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Portability of 15 inch rmbp

Weight matters. Footprint matters. What you mean by "portable" matters most of all. If all you're doing is walking from you back door to the car and then from your car to the garage elevator, you could almost carry a desktop around. ;) If "portable" means carrying the computer for a couple of miles on foot and then on public transit, 15" vs. 13" can make a big difference both in terms of weight and in terms of what it will fit into with a reasonable degree of protection.
 
GoSUV said:
I don't think you can use the 15" comfortably in planes, at least not in economy/coach class, especially with the ever decreasing space in modern planes. The problem is not width, but the depth of the tray table and the possibility of the person in front reclining back towards you. In most cases you will have to open up the screen less than 90 degrees and sort of sneak your hands under it to type. This becomes impossible to see the screen properly. Depending on plane configuration, I will have to say even a 13" laptop is just a tad too large. The 11" MBA is designed for this purpose.

So if you fly a lot and intend to use the laptop in a plane, the 15" is just too large and you would become immensely frustrated.
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There's a couple of ways around this "limitation". If you are in (at least on Delta) Economy Comfort or higher, you have some additional room for the laptop. You can also run it on your lap, which gives you more space without having to worry about the person in front of you crunching the screen. My rMBP is my primary machine, and I take it with me all the time.
 
dmccloud said:
There's a couple of ways around this "limitation". If you are in (at least on Delta) Economy Comfort or higher, you have some additional room for the laptop. You can also run it on your lap, which gives you more space without having to worry about the person in front of you crunching the screen. My rMBP is my primary machine, and I take it with me all the time.
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Battery life is also important on long haul flights, over 10 hours, with no power points.
 
Samtb said:
Battery life is also important on long haul flights, over 10 hours, with no power points.
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Normally in business class, there are power points for charging devices. Not sure about that in economy class.

No rMBP will last over 10 hours, but it's not like you're going to use it straight for 10 hours.

If you really need 10+ hours, get a 13" MacBook Air.
 
yjchua95 said:
Normally in business class, there are power points for charging devices. Not sure about that in economy class.

No rMBP will last over 10 hours, but it's not like you're going to use it straight for 10 hours.

If you really need 10+ hours, get a 13" MacBook Air.
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No retina on mba and underpowered.
 
Queen6 said:
This is why I went for the 13" MBPr not all carriers offer power points, and I can pretty much forget the charger for the majority of the time. The 15" just eat`s the battery soon as the dGPU kicks in.

Q-6
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What about the 15 inch without dpgu and only Intel iris pro?
 
Samtb said:
How portable is the 15 inch rmbp? Does anyone travel with it a lot and use it in coffee shops, trains and planes?
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Not really a portability of 15" rMBP. It is bit heavy (to me) I carry it everyday to bus/train and at Starbuck in my Noble & Barnes messenger bag (it is about to worn out anytime soon) my shoulder is little sore. I wish I could buy a MacBook Air 13 inches, it is so light and easy to carry around. Oh by the way you won't be able to run to catch a bus or train because it is heavy. I did bring my rMBP to JetBlue 2 years ago to LAX to NYC, it would not fit so I had to use my iPad to watch movies. :apple:
 
The actual act of carrying around the 15" rMBP isn't a problem at all (I own one myself). I can use it fine in coffee shops and other similar locations. However if you intend to use the computer on planes and trains then I'd suggest the 13" rMBP instead. So long as you don't need the quad core and Iris Pro graphics the smaller model will be much easier to manage in crowded spaces.
 
Well to me, it's very thin and light but I've had a 15'' regular MBP for the past 3.5 years so that probably plays a factor. I don't travel with my MBP(I only travel to vacation so iPad's are enough) but I do take it to my classes and it's light.
 
David58117 said:
Really? I thought they were very different. Granted the retina 15" is so much better to carry than the classic 15", but the 13" retina was just so much more compact, it was like carrying an air.

I think it's more the dimensions of the 15" that are the "issue."
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You get used to what ever you have. the 15" is like a pound heavier or something. Barely noticeable imo.
 
