I will start by asserting my needs with the computer that I am likely to buy in July as an upcoming college freshman. For one, I am not a pro user. If anything constitutes pro use, it would be sporadic video editing, light photoshop work, and some multi-tasking. These activities, as I said, are sporadic and not representative of the majority of the tasks I do on a computer. I mostly read articles on the web, watch netflix streaming, listen to music with spotify, watch youtube videos, write essays, prepare presentations, and download occasional movies. One hobby of mine is photography and I usually edit and go through pretty large files when editing them. When I do video work, the end products will be anywhere from one minute to ten. Usually they are for school or are small projects.
Now that I have addressed my needs, I would like to present the options I have come to consider. After the recent mid 2012 release of the MBA, MBP, and MBP w retina display, I initially stroked the Pro with retina display off of the list. Firstly, the 15" size is too large for my needs, and is too expensive. This leaves the two 13" models (the 13 mba and mbp). As late, I was dead set on the air. After the 2011 release with the core i5 and i7 processors, I could not see a reason to buy the pro. I was not seeing any advantages to having the pro besides the dvd drive, the slightly faster processor, and the greater variety of I/O ports. After thinking though, I came to the conclusion that I may indeed be out of luck if my college requires cd's and certain connections (ethernet, firewire, more usb). Also, I read that the mbp, with their mobile cpu's are more future proof than the air's with the ulv cpu's.
My question is, would the minuscule advantages of the mbp be noticeable given the tasks I do and would do in college? Would I end up regretting purchasing an air if it meant I was left with inadequate performance and ports? I know the air has a few advantages as well. The ssd is a big one for me. If I did get a pro though, I would install an ssd so that factor would become moot anyway. It also has a higher resolution display, which is also less reflective. Both of these are pretty important. I can not stand the reflectiveness on my iMac and would be hard-pressed not to buy an antiglare film for the mbp, if I went that route. Also, the obvious advantages of lightness and portability are contributing factors. As a college student, these are especially considered to be important for my needs.
Thanks for any input which may help with my decision, and I hope to hear some helpful information pretty soon!
Now that I have addressed my needs, I would like to present the options I have come to consider. After the recent mid 2012 release of the MBA, MBP, and MBP w retina display, I initially stroked the Pro with retina display off of the list. Firstly, the 15" size is too large for my needs, and is too expensive. This leaves the two 13" models (the 13 mba and mbp). As late, I was dead set on the air. After the 2011 release with the core i5 and i7 processors, I could not see a reason to buy the pro. I was not seeing any advantages to having the pro besides the dvd drive, the slightly faster processor, and the greater variety of I/O ports. After thinking though, I came to the conclusion that I may indeed be out of luck if my college requires cd's and certain connections (ethernet, firewire, more usb). Also, I read that the mbp, with their mobile cpu's are more future proof than the air's with the ulv cpu's.
My question is, would the minuscule advantages of the mbp be noticeable given the tasks I do and would do in college? Would I end up regretting purchasing an air if it meant I was left with inadequate performance and ports? I know the air has a few advantages as well. The ssd is a big one for me. If I did get a pro though, I would install an ssd so that factor would become moot anyway. It also has a higher resolution display, which is also less reflective. Both of these are pretty important. I can not stand the reflectiveness on my iMac and would be hard-pressed not to buy an antiglare film for the mbp, if I went that route. Also, the obvious advantages of lightness and portability are contributing factors. As a college student, these are especially considered to be important for my needs.
Thanks for any input which may help with my decision, and I hope to hear some helpful information pretty soon!