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No offense, but 11 inch has too many compromises.

Dammit Cubs said:
The glove box analogy was to prove a point. The MBA 11 is small and thus the MBA 11 vs the MBA 13 are two different groups. The MBA 11 brings a portability thats goes beyond the 13. They are both thin, but I have carried both around and the 11 is worlds different. I'm on vacation now in Chicago and I have been carrying around the MBA 11 everywhere. I didn't see the true value of my MBA 11 until I went traveling. It is unreal.

MBA 11 vs MBA 13 is like comparing tangerines to oranges.
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I agree! I used to always use my original 13.3" MBA. Now, when I pick it up, it feels like a tank!

The new 11.6" one is simply a dream to transport back and forth from work. It is just much more compact (and I really don't notice the size of the bezel any more).
 
For me because of the small form factor of my 11.6" air, I find that I am bringing it to places that I normally didn't bother bringing my laptop and subsequently, I am being more productive because I now always have a computer with me. The instant on feature combined with the small form factor are encouraging me to use my air the way I used to use a pen and a notepad. I take more notes, jot down my thoughts, do some quick research, check something online, etc...

My air is filling the need I had hoped that the ipad would fill. But the ipad never worked for me because I like to use a keyboard and I never got used to not having one.
 
a2applegirl said:
For me because of the small form factor of my 11.6" air, I find that I am bringing it to places that I normally didn't bother bringing my laptop and subsequently, I am being more productive because I now always have a computer with me. The instant on feature combined with the small form factor are encouraging me to use my air the way I used to use a pen and a notepad. I take more notes, jot down my thoughts, do some quick research, check something online, etc...

My air is filling the need I had hoped that the ipad would fill. But the ipad never worked for me because I like to use a keyboard and I never got used to not having one.
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Agreed
Hard to explain how 2 inches can make such a difference. I ended up returning the 11" and getting a 13". It doesn't feel portable at all. I find myself using the iPad instead. With the 11 I had no need for the iPad. Could take the 11 everywhere even in the house. It was almost like a big phone.

But I still can't decide if a can live w the 11 as my only computer. At this rate I may just stay with my MBP and get an SSD someday.
 
dmelgar said:
Agreed
Hard to explain how 2 inches can make such a difference. I ended up returning the 11" and getting a 13". It doesn't feel portable at all. I find myself using the iPad instead. With the 11 I had no need for the iPad. Could take the 11 everywhere even in the house. It was almost like a big phone.

But I still can't decide if a can live w the 11 as my only computer. At this rate I may just stay with my MBP and get an SSD someday.
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It's not even 2" difference, it's only 1.4" difference to be truthful about it.
 
inch difference or not the 11" is soooooo much more compact and transportable. I also have the 13" MBA for home love it too, especially for hard core work and photos!
 
Dammit Cubs said:
The glove box analogy was to prove a point. The MBA 11 is small and thus the MBA 11 vs the MBA 13 are two different groups. The MBA 11 brings a portability thats goes beyond the 13. They are both thin, but I have carried both around and the 11 is worlds different. I'm on vacation now in Chicago and I have been carrying around the MBA 11 everywhere. I didn't see the true value of my MBA 11 until I went traveling. It is unreal.

MBA 11 vs MBA 13 is like comparing tangerines to oranges.
Click to expand...

Well said. I have to say I also find my 11 with me much more than my 13. It has kick started a stalled writing passion once again, most likely because I now have it in coffee shops - ok and pubs - more than I've ever had any computer in the past.
 
For me its all about mobility. I travel by air most weeks and find myself working on planes, in hotels, and varied remote offices where space is at a premium.

I find the MBA11 plenty powerful for all my routine activities in the IT consulting field (Office programs, Databases, Drawing tools, Virtual machines, Software design and development tools etc). Its faster in everyday use and most benchmarks than my uMB or my previous RevC 2.13/2/128 MBA and runs cooler and quieter. I was worried about processor speed and screen size/density but neither have turned out to be a problem for me and the 4gb of ram is a very welcome improvement. Moving my dock to the side of the screen rather than the bottom made the 16:9 aspect ratio transition a lot easier for me.

It has a lot of things going for it for a frequent traveler
1) Enough power and capacity to use as a primary computer when traveling (and darn near enough for me when local when I add external storage).
2) Thin, light, and small area and volume that makes it easy to carry and use on small surfaces (like an airplane tray with the seat in front of you reclined).
3) You don't have to remove it from your bag for the TSA which saves more time and effort than you would think going through airports.
4) Great keyboard, good screen (although I'll use a bigger external monitor for longer work sessions when available), and good battery life.

For me this is my favorite Mac yet but I can see where the compromises made for mobility would not make it a great or even desirable machine for everyone.
 
They're still deciding on whether the 13" MBA will be included in the "no remove from bag" rule. So it may get included. Just not now. Given that the unit is only larger by a small margin (but just as thin), it may very well get the nod soon.
 
dmelgar said:
Agreed
Hard to explain how 2 inches can make such a difference. I ended up returning the 11" and getting a 13". It doesn't feel portable at all. I find myself using the iPad instead. With the 11 I had no need for the iPad. Could take the 11 everywhere even in the house. It was almost like a big phone.

But I still can't decide if a can live w the 11 as my only computer. At this rate I may just stay with my MBP and get an SSD someday.
Click to expand...

I would not be able to live with the 11 as my only computer. I have a 15" mbp as my main computer.

But I certainly am not missing my ipad. :cool:
 
a2applegirl said:
I would not be able to live with the 11 as my only computer. I have a 15" mbp as my main computer.

But I certainly am not missing my ipad. :cool:
Click to expand...

I'm sure you can live just fine. Many people don't even own a computer. ;)
 
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