Rev.A MBA or Unibody MB as Secondary Machine

[SonicRage]

Hey guys,

I posted this on the MBA forum but I thought it would be a good idea to check in with the MB folks as well.

Essentially, I'm looking to buy a secondary machine to compliment my primary MBP and I'm torn between a refurbished Rev A MBA 1.6/80 and a Unibody MB 2.0. Right now, my MBP is pretty much acting as a desktop so I'm looking for something I can carry with me around the house and very occasionally on trips. A family member of mine has a Rev A MBA so I'm quite familiar with what it is capable of which is 95% of the things I might use want to use it for.

Some of the "pros" I've been considering (to make things simple, a con for one is listed as a pro for the other):

MacBook Air:
More Affordable
More Complimentary (to my MBP)
Superior Display
Backlit Keyboard
More Portable

MacBook:
Better Performance (occasional Flash video, WoW)
More Versatile (Optical Drive for occasional DVDs)
More Reliable (considering Rev A MBA issues)
More Sturdy (IMO..."sloppy" refurb MBA screens are jarring)
Upgradeability

Does anyone here use a MB similarly? There really aren't any dealbreakers for me so I guess I can't go wrong with either but I'd greatly appreciate anyone's input. Thanks advance!

 

[Boston Fan]

Why do you say that the Air is more affordable? It starts at $500 more than the 2.0 Unibody. And if you want the backlit keyboard, the 2.4 Unibody is still $300 cheaper!

And why do you say that the Air is "more portable"? It is lighter, sure, but not sure what you mean by more portable (heck, the Unibody can even fit in a manila envelope, just like the Air). Also confused by your statement "More Complimentary (to my MBP)" - more complimentary how?

 

[sikkinixx]

^

Right now on the canadian refurb store, a 1.6ghz MBA is only $1100 whereas a refurb macbook unibody is $1200 or a new one for $1400. Thats a bit cheaper if you are willing to buy refurb.

 

[GoCubsGo]

Due to the Rev A having known core shut down issues, even with the sh*t screen I would get the unibody MB over the Rev A MBAir. I would get a Rev B MBAir over the Unibody MB any day of the week but my needs are most likely not similar to yours.

 

[bozz2006]

I got the macbook as my second machine. MBA costs too much, is too limited, and isn't that much lighter than the macbook, for my needs.

 

[Mikey B]

Due to the Rev A having known core shut down issues, even with the sh*t screen I would get the unibody MB over the Rev A MBAir. I would get a Rev B MBAir over the Unibody MB any day of the week but my needs are most likely not similar to yours.

Why the hatred for the Uni MB? I've been as pleased as punch with my 2.4. It's my only machine and it serves well for everything I throw at it.