongren]

Glad to hear you liked the 11" —I had a similar experience when I first used one in an Apple Store, any skepticism I had was gone in seconds...

After a full 3 months of use, it still feels like a new toy. I hook mine up to a 24" HD monitor when I'm at my desk, which is fun too.

The 11" screen doesn't feel too small by itself either—I never feel cramped for space... Lion's fullscreen apps and multiple desktops undoubtedly help with this.

Every time I pick up a friend's 13" MacBook Pro, I simply can't believe how bulky they feel in comparison! I don't know how I lugged one of those things around for a year and a half.

That aside, the battery life is the one aspect of this computer that is annoying at times. I have 4 classes on most days and my battery percentage is generally pushing the tens or twenties by the end of the day. There isn't enough juice to watch more than maybe 2 TV episodes on Netflix or Hulu.

If it weren't for the battery life, I could see myself using this computer for four or five years easily... as it is, I might upgrade in a generation or two. It'd be great to be able to go truly all day without needing an outlet.

 

[nood1es]

If you'll be on campus..i don't see how battery life would be a problem or anywhere really, since there will be outlets scattered all over the place.


I chose an 11'' ultimate(long story) and would choose the same thing if I had to do it over again.

 

[joshuaginter]

I am a history student so I am constantly typing out papers. In fact, that's all I ever do with my Air.

I went with the 11". Battery life was worrisome at first, especially if you have class for longer than 5 hours per day. However, I quickly found out that if you turn off Wifi (since you SHOULDN'T be using it during class), turn off bluetooth and turn screen brightness down to 25%, you can get 7 full hours out of the 11" battery.

7 hours is a long day at school, but, if you are there for an entire day, you probably will find a break where you can sit down and charge your computer.

In regards to strain when processing for hours and hours, I haven't found a huge problem. The only problem I have ran into is the posture in which you use the 11" Air. Because it is smaller, you are slouched over EVEN more than you would normally be with a 13" or 15" laptop. Even that is poor posture compared to what you would get with a desktop. Therefore, eye strain isn't as big a deal as posture is with the 11" Air.

Hope this helps!

 

[rebscb]

Screen quality - any difference b'tween 11 & 13?

I am about to purchase a new MBA after 2.5 years with a 13" MBP that I connect to a 23" APD at home. My question is this: I am demanding in the LCD/LED screen quality-performance department. Is there any objective/subjective differences between the performance/usefulness of the 11" and 13" displays on the 2011 MBAs? I am asking this beyond the obvious vertical size difference and am curious about brightness - color - viewing angles - sharpness - white/black contrast - etc.

Thank you,

 

[Seasought]

I am a history student so I am constantly typing out papers. In fact, that's all I ever do with my Air.

I went with the 11". Battery life was worrisome at first, especially if you have class for longer than 5 hours per day. However, I quickly found out that if you turn off Wifi (since you SHOULDN'T be using it during class), turn off bluetooth and turn screen brightness down to 25%, you can get 7 full hours out of the 11" battery.

7 hours is a long day at school, but, if you are there for an entire day, you probably will find a break where you can sit down and charge your computer.

In regards to strain when processing for hours and hours, I haven't found a huge problem. The only problem I have ran into is the posture in which you use the 11" Air. Because it is smaller, you are slouched over EVEN more than you would normally be with a 13" or 15" laptop. Even that is poor posture compared to what you would get with a desktop. Therefore, eye strain isn't as big a deal as posture is with the 11" Air.

Hope this helps!

I'm a history student as well...thanks for the insight on this. Good luck with your studies btw.

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If you'll be on campus..i don't see how battery life would be a problem or anywhere really, since there will be outlets scattered all over the place.


I chose an 11'' ultimate(long story) and would choose the same thing if I had to do it over again.

It really isn't, unless I'm trying to take notes on it during all my classes. I've pretty much decided that battery life isn't as much of an issue as I had originally thought.

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Glad to hear you liked the 11" —I had a similar experience when I first used one in an Apple Store, any skepticism I had was gone in seconds...

After a full 3 months of use, it still feels like a new toy. I hook mine up to a 24" HD monitor when I'm at my desk, which is fun too.

The 11" screen doesn't feel too small by itself either—I never feel cramped for space... Lion's fullscreen apps and multiple desktops undoubtedly help with this.

...

