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MBA Ult 13" or MBP 13"?

X

xtrem

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 22, 2009
59
4
I had a MBA ult rev. B that broke and now I'm thinking of buying a new MBA. But rev D hasn't got the backlit keyboard and that is really a big deal for me.

For my use (office and internet, some photoshop)the MBA ult has enough performance. but for 1kg extra I get better battery, performance and firewire with the 13" Macbook Pro.

Any thoughts? How about the display? Is the Pro 13" the same as MBA?
 
The MBA has a higher resolution screen than the MBP, so there is something to think about. Personally, the backlit keyboard on my computer is kind of just a cool feature, and aside from when I have to use function keys at night, doesn't do me much good
 
Between the MBP and MBA, I chose the MBP. I received it Friday and love it so far. I needed it as my primary computer because my desktop is over 6 years old, and I'm not sure how much longer it will last. I know some people are ready for optical drives to be gone, but I'm thankful my MBP has one so I can use it when needed. I also am glad that there's an ethernet port whereas I don't think the MBA has one.
 
I have considered selling my MBP and getting the new Air (13" 128/4GB). With my EPP discount, it's tempting. The extra resolution and reduced weight are very attractive.

In the end, I think I'm going to keep my 13" MBP. I have a 24" dell monitor for when I do video and photo editing at my desk, plus the 8GB does come in handy when doing memory intensive tasks. I'm already spoiled with the sub 15 second boot times from my current setup, so that wasn't something that would attract me to the air. It is sexy though....

The backlit keyboard is nice to have on night time plane flights.
 
xtrem said:
I had a MBA ult rev. B that broke and now I'm thinking of buying a new MBA. But rev D hasn't got the backlit keyboard and that is really a big deal for me.
Click to expand...



Can you touch type? shouldn't be an issue if you can or even once you get familiar with the keyboard and two finger typing
 
fsumom said:
I know some people are ready for optical drives to be gone, but I'm thankful my MBP has one so I can use it when needed. I also am glad that there's an ethernet port whereas I don't think the MBA has one.
Click to expand...

MBA doesn't have a dedicated ethernet port; probably for reasons of thickness. But a USB ethernet adapter is available. In a non-work context, I'd venture to say most people rarely use their laptop's ethernet port if they even use it at all.

As for myself an optical drives; I very rarely have need for one and never have unplanned need for it. So why would I want to carry it around every day? Drop those 5-6oz by making it external or removable like Lenovo does with their Ultrabay. Lenovo supports users swapping their optical drive for either an additional battery or an additional SATA HDD via a caddy.
 
xtrem said:
I had a MBA ult rev. B that broke and now I'm thinking of buying a new MBA. But rev D hasn't got the backlit keyboard and that is really a big deal for me.

For my use (office and internet, some photoshop)the MBA ult has enough performance. but for 1kg extra I get better battery, performance and firewire with the 13" Macbook Pro.

Any thoughts? How about the display? Is the Pro 13" the same as MBA?
Click to expand...
I returned my MBA Ultimate for a MBP 2.66 this past weekend. After I played with the MBP I returned it once again for the MBA ultimate. I should have kept the Air to start with.
 
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MBP, hands down

For approximately the same dollars, you can gat the 13" MacBook Pro with the 256Gb SSD. You would also gain back lit keyboard, infra red for Apple remote, better color gamut, firewire, full speed ethernet, and up to 8Gb ram, optical drive, almost 50% greater battery life... and a more powerful 2.6 GHz processor!

I'm typing this on my 1 week old max'd out 2010 13" MacBook Air. While the TFT display is very bright, the color rendition is not great, and all text looks small.

The form factor is the only thing that even makes this a decision at all: even max'd out, the MBP will look like all the other MBP's out there. The MBA on the other hand, a full 1.5lbs lighter, is a stunner.

