Switched 2011 MBA 13in for 11in

[law0915]

Hi All,
First post! I thought I'd share my experience. I am new to OS X since I bought my maxed out 27in iMac [toshiba 256GB ssd ] I purchased the 13in the day they came out in Arizona. I initially was going into it determined to get the 11in, but when I was in the store I thought it was too small. I was very satisfied with the 13in. samsung drive and display/128BG/1.7GHz/4GB but was turned on to the 11.6" from my friend who loves is 11.6" netbook. He's a pilot and suggested I should try it out. I went into the store and exchanged it for the 11.6"/128GB/1.6GHz. I couldn't be more happier. I love Lion on it and the screen size with the full screen apps and smart zoom is just wonderful. I told the sales rep into it that I would not be happy if I didn't get the faster Samsung drive and would return it if I didn't get it... so after I purchased it we opened it up and I had the Samsung drive and display. Everything is great and I have no complaints. It's plays 1080p mkv files flawlessly. At first I was worried about the smart zoom on a Facebook picture as it was laggy when I zoomed in and was scrolling around it viewing different parts of the image, but the next day I tried a high res photo off the net 1600p and it was just fine. I was reading macrumors constantly and stressed about not getting the Samsung drive for about 4 hours all over nothing! If you're trying to decide, the 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB 11" model is the winner!! I was concerned about the resolution as text looks a bit pixelated, but either I'm used to it or I was just trying to pick out something wrong with it. Anyways, this kills my friends netbook with an AMD, YES AMD processor that he paid $300 for LOL. Someone on here also turned me on to the 11" as they said, the 13in is just a thin laptop and the 11" is a truly mobile laptop. Go with the 11.6" especially if it is a secondary device or "toy." Battery life says about 5hrs with one notch on the backlight and 5 notches the display brightness with a few tabs in safari open and a XP VM in Fusion (I know-but I need 2 programs from windows that I'm simply used to).

Ask any questions you all would like!

-Law

 

[Stevm]

So your MBA is faster than a $300 netbook, not sure what's so hilarious.

 

[law0915]

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No need to be a smart ass with your negative comment.

 

[jim468]

Hi All,
I told the sales rep into it that I would not be happy if I didn't get the faster Samsung drive and would return it if I didn't get it... so after I purchased it we opened it up and I had the Samsung drive and display.

So you can ask the apple sales rep to open the box and verify the SSD and return the MBA if its not Samsung?

 

[thelead]

I tried to like the 11 inch MBA but it was difficult to get any work done on that screen with the limited vertical resolution. I also couldn't stand not having a "full-sized" trackpad (coming from a 13 mbp). I sold it and am thinking about the 13" MBA now. I will miss the ultra-portability though.

 

[law0915]

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For sure you can return it. Same 14 day policy applies. I asked if they would open before purchase but they wouldn't. However he was nice and we both checked it. I told him if it didn't have the Samsung drive that it would not be acceptable and would return it.

 

[law0915]

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That is true, the 13in. is very portable and I didn't know they would shrink the trackpad on it..maybe I didn't notice until I bought it and started really using it. It doesn't bother me as I have average sized/thickness of fingers and hands.

 

[jim468]

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For sure you can return it. Same 14 day policy applies. I asked if they would open before purchase but they wouldn't. However he was nice and we both checked it. I told him if it didn't have the Samsung drive that it would not be acceptable and would return it.

Cool. Thank you for that. I have ordered mine from Best Buy because I found a good deal. But its on backorder now. I was reading about this SSD thing and now I feel that maybe I should just cancel my order with Best Buy and buy it from an Apple store...

 

[mrklaw]

I thought the trackpad and keyboard on both sizes were the same?

 

[kilonet]

I thought the trackpad and keyboard on both sizes were the same?

I think the keyboards are the same but trackpad is slightly bigger on the 13" because the bottom is longer.

 

[NutsNGum]

I think the keyboards are the same but trackpad is slightly bigger on the 13" because the bottom is longer.

The top function keys are smaller (i.e. backlight, keyboard backlight etc.), but something that hasn't really been pointed out in the other threads is that the bottom row of function keys (CMD, Option etc.) are also slightly thinner than on the 13 inch keyboard.

 

[PaulWog]

So let me get this straight:

You bought the 13-inch and didn't like it. So you return it and buy the 11-inch, and you straight-up tell the rep you're returning the 11-inch if you don't get a Samsung drive?

So you're a picky buyer. That's fine. Apple shouldn't have put a lesser drive in the mix, that's fair. And it's fair enough to switch to an 11-inch since you decided you didn't like the 13-inch.

But now you go on to insult your friend's $300 netbook? He could've bought 4 of his netbooks for the price of your Air (I have an Air as well). Netbooks serve a similar, though different, purpose to the Air. First and foremost, they are far more disposable; they're cheap, and they get done well what they are designed to do: basic web browsing, word processing, etc.