This is encouraging. Just something about the 11 that appeals to me. Of course, now I'm considering a future purchase of a monitor for home use...I suppose it's never-ending .

 

[2IS]

The 11" certainly has a cool factor but the 13" IMO is far better to use for productivity. I played around with an 11" for a couple weeks and while I enjoyed it initially, it wasn't long before I found it cumbersome and more frustrating to use compared to the 13" mainly due to the amount of additional scrolling required from having less screen real estate.

 

[aeboi]

Depends on your situation but the outlets are usually only at the end of the rows and if it's a large lecture hall you're SOL.

If I wanted to carry around the power brick and wires around with me I would've gotten a cheap Windows laptop. I can't be the only one can I?...

 

[Seasought]

Every time I see one of these threads I start second guessing myself! I bought the 13" and I want to go and play about with the 11" again to make sure I made the right choice.

First World Problems, eh?!

sorry about that. As others have said, I don't think one can really go wrong with the 13 or the 11...I just have a morbid thing for the 11 is all ...

If I had the cash, I'd probably impulsively buy both...one for each hand .

 

[M-5]

So I've been using the MacBook Air 11" in class for the past few days, and I love it. It's so light and has such a small footprint that it fits so comfortable on my desk. It wakes up much faster from sleep than my '09 MacBook Pro, and I love that I can just close it and leave it on my desk since it's as thin or thinner than a notebook. I thought I would have had a problem with the battery life, but I haven't really gone below 40% during a school day, which is really good.

I've noticed that the contrast doesn't seem to be as good as my '09 MacBook pro, but the resolution is very good! I'm also worried about the (relatively) new charger design, because I often use the computer in bed and the charger head sometimes wants to bend at a 90 degree angle, and I know several of my friends have had theirs become ruined.

Another problem I had was with my external hard drive. I had use an external drive with Time Machine on my old MacBook, and I used Firewire for my backups. The Air obviously doesn't have Firewire though so I was going to use USB to restore from backup, but I forgot that the USB cord doesn't give sufficient amounts of power to the drive to work, so I also have to have the drive connect to an outlet, and I have this power cord somewhere at home 4 hours away.

I ordered one on Newegg though for about $7 so hopefully it's the correct one and fits properly. I also ended up ordering a USB SD Card reader as well, so I won't have to struggle with connecting my cameras to the computer with a wire and such.

 

[solubility]

What's up. Geology major here and my 11" is my only computer. I do loads and loads of typing throughout the day and I can't speak highly enough about the 11". While you can't go wrong with either or, I find the 11" to be the adequate size for a smaller computer. The screen at this size fits this whole form factor to make quite a solid and quick package that is a MBA. It fits nicely in a pack, looks incredibly sexy, and the 11" is always the talk of the table.

As for charge, most of our labs have outlets on the sides of the tables, so even during note taking lectures I plug it in, therefore I can't speak on the battery life. But, you can make adjustments to programs and such to make the most efficient use of your screen real estate (i.e. app launchers, hiding toolbars in browsers, Cinch, and different desktops).

I see no need in shelling out cash for the i7 (you could save that money for another charger to keep one at home and one in a bag). I'm a 'power' user, I suppose, but I don't find my i5 chip struggling to keep up. I opted for the 4gb and 128gb, mainly because I have Spotify for my music and I house my photos in the cloud. It probably also helps that I use my iPad for media consumption, pdfs and textbooks.

 

[iRCL]

ECE PHD student, I had an MBA 11" (Core 2 Duo era even) and I completely regret selling it and getting an i5 MBP 13". It happened a few months back but constantly I think about my MBA 11" and I miss it. I'm constantly trying to figure out how to go back to it.

I had no problems with battery or with the screen. The one problem I really had was disk space of course, specifically with trying to run VM's. This was infeasible with 2GB RAM and 64GB SSD..

For your purposes, you'd be crazy not to get the 11". You'll love it

 

[Seasought]

...I see no need in shelling out cash for the i7...

I've reached the same conclusion. I'm going to use the extra cash to pick up a suitable case/sleeve so I can carry it in my bag safely.

 

[Fernandez21]

I'm also worried about the (relatively) new charger design, because I often use the computer in bed and the charger head sometimes wants to bend at a 90 degree angle, and I know several of my friends have had theirs become ruined.