In the end, it's a computer. Even though I have a beautiful 27" iMac for all the heavy lifting, dollar for dollar MBP wins hands down. I'm returning the MBA and ordering the MBP tonight.
 
aimbdd said:
Macbook pro has a better screen, even though it has lower resolution.
Click to expand...

Really? You sure about that? I guess it's obvious that the pixel density is greater on the MBA, but are the colors more accurate on the pro or something?
 
You already get a better battery life with the new MBA as compared to the one you had. In the end it really depends on what you need. If mobility is important to you, than MBA is the way to go; if you need 8GB of RAM and other features offered by MBP, than that's another choice. They're both fine machines. I am keeping my MBA 13 as I really like the fact that reflections are non-issue (as compared to MBP 13) and I need as much extra screen res as I can get (given the form factor). When at home I'll hook it up to an ACD. Maybe when MBP is upgraded with a better screen and it moves to 21st century by shedding its electric motors, I'll make my move that way. But from the mobility and performance perspective right now, the MBA is one great machine.
 
yeah, it does

aimbdd said:
Macbook pro has a better screen, even though it has lower resolution.
Click to expand...

I put them side by side. The Air is brighter, but the colors on the Pro are better. I read that the Pro has a greater color gamut. I have no idea what that means, but I do know colors look better on the Pro. I went ahead and set both desktops to plain white. The Air was much "whiter", while the Pro had a slight but noticeable purple blue tint. Whatever the technical reasons are, color images do look better on the Pro.
 
jameskohn said:
I put them side by side. The Air is brighter, but the colors on the Pro are better. I read that the Pro has a greater color gamut. I have no idea what that means, but I do know colors look better on the Pro. I went ahead and set both desktops to plain white. The Air was much "whiter", while the Pro had a slight but noticeable purple blue tint. Whatever the technical reasons are, color images do look better on the Pro.
Click to expand...

Yeah the blue seems to be a problem on some pros. Calibrating is suggested.
 
Hichisky said:
Really? You sure about that? I guess it's obvious that the pixel density is greater on the MBA, but are the colors more accurate on the pro or something?
Click to expand...
The colors on the MBP seem to be a little "richer", the screen on the MBP is also a little less "hazy".
The MBA might just need to be calibrated
 
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kdoug said:
The colors on the MBP are "richer", the screen on the MBP is also a little less "hazy". I returned my MBA 13" ultimate this weekend for the 13" MBP. The only thing I liked better on the Air was the speed of the SSD. There we're just to many inconveniences and annoyances to deal with on the Air.
Click to expand...

i did the opposite.


the mba 13 is so much the better laptop than the 13 mbp it is not even worth talking about.
 
I was considering the two and went with the MBP 13 because of the more powerful processor. The only thing that bothers me is the higher resolution on the MBA compared to the MBP. I went with the MBP because I have until the end of January to really decide if I want to keep it or take it back. If I keep it, I will upgrade to SSD to get those blazing speeds. I am hoping Apple upgrades the MBP to at least a higher resolution screen in the near future and if they do, I will return the one I just bought and pick up the new version.
 
BENJMNS said:
i did the opposite.


the mba 13 is so much the better laptop than the 13 mbp it is not even worth talking about.
Click to expand...

In what way?
The air was just released, you have to wait until the pro is updated.

Air-
light
screen res
ssd

Macbook Pro-
better screen color wise
better batter
faster processor
optical drive
more storage
ram is user upgradeable
 
I really like the MBAs and if weight is your primary concern they are the way to go. They are great for what they are.

On the other hand, if you can handle a little more weight the 13 MBP gives you lots of headroom to grow and has a bunch of nice little features that that had to be compromised in the MBA to meet weight, size and cost targets.

I'm coming from a 15", but have decided that the 13" MBP is the idea size for me. My only problem is that I can't compromise that much on screen resolution. I spent a couple of weeks vacillating between the 13" MBA and the 13" MBP, before I finally decided to wait out for 13" MBP with the MBA's higher resolution screen. I'll jump on such a machine the day it is released.
 
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