Also, you should note that AMD processors aren't something to scoff at. Unintelligent brand recognition/fanboyism much?

 

[adamsium]

Hi All,
First post! I thought I'd share my experience. I am new to OS X since I bought my maxed out 27in iMac [toshiba 256GB ssd ] I purchased the 13in the day they came out in Arizona. I initially was going into it determined to get the 11in, but when I was in the store I thought it was too small. I was very satisfied with the 13in. samsung drive and display/128BG/1.7GHz/4GB but was turned on to the 11.6" from my friend who loves is 11.6" netbook. He's a pilot and suggested I should try it out. I went into the store and exchanged it for the 11.6"/128GB/1.6GHz. I couldn't be more happier. I love Lion on it and the screen size with the full screen apps and smart zoom is just wonderful. I told the sales rep into it that I would not be happy if I didn't get the faster Samsung drive and would return it if I didn't get it... so after I purchased it we opened it up and I had the Samsung drive and display. Everything is great and I have no complaints. It's plays 1080p mkv files flawlessly. At first I was worried about the smart zoom on a Facebook picture as it was laggy when I zoomed in and was scrolling around it viewing different parts of the image, but the next day I tried a high res photo off the net 1600p and it was just fine. I was reading macrumors constantly and stressed about not getting the Samsung drive for about 4 hours all over nothing! If you're trying to decide, the 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB 11" model is the winner!! I was concerned about the resolution as text looks a bit pixelated, but either I'm used to it or I was just trying to pick out something wrong with it. Anyways, this kills my friends netbook with an AMD, YES AMD processor that he paid $300 for LOL. Someone on here also turned me on to the 11" as they said, the 13in is just a thin laptop and the 11" is a truly mobile laptop. Go with the 11.6" especially if it is a secondary device or "toy." Battery life says about 5hrs with one notch on the backlight and 5 notches the display brightness with a few tabs in safari open and a XP VM in Fusion (I know-but I need 2 programs from windows that I'm simply used to).

Ask any questions you all would like!

-Law

Great to hear you're so happy with the 11in MBA. I also got the 11in (although I didn't get the 13in first - I knew I wanted the 11in) and I'm also brand new to Mac OS X, with the MBA being my very first mac. I initially bought the i5 model (with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD - same as yours, it seems) but ended up exchanging for the 1.8GHz i7 and 256GB SSD (I mostly got the larger SSD as that was the only one they stocked in the retail store with the i7 and I didn't want to order online). The first one had a Samsung SSD, but my new i7 has the Toshiba. Now, looking more closely at the results of Anand's testing, I am a bit disappointed in this. If it was a slight difference, say, ~10% or so, I really wouldn't be worried, but the difference is enormous. I'm just not sure if this translates to actual benefits for the user in terms of more speed. As a separate issue, I also can't help but think that the 'gradient effect' at the very bottom of the screen that I have seen mentioned often is somewhat worse on this one than it was on the i5 - I really didn't notice it on the i5 unless I looked for it, but it is quite obvious on the new i7. The overall quality of the display just doesn't seem quite as good, either. It's not awful at all, but it really doesn't look as good to me, either.

Anyway, I'm wondering how they reacted when you told them you only wanted the Samsung SSD. Were they completely fine with that, or were they not so happy about it? Did it seem like they might have made a fuss if you hadn't been lucky with the Samsung SSD and wanted to exchange? Especially since I have already made one exchange, I really don't want to become "one of those customers". Although, the first exchange was quite different since it was for a different model, and I had to pay $500 additional for it, so it wasn't really all that bad.

Also, does anyone know how the 14 day return / exchange works if you make an exchange? I mean, if you exchange something within that 14 days, does the 14 days start again from the date of the exchange, so you can then exchange or return that item within 14 days from the exchange, or do you still only have the 14 days from the date of the original purchase? When I made the exchange, I was given a new receipt (which also listed a couple of additional purchases made at the time of the exchange) and that new receipt lists a new return date of Aug 16, 2011 - 14 days after the date of the exchange. I wonder, though, if they will say something like it only says that because their system treats it like a new purchase, but you still only have the original 14 days. I'm still well within the 14 days from the original purchase - that expires next Wednesday, Aug 10. I'm just wondering if I really need to do it sooner rather than later, if I decide to do it, as well as just being curious.

 

[urkel]

But now you go on to insult your friend's $300 netbook? He could've bought 4 of his netbooks for the price of your Air (I have an Air as well). Netbooks serve a similar, though different, purpose to the Air. First and foremost, they are far more disposable; they're cheap, and they get done well what they are designed to do: basic web browsing, word processing, etc.

