Six months ago I sold my 12-inch MacBook. It was a thing of beauty but I couldn't really justify keeping it when I had an iMac and an 10.5-inch iPad with Smart Keyboard.
I coped pretty well without it. Only rarely did I need MacOS rather than iOS. Although it was slightly annoying to have to change rooms and go to the fixed location of my iMac, I put up with it.
But then I saw that John Lewis (a UK department store chain) were offering 18 months 0% finance on the MacBook Air. And at a discounted price: £1,070 for the base model rather than £1,199.
0% is catnip to me, and I couldn't resist. I passed the credit check and got free delivery two days later.
My initial impressions:
1. It is very noticeably heavier and larger than the 12-inch MacBook. I'm OK with that — the bigger screen makes it a more serious device — but I can see the appeal of the MB. It really is so light and small. But less practical, perhaps.
2. I bought the gold version. They've changed the colour. I'm not sure I like it. It's more copper than gold. More orange than yellow. John Lewis had no stock for silver, and the space grey was actually more expensive. Also, grey is just a bit boring, no?
3. On day 1 the fans kicked in and got quite loud — but I was giving the machine a lot to do: downloading about 80GB of apps and data. Since then I've not heard them come on at all.
4. I'll mostly be using Safari, Excel, Word and InDesign, so I have no worries about processor power or speed.
5. The base model comes with only 128GB. I currently have 19GB available. Which is tight. That's partly because I downloaded four HD movies and a TV series for use on a flight and during my next holiday. (Though I'm not sure if I want to take it with me. I may revert to the iPad.)
6. I haven't hammered it in terms of long hours of use, so difficult to judge battery power. It seems fine. And I'm usually near a plug socket.
7. I've always been a fan of the new-style keyboards. I touch type and I can fly on this thing. No problems to report.
It's a luxury. But after paying a deposit of £170, the repayments are only £50 a month. Interest free. So it doesn't feel like it was expensive. And it's nice to have the full MacOS at my fingertips. My iPad will get downgraded back to mostly media use.
I coped pretty well without it. Only rarely did I need MacOS rather than iOS. Although it was slightly annoying to have to change rooms and go to the fixed location of my iMac, I put up with it.
But then I saw that John Lewis (a UK department store chain) were offering 18 months 0% finance on the MacBook Air. And at a discounted price: £1,070 for the base model rather than £1,199.
0% is catnip to me, and I couldn't resist. I passed the credit check and got free delivery two days later.
My initial impressions:
1. It is very noticeably heavier and larger than the 12-inch MacBook. I'm OK with that — the bigger screen makes it a more serious device — but I can see the appeal of the MB. It really is so light and small. But less practical, perhaps.
2. I bought the gold version. They've changed the colour. I'm not sure I like it. It's more copper than gold. More orange than yellow. John Lewis had no stock for silver, and the space grey was actually more expensive. Also, grey is just a bit boring, no?
3. On day 1 the fans kicked in and got quite loud — but I was giving the machine a lot to do: downloading about 80GB of apps and data. Since then I've not heard them come on at all.
4. I'll mostly be using Safari, Excel, Word and InDesign, so I have no worries about processor power or speed.
5. The base model comes with only 128GB. I currently have 19GB available. Which is tight. That's partly because I downloaded four HD movies and a TV series for use on a flight and during my next holiday. (Though I'm not sure if I want to take it with me. I may revert to the iPad.)
6. I haven't hammered it in terms of long hours of use, so difficult to judge battery power. It seems fine. And I'm usually near a plug socket.
7. I've always been a fan of the new-style keyboards. I touch type and I can fly on this thing. No problems to report.
It's a luxury. But after paying a deposit of £170, the repayments are only £50 a month. Interest free. So it doesn't feel like it was expensive. And it's nice to have the full MacOS at my fingertips. My iPad will get downgraded back to mostly media use.
