For me it's all about being mobile. But I also need a decent size screen. My first laptop was a 15" Gateway (given to me as a christmas present so not my first choice) that thing was so thick (that's what she said lol) and big I hated carrying that beast around. After that I had graduated high school and had my own money and decided to buy something I wanted. So I got a Mac went with the white 13" MacBook. Loved it. But that to was a bit big and heavy. So when I decided to up grade I wanted to go with the 11". My mom who was buying this for my birthday/Christmas (birthday is Dec. 26) asked me if I wanted the 13" version. I thanked her sand said no I didn't and I wanted everything in the specs I had given her. Then later my mom said that she almost got the 13" anyway but a friend of hers who is very tech savvy said not to and that I probably had a reason for wanting the 11" and yep he was right. I love how light and small the 11" without having to small a screen and still having a big enough keyboard to type on. I mean have you ever tried to type on those small netbooks you know the 7-8" little things they are hard and made my hand cramp. Anyway as you can see I kind of have a pattern of going smaller as I upgrade. But I don't think I would ever go smaller then 11" perfect for all I do.
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Owners of the 11 incher - do you wish you went for 13'?
- Thread starter Uguubot
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I recently went from a 2008 13 alu-macbook to the 2012 11 Air and im completely sold.
At first I kept asking myself if the screen was too small, and I think a big part of it was that I kept reading posts on here where people would debate 13 v 11 and these discussions would put doubt in my own mind!
But after using it for a week as my main machine I can easily say its my best laptop that I've ever owned. For email, web, music, media consumption, etc its ideal. The portability is unrivaled and the power and speed of this thing puts all of my past laptops to shame. Its scores more than double on geekbench than my last Mac (2008 2.4ghz core 2 duo, 8gb ram).
The screen really has not been an issue for me - Ive adapted to it extremely quickly (and without any compromise in my opinion)
I can imagine if you needed to work with several windows open and in view at once it wouldn't be ideal, but for the kind of basic 'office' work that I do on it (invoicing, word documents, etc) its absolutely fine.
Just today I picked up my 13 to transfer some files and it felt like a huge, clunky, heavy, beast of a machine! I cant see myself going back to 13 inch laptops for a while.
At first I kept asking myself if the screen was too small, and I think a big part of it was that I kept reading posts on here where people would debate 13 v 11 and these discussions would put doubt in my own mind!
But after using it for a week as my main machine I can easily say its my best laptop that I've ever owned. For email, web, music, media consumption, etc its ideal. The portability is unrivaled and the power and speed of this thing puts all of my past laptops to shame. Its scores more than double on geekbench than my last Mac (2008 2.4ghz core 2 duo, 8gb ram).
The screen really has not been an issue for me - Ive adapted to it extremely quickly (and without any compromise in my opinion)
I can imagine if you needed to work with several windows open and in view at once it wouldn't be ideal, but for the kind of basic 'office' work that I do on it (invoicing, word documents, etc) its absolutely fine.
Just today I picked up my 13 to transfer some files and it felt like a huge, clunky, heavy, beast of a machine! I cant see myself going back to 13 inch laptops for a while.
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Its all about mobility and cool operation
For the heavy work I have a MBP 2011 2011 high end. The 13" MBA would not make a big difference size wise. The 11" is ideal on the road.
Together with a Thunderbolt display it rivals the MBP if only working with office applications.
Battery life of the 11" 2012 MBA with 8GGB is better than the 2011 MBP 2011 core i7 2.3Ghz 16GB RAM when running Parallels VM with win 7. So on the road the MBA 11" is the better machine because it runs cooler with better battery life and still very good performance - also under Parallels - I love it!
For the heavy work I have a MBP 2011 2011 high end. The 13" MBA would not make a big difference size wise. The 11" is ideal on the road.
Together with a Thunderbolt display it rivals the MBP if only working with office applications.
Battery life of the 11" 2012 MBA with 8GGB is better than the 2011 MBP 2011 core i7 2.3Ghz 16GB RAM when running Parallels VM with win 7. So on the road the MBA 11" is the better machine because it runs cooler with better battery life and still very good performance - also under Parallels - I love it!
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I'm about to take delivery (any moment now) of my first 11" after using the 13" for the past two generations. I did spend significant time in the Apple Store (not a pleasant experience I must say) testing it out in terms of weight and usability. It passed with no problems there at all. My concern is more about the 2 hour compromise in battery life. I really like the supposed 7 hours we get in the 13" but am taking the plunge any way. I can exchange if I discover the battery just won't do for me.
And, let me just say this to Apple, I'd gladly swap out the second USB 3 port for a SD card reader.
Been using the 11" as my main machine since last aug. and have no regrets. Its the perfect size, small and portable but not cramped. Love that i can use it it just about anywhere, in fact i can't remember the last time I use it at my desk.
Got mine since last week..
of course i was worried in the beginning coming from a MBP early 2008 15,4".
I must say i love it. Size is just sweet, it's a small but powerful machine i'm very pleased with.
I don't regret at all: right now i'm working at my mountain place and i can make a lot of work done, at home i'll be using it with a TBD, so you really can get the best of both worlds.
Go ahead if you're thinking to buy an 11incher!
of course i was worried in the beginning coming from a MBP early 2008 15,4".
I must say i love it. Size is just sweet, it's a small but powerful machine i'm very pleased with.
I don't regret at all: right now i'm working at my mountain place and i can make a lot of work done, at home i'll be using it with a TBD, so you really can get the best of both worlds.
Go ahead if you're thinking to buy an 11incher!