I have a 13" Air sitting next to my rmbp 15". I picked both up, and to to the difference is negligible. My initial thought was hmmm.
 
Samtb said:
Basically a portable entertainment machine that I can use on the go to watch movies, surf the web and listen to music especially on long distance trains and planes. I might occasionally want to do some document editing or light modelling/CAD on the move as well.
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Why don't you consider an 11" MBA? Or a 128 gb iPad? The word "occasionally" implies to me that document editing / light modeling / CAD on the move is NOT vital for you. Office for Mac / Apple's own Office alternative are all on the iPad, heck, even on the iPhone as well. A 15" rMBP just for the purposes you mentioned would be an overkill anyways.
 
someoneoutthere said:
Why don't you consider an 11" MBA? Or a 128 gb iPad? The word "occasionally" implies to me that document editing / light modeling / CAD on the move is NOT vital for you. Office for Mac / Apple's own Office alternative are all on the iPad, heck, even on the iPhone as well. A 15" rMBP just for the purposes you mentioned would be an overkill anyways.
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I did consider an air too but I really like the 13 inch retina screen. It just seems a good size for movies, photos etc on the move.
 
maflynn said:
You get used to what ever you have. the 15" is like a pound heavier or something. Barely noticeable imo.
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IMO, you don't get used to it. ;-)

I agonized over choosing between the 15 and the 13. I got to carry my buddy's 15 for a few days, and played with both extensively at the Apple store. As a budget traveler and being in IT, it came down to portability, pure and simple. The 13 has great battery life, can sit on top of ladders without being wobbly, and is extremely easy to schlep around in some of the very constrained IDFs where I work. If I was at a desk constantly, or traveling in business class all the time, I may have picked the 15.
 
JHUFrank said:
IMO, you don't get used to it. ;-)

I agonized over choosing between the 15 and the 13. I got to carry my buddy's 15 for a few days, and played with both extensively at the Apple store. As a budget traveler and being in IT, it came down to portability, pure and simple. The 13 has great battery life, can sit on top of ladders without being wobbly, and is extremely easy to schlep around in some of the very constrained IDFs where I work. If I was at a desk constantly, or traveling in business class all the time, I may have picked the 15.
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I went with the 13" for similar reasons. I do a fair bit of radio (as in two-way) programming, and in many cases that means resting the laptop on the seat of a vehicle, or other more tight/precarious spots. 15" is simply too big; my current 11" MBA while a great size is simply running out of juice (both in battery and horsepower).
 
JHUFrank said:
IMO, you don't get used to it. ;-)

I agonized over choosing between the 15 and the 13. I got to carry my buddy's 15 for a few days, and played with both extensively at the Apple store. As a budget traveler and being in IT, it came down to portability, pure and simple. The 13 has great battery life, can sit on top of ladders without being wobbly, and is extremely easy to schlep around in some of the very constrained IDFs where I work. If I was at a desk constantly, or traveling in business class all the time, I may have picked the 15.
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BTDT and agree. Lots of walking + public trans + 15" = chiropractor. ;) I had a 15" and just gave up - too big and too heavy. "Portability" is a fact-specific, personal choice.
 
maflynn said:
I guess YMMV, because I've carried a 15" laptop for years, used a 13" laptop and found the difference between the 13" and 15" MBP to be negligible.
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Where they retinas?

The 13" retina is much closer to an air...

Anyway, again - it's surface area, not weight that is the problem. The 15" is much wider and longer.

Also, if you're just tossing it in a bag - that's a different experience. When you close the lid and hold it sideways at your side and start walking - you definitely feel it. The extra weight combined with it being taller/longer makes it much more awkward to carry.

I've had both 13" and 15" retinas, and even coming from a 15" cmbp - the 13" retina is just so much more portable..

You may get use to the dimensions/weight - but that doesn't negate the fact that the 13" is lighter and with smaller dimensions..
 
I routinely carry a T60 or a 15" PowerBook around in a backpack and I'm no bodybuilder. It's really not that bad at all, and neither of those is as light as the MBP. The footprint and screen size might be an issue if you use it on a cramped desk orr on a plane, but they're not heavy at all.
 
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