I've noticed this too when I use mine in bed, just flip the port around so the cord comes towards you and you won't have that 90° problem anymore.

 

[Seasought]

Thanks

I'd like to thank everyone for their input, it was very helpful. I picked up an 11" MBA, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. I'm very happy with it, and am in the process of transferring some old files from my Powerbook G4 to it, as well as getting apps installed, etc.

Thanks again!

 

[Tinmania]

I'd like to thank everyone for their input, it was very helpful. I picked up an 11" MBA, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD. I'm very happy with it, and am in the process of transferring some old files from my Powerbook G4 to it, as well as getting apps installed, etc.

Thanks again!

You are gonna love it! Good luck.



Michael

 

[buddybd]

IF the MBA is going to be your only primary computer then go with the 13". I personally use the 11" and that works well when I'm on campus, but for HW and everything else I use my PC. Much more convenient working on a bigger screen.

 

[Seasought]

IF the MBA is going to be your only primary computer then go with the 13". I personally use the 11" and that works well when I'm on campus, but for HW and everything else I use my PC. Much more convenient working on a bigger screen.

We think the same way on this. I have a 17" laptop as my primary at home, so the 11" makes more sense to me (since I'm going for ultra-portability). Of course, now I'm thinking about future purchases of external monitors too...

 

[Xikum]

We think the same way on this. I have a 17" laptop as my primary at home, so the 11" makes more sense to me (since I'm going for ultra-portability). Of course, now I'm thinking about future purchases of external monitors too...

Selling your old 17" laptop and buying and external monitor would be perfect imo. Bear in mind that you can pick up MUCH cheaper monitors than Apple's Thunderbolt Display. If you are only going to be using it for a few hours a week, then you can pick a cheaper one up for literally less than half the price of Apple's external monitor.

 

[Seasought]

Selling your old 17" laptop and buying and external monitor would be perfect imo. Bear in mind that you can pick up MUCH cheaper monitors than Apple's Thunderbolt Display. If you are only going to be using it for a few hours a week, then you can pick a cheaper one up for literally less than half the price of Apple's external monitor.

The 17" is an Alienware, I don't have plans to sell it. As far as displays go, I've heard that the Apple Thunderbolt displays are pretty expensive, what are the better alternatives?

 

[MattZani]

I'm doing a photography degree which involves working with ~30mb RAW files and 1080p video footage, and chose the 13" Air, its powerful enough to do it.

 

[M-5]

I'm doing a photography degree which involves working with ~30mb RAW files and 1080p video footage, and chose the 13" Air, its powerful enough to do it.

Awesome, how long have you been using it for these tasks?

 

[Tinmania]

The 17" is an Alienware, I don't have plans to sell it. As far as displays go, I've heard that the Apple Thunderbolt displays are pretty expensive, what are the better alternatives?

Get a cheap mini displayport to HDMI adapter and use any HDMI monitor you want. I found a 23" Acer for $130 to use with my Air.

Here are some mini displayport to HDMI adapters (you don't need to get it from Apple):
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...=aps&hvadid=3403382837&ref=pd_sl_959sgr5pjw_b



MIchael

 

[MattZani]

Awesome, how long have you been using it for these tasks?

A month, I'd rather use the Mac Pro's at uni for video editing but for photo work it handles it with ease, SSD is brilliant, yeah a MacBook Pro would be faster, but I knew it was compromising for the size.

 

[feflower]

If I had to do it all over again, I might even consider the iPad with BT keyboard. For a non-science undergrad I think it will do the trick.

For word processing it might suffice.

You will also have a tablet. Easier to read pdfs on the transit.

For mind mapping, it might be easier with the touch screen.

I haven't calculated the price difference, but I think it will be cheaper for the iPad/Keyboard combo.

I have a MBP for my graduate studies. Got it before the new Airs. But my next laptop will be an 11" Air.

 

[Seasought]

Get a cheap mini displayport to HDMI adapter and use any HDMI monitor you want. I found a 23" Acer for $130 to use with my Air.

Here are some mini displayport to HDMI adapters (you don't need to get it from Apple):
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...=aps&hvadid=3403382837&ref=pd_sl_959sgr5pjw_b



MIchael

Thanks, I have an adapter actually. Now it's just a matter of pricing monitors that would do the job...that's probably a whole other topic though. I've heard good things about the HPs and Dells...thanks btw.