I got the 13" and love it for dragging around. The larger resolution of the screen helps a lot. The 11" seemed like it would aggravate my neck problems craning down to see it, but YMMV. Either way, definitely good machines for light work/secondary machines (I use mine alongside an iMac)
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MBA for a college student? 11" or 13"?
- Thread starter lego8
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Just swung by my local Apple Store and picked up the 11" ultimate (1.6 ghz + 4gb ram). Runs well so far -- writing on it now actually -- and does not seem to have any reported problems. Since I'm on break now, I can't test it in a school environment, but I imagine it will work terrifically!
Thanks for all y'all help in making the decision.
Thanks for all y'all help in making the decision.
Congratulations, I'm sure that you'll love it. Don't be shy about returning it for the 13" if you find that the 11" is not the right fit for your needs.
Let us know how you like your new MBA!
I think you made an excellent choice!
The nice thing is, that if you change your mind, and are just not satisfied, you can always bring it back and get the 'bigger' model. (And then you will still have people here who think you then made the right choice).
Enjoy!
I was undecided on which type of MBA to get but I ended up getting the 11" Ultimate which I'm typing on now. This little machine is great - smaller than my 15" MBP i5 but it works great as my second machine which I'll use for work. My 15" laptop will be my home/desktop machine.
I think the 11" is a great machine and you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
I think the 11" is a great machine and you won't be disappointed. Enjoy!
I'm college student and I chose the 13" over the 11" since it has more battery life, bigger resolution, faster CPU and more SSD.
I had a 13" MBP, loved it; I upgraded to the 15" i7 because of the better specs when the 13" revamp stayed pretty much the same, but I regretted it. I sold my 15" and bought a 13" Air.
I probably could have got the 11" instead, it's really sexy, and I could have made do with the smaller resolution and slower processor, but in the end the 128 gig SSD was just not going to cut it. I have scraped by on the 256 gig one that I got with my 13" "ultimate," but even that has been an adventure and as I speak I've got about nine gigs of space left.
I love the machine otherwise, I truly truly do, I just wish the HD was larger.
I probably could have got the 11" instead, it's really sexy, and I could have made do with the smaller resolution and slower processor, but in the end the 128 gig SSD was just not going to cut it. I have scraped by on the 256 gig one that I got with my 13" "ultimate," but even that has been an adventure and as I speak I've got about nine gigs of space left.
I love the machine otherwise, I truly truly do, I just wish the HD was larger.
I use the 11" as my primary. Previous unit was a 13" "ultra-portable" VAIO, which is still a beauty, but feels like a beast (in a pejorative way) compared to my new Air. Aside from a horrible AppleCare experience arising from purchasing a DOA unit, I have zero qualms the 11" other than that Left4Dead2 gets laggy sometimes, which is crucial when I'm trying to fight hordes of zombies.
CPU speed (mine is 1.6, with 4GB ram since both are non-upgradable) is great, and I rarely lag since I don't use very demanding programs like Photoshop or Aperture. And I've seen that a base Air can even play COD, so you really don't need to worry about being best friends with the loading colour wheel.
Battery life is excellent...I've gone an entire day of 8-9 hours on a single charge, and it more than handles my six straight hours of class when I only use MS Word and browse the internet, although I push the limit when I start sneakily watching YouTube clips.
Screen resolution is fantastic and I have never had eye strain; you won't notice how small the screen is after a while. I'd say that it's too good...I'm noticing how poor the quality is of my 700MB downloaded movies now, and I think I'll have to re-download in HD. And I personally don't mind watching stuff on an 11" screen when I'm not at home.
SD card slot? Are you really going to use it on a constant basis? I have a nine-in-one port that can read any card, and plugs into my USB port.
Backlit keyboard is always a beloved feature, but I find that the only times I'm really aching for it is when I'm simply too damn lazy to get up from my bed or chair and turn on the light.
I can't really think of anything else that a student would require out of a MacBook Air...if you're still having trouble deciding, just think of this mantra: Go big or go home. Or, in the case of the MacBook Air, go air or go home. Get the 11.6".
PS. One bonus feature is that you can quietly laugh to yourself when your friends complain about back pain from lugging around a 4-6lbs notebook and textbooks. The 11" and 13" only have a difference of 0.6lbs, but it still counts!