Netbooks biggest feature isn't "power" so I dont get the Netbook comparison that the OP made either. Even though I love my Air, there are some trips where I would prefer to drag along a dirt cheap netbook over an Air or iPad. Netbooks are cheap, they dont attract thieves, they're tiny and at the end of the day a paper written on a $200 netbook looks exactly the same as one written on a $1300 Air.

 

[KPOM]

Also, does anyone know how the 14 day return / exchange works if you make an exchange? I mean, if you exchange something within that 14 days, does the 14 days start again from the date of the exchange, so you can then exchange or return that item within 14 days from the exchange, or do you still only have the 14 days from the date of the original purchase? When I made the exchange, I was given a new receipt (which also listed a couple of additional purchases made at the time of the exchange) and that new receipt lists a new return date of Aug 16, 2011 - 14 days after the date of the exchange. I wonder, though, if they will say something like it only says that because their system treats it like a new purchase, but you still only have the original 14 days. I'm still well within the 14 days from the original purchase - that expires next Wednesday, Aug 10. I'm just wondering if I really need to do it sooner rather than later, if I decide to do it, as well as just being curious.

The 14 days resets. It's like returning and repurchasing. That happened to me with my Rev D last year when I exchanged it 2 days later because the first one had a bad logic board. I didn't even buy it from the Apple Store (it was a MacMall purchase), and Apple reset the warranty start date to the date I received the replacement.

 

[Azathoth]

Hi All,
First post! I thought I'd share my experience. I am new to OS X since I bought my maxed out 27in iMac [toshiba 256GB ssd ] I purchased the 13in the day they came out in Arizona. I initially was going into it determined to get the 11in, but when I was in the store I thought it was too small. I was very satisfied with the 13in. samsung drive and display/128BG/1.7GHz/4GB but was turned on to the 11.6" from my friend who loves is 11.6" netbook. He's a pilot and suggested I should try it out. I went into the store and exchanged it for the 11.6"/128GB/1.6GHz. I couldn't be more happier. I love Lion on it and the screen size with the full screen apps and smart zoom is just wonderful. I told the sales rep into it that I would not be happy if I didn't get the faster Samsung drive and would return it if I didn't get it... so after I purchased it we opened it up and I had the Samsung drive and display. Everything is great and I have no complaints. It's plays 1080p mkv files flawlessly. At first I was worried about the smart zoom on a Facebook picture as it was laggy when I zoomed in and was scrolling around it viewing different parts of the image, but the next day I tried a high res photo off the net 1600p and it was just fine. I was reading macrumors constantly and stressed about not getting the Samsung drive for about 4 hours all over nothing! If you're trying to decide, the 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB 11" model is the winner!! I was concerned about the resolution as text looks a bit pixelated, but either I'm used to it or I was just trying to pick out something wrong with it. Anyways, this kills my friends netbook with an AMD, YES AMD processor that he paid $300 for LOL. Someone on here also turned me on to the 11" as they said, the 13in is just a thin laptop and the 11" is a truly mobile laptop. Go with the 11.6" especially if it is a secondary device or "toy." Battery life says about 5hrs with one notch on the backlight and 5 notches the display brightness with a few tabs in safari open and a XP VM in Fusion (I know-but I need 2 programs from windows that I'm simply used to).

Ask any questions you all would like!

-Law

Cool story, Bro.*

What was your point? You're obviously quite new to OS X and possibly to the English language as well, so I doubt your opinion is very useful to other prospective buyers.

Summary to anyone else reading, or attempting to read the OP's post:
He is happy with the MBA 11, and appeared worried as to which SSD would be in his machine, despite a lack of comprehension as to the real-world differences between SSDs.


*I've never used that meme before, so please indulge me

 

[law0915]

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Wow, there are some rude people on here. If you are going to be negative and start insulting people, please don't post on this thread. Obviously some have found it useful with regards to customer service. In addition, some did not know certain keys and the trackpad were decreased on size. We have the freedom of speech and as long as I am on topic I don't need negative people commenting on their opinion of the thread. Simply don't read or post on the thread.

 

[law0915]

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So let me get this straight:

You bought the 13-inch and didn't like it. So you return it and buy the 11-inch, and you straight-up tell the rep you're returning the 11-inch if you don't get a Samsung drive?

So you're a picky buyer. That's fine. Apple shouldn't have put a lesser drive in the mix, that's fair. And it's fair enough to switch to an 11-inch since you decided you didn't like the 13-inch.

But now you go on to insult your friend's $300 netbook? He could've bought 4 of his netbooks for the price of your Air (I have an Air as well). Netbooks serve a similar, though different, purpose to the Air. First and foremost, they are far more disposable; they're cheap, and they get done well what they are designed to do: basic web browsing, word processing, etc.

Also, you should note that AMD processors aren't something to scoff at. Unintelligent brand recognition/fanboyism much?

