Q for 11" Ultimate Users !

[yly3]

I have the basic 11" with 128 SSD. How is the battery life on yours? According with some reviewers the difference between basic and ultimate would be 15-30 minutes at most. It may seem insignificant but I love mine's battery life because it can hold an "whole day" of typing at classes hitting a shy over 8 hours ! Or better, has anyone managed to test both machines' batteries ?
Will I feel any difference?
What do you recommend?
ultimate or 1.4/4gb ram? Battery Life is important for me.

I am tempted to swap my basic for an ultimate, just because of Lion and future OSX (/XI) releases. It seems more than likely for Lion to run just fine on basic, although I do worry a bit. I will be keeping my 11" (main & only machine) for a longer time (another 2 years at least), so while Lion might be ok, the next ones are surely doubtful.


EDIT: Keep in mind that I won't do any gaming/PS or intensive tasks. The upgrade is ONLY for future OS releases and peace of mind.

 

[bmat]

Won't this be hard to measure? I get less than 8 hrs on my ultimate, more in the 5+ range I think, but it's hard to measure it because I rarely have to sit there working on it constantly for that long and it depends on whether I'm looking at a sports clip on ESPN or do something that requires flash.

 

[jamesryanbell]

I've only had mine a week, but I've gotten 6 hours out of it (mostly Pages and Internet browsing with no flash).

Regarding the differences for the processor, most of the tests I've seen have shown an additional 20-30 minutes (give or take) with the 1.4ghz processor.

 

[will0407]

I think the .2ghz processor bump is negligible. Better off just getting one with 4gb if you're going to buy from new. I bought mine 2nd hand, and only got the ultimate as there were no 11" 128GB 1.4ghz 4GB models on ebay. Battery life is still good- think about those poor windows users who are struggling along with 2-3 hours!

 

[yly3]

I decided to swap for a 1.4/4. The processor is the one who would eat more power. And 1.4 -> 1.6 is not a big step in speed. I doubt I will even sense it since, again, I will use it only for light usage. While 2 -> 4 surely is. Best of both worlds.

 

[gglockner]

Battery life depends on many factors: WiFi signal strength, background apps, screen brightness, bluetooth, etc. I get about 5 hours with WiFi enabled, and a bit more if it's off (such as when I'm on a plane). YMMV.