I owned the 2010 11" Air and just received my 2012 11" this week. Both times I though long and hard about getting the 13" instead (mainly because of longer battery and SD slot), but I just couldn't justify the larger size. 11" is so perfect - I love using it in front of the TV, checking messages/watching movies in bed, bringing it on trips and so on. Imho, the bulkier/heavier 13" makes it much less portable for a small gain in screen size, I think it's just not worth it. The times I'm using it as a workstation I connect it to an external screen / keyboard / mouse, and then the 11" is even better than 13" since it takes up less space on your desk.
I'd also recommend everyone using the 11" to place the dock on the left or right side instead of at the bottom - it gives the desktop much better proportions and making it less "cramped".
I'd also recommend everyone using the 11" to place the dock on the left or right side instead of at the bottom - it gives the desktop much better proportions and making it less "cramped".
2 years with 2010 mba 11" and love it's compact size.
but for 2012 i went with a 13". just got the 13" and although not as compact obviously, it's still light enough i can 1 hand grab (size 9 hands) to take around the house. i definitely appreciate the larger screen size and longer battery life. will miss the compact size of the 11" when traveling (which is rare). but perhaps will get a 7" iPad to use for those purposes when the time comes ;-)
but for 2012 i went with a 13". just got the 13" and although not as compact obviously, it's still light enough i can 1 hand grab (size 9 hands) to take around the house. i definitely appreciate the larger screen size and longer battery life. will miss the compact size of the 11" when traveling (which is rare). but perhaps will get a 7" iPad to use for those purposes when the time comes ;-)
i got an 11"
i was worried when i read that people, over here, said it's cramped, when it was being shipped to me.
But personally to me when i received it, it's alright, I really have no idea what's cramp to them.
My friend owns a 13"; I thought the size is cool, but it's no biggie. Anyone can survive with just an 11" screen.
They also say there's more real estate.
Again, no idea why they need any more, unless you're doing professional video work or something that requires huge screen real estate. Anyone doing word processing (data entry,presentations) an 11" is just fine.
i was worried when i read that people, over here, said it's cramped, when it was being shipped to me.
But personally to me when i received it, it's alright, I really have no idea what's cramp to them.
My friend owns a 13"; I thought the size is cool, but it's no biggie. Anyone can survive with just an 11" screen.
They also say there's more real estate.
Again, no idea why they need any more, unless you're doing professional video work or something that requires huge screen real estate. Anyone doing word processing (data entry,presentations) an 11" is just fine.
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Strange thread. I am owner of imac 21.5, but i am probably going to switch to mb air 11 as my only computer - thought about 13 inch version, but it looks way to big now, as i am used to gf 11 inch 2011 version. Dillema solved by apple cinema display
11" all the way
Absolute zero regrets buying the 11". I moved from a 2011 13" MBP.
Couldn't be happier.
My wife has her own 13", 2011 MBP, so I've been able to compare screen size and whatnot (yes, I know the 13" MBA has a higher res screen), but in no way am I disappointed.
I used the "extra" money to upgrade to an i7 with 8 gigs of ram, too.
Absolute zero regrets buying the 11". I moved from a 2011 13" MBP.
Couldn't be happier.
My wife has her own 13", 2011 MBP, so I've been able to compare screen size and whatnot (yes, I know the 13" MBA has a higher res screen), but in no way am I disappointed.
I used the "extra" money to upgrade to an i7 with 8 gigs of ram, too.
i have the 2011 11" for law school as my one and only main and while I love my computer, if say I had an option to go back in time and re-decide what computer to get, I'd get the 13".
i went with the 11" back in 2011, sold it and got the 13". i regretted it, the footprint is really noticable, 11" is so nice and really light.
what i thought about the 13" was it's still not big enough to do real work, so after the 2012 air released, i sold my 13" and got me a ultimate 11" and thunderbolt display.
what i thought about the 13" was it's still not big enough to do real work, so after the 2012 air released, i sold my 13" and got me a ultimate 11" and thunderbolt display.
I had both - I always took the 11" when I left the house. The 13" has a bigger screen which is nicer but it's noticeably bigger and has a good 2 more (50% more!) battery life than the 11".
I ended up selling the 11" (it was a 64GB 2GB C2D, my 13" is a newer i5 so it made the decision easier) but I miss it.
I ended up selling the 11" (it was a 64GB 2GB C2D, my 13" is a newer i5 so it made the decision easier) but I miss it.
I have a 2010 11.6" MBA and use it as my main computer doing software development. Seems fine to me. I had a 13" MBP before. The 13" MBA seems just as big but thinner which I didn't notice. The 11" feels much more portable. The screen has higher DPI so it crams a good bit of real estate onto the screen albeit smaller font.
Yep!
I worried about this too. Thankfully, most of my work is writing and editing. Had I needed to create spreadsheets or any design work, 13" would have been a better choice than my 11".
Connected a monitor at my desk, it's perfectly suitable as a main computer, but I'm glad to have the smallest bag I've ever owned to carry it around.
Seriously, it's a Tom Bihn product that's dangerously close to man bag territory.
I worried about this too. Thankfully, most of my work is writing and editing. Had I needed to create spreadsheets or any design work, 13" would have been a better choice than my 11".
Connected a monitor at my desk, it's perfectly suitable as a main computer, but I'm glad to have the smallest bag I've ever owned to carry it around.
Seriously, it's a Tom Bihn product that's dangerously close to man bag territory.
I am the exact opposite of the topic. I have a 2011 13" MBA, and my wife has the exact same MBA but in the 11" variety. I ended up buying a MBP 15" so I know *if* I buy another Air down the road, it will be the 11".
The footprint is simply amazing, and I was surprisingly ok with the loss in real estate in the situations where I use my Air over the Pro.
Good luck on whichever you choose, both are wonderful machines.
The footprint is simply amazing, and I was surprisingly ok with the loss in real estate in the situations where I use my Air over the Pro.
Good luck on whichever you choose, both are wonderful machines.