Intel is killing it now.

 

[law0915]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Hi All,
First post! I thought I'd share my experience. I am new to OS X since I bought my maxed out 27in iMac [toshiba 256GB ssd ] I purchased the 13in the day they came out in Arizona. I initially was going into it determined to get the 11in, but when I was in the store I thought it was too small. I was very satisfied with the 13in. samsung drive and display/128BG/1.7GHz/4GB but was turned on to the 11.6" from my friend who loves is 11.6" netbook. He's a pilot and suggested I should try it out. I went into the store and exchanged it for the 11.6"/128GB/1.6GHz. I couldn't be more happier. I love Lion on it and the screen size with the full screen apps and smart zoom is just wonderful. I told the sales rep into it that I would not be happy if I didn't get the faster Samsung drive and would return it if I didn't get it... so after I purchased it we opened it up and I had the Samsung drive and display. Everything is great and I have no complaints. It's plays 1080p mkv files flawlessly. At first I was worried about the smart zoom on a Facebook picture as it was laggy when I zoomed in and was scrolling around it viewing different parts of the image, but the next day I tried a high res photo off the net 1600p and it was just fine. I was reading macrumors constantly and stressed about not getting the Samsung drive for about 4 hours all over nothing! If you're trying to decide, the 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB 11" model is the winner!! I was concerned about the resolution as text looks a bit pixelated, but either I'm used to it or I was just trying to pick out something wrong with it. Anyways, this kills my friends netbook with an AMD, YES AMD processor that he paid $300 for LOL. Someone on here also turned me on to the 11" as they said, the 13in is just a thin laptop and the 11" is a truly mobile laptop. Go with the 11.6" especially if it is a secondary device or "toy." Battery life says about 5hrs with one notch on the backlight and 5 notches the display brightness with a few tabs in safari open and a XP VM in Fusion (I know-but I need 2 programs from windows that I'm simply used to).

Ask any questions you all would like!

-Law

Cool story, Bro.*

What was your point? You're obviously quite new to OS X and possibly to the English language as well, so I doubt your opinion is very useful to other prospective buyers.

Summary to anyone else reading, or attempting to read the OP's post:
He is happy with the MBA 11, and appeared worried as to which SSD would be in his machine, despite a lack of comprehension as to the real-world differences between SSDs.


*I've never used that meme before, so please indulge me

It makes a difference in my "real world".

 

[law0915]

Cool. Thank you for that. I have ordered mine from Best Buy because I found a good deal. But its on backorder now. I was reading about this SSD thing and now I feel that maybe I should just cancel my order with Best Buy and buy it from an Apple store...

Maybe you should just wait and see what comes in the Best Buy Air? You can always return that to the store if there is one around you.

 

[gwsat]

I, for one, appreciated the OP's report of his experience with his new 11 inch MBA and thought the negative, nasty, and uninformed comments it drew from some posters were far out of line. It seems to me that we should share information and ideas here, not shovel gratuitous nastiness on our fellow posters.

The 11 inch MBA is a wonderful choice for those who want the smallest and lightest fully powered computer available and don't mind its relatively small screen and limited flash storage. I think the OP will be very happy with his.

 

[accessoriesguy]

im glad you enjoyed the smaller screen, i dont want to let go of my 15in pro, because i love the size, 13 is actually fine in some ways, but i am picky!!!!

 

[jim468]

Maybe you should just wait and see what comes in the Best Buy Air? You can always return that to the store if there is one around you.

Well my best buy order was still on backorder - and they did not know when it will be fulfilled. However I called my local best buy store today morning and fortunately they had the new MBAs in stock today. So I cancelled my online order and picked one from Best buy today!

I am using my new 13" MBA 256 GB model right now and am loving it. And I got the Samsung SSD.

Thank you. Your post and comments were helpful (at least to me!).

 

[VMMan]

I, for one, appreciated the OP's report of his experience with his new 11 inch MBA and thought the negative, nasty, and uninformed comments it drew from some posters were far out of line. It seems to me that we should share information and ideas here, not shovel gratuitous nastiness on our fellow posters.

I agree that a lot of the responses are rude.

I think it may be because well, I don't know about you, but I kept thinking about the movie "Legally Blonde" when I read the OP's post, since her name has the word "Law" in it.

 

[Travisimo]

I was very torn between the 11" and 13" Macbook Air. Only spending a bit of time with both at the store settled it. I was attracted to the 13" because of the SD card slot and the larger battery, but after playing around with the 11", I was sold. There's just something very satisfying about having a little laptop that is so thin and light. And though I really like my iPad, the Air is just as "magical" and more capable. So I'll continue to use my iPad for media consumption, quick web browsing, or using Airplay. But the Air will be my main device when I need to do any significant amount of typing or actual "work". lol