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Who has a MacBook Air but barely use its "Air" functions?

If you never carry your MBA anywhere, you might still be saving on your electricity and A/C bills, as well as space on your desk.

But watch out for bad ergonomics when using a small laptop for long periods.
 
My macbook air uses its 'air' ability to hide from me. Currently it's in clamshell mode, buried under a ton of papers on my desk. If I had a 'pro' machine, I could at least tell where it is. :p
 
As a non-owner of an Air quite yet, I am debating going the Imac route as well since my MBP does just about everything I want it to do and more- I was thinking Air to take to work/trips/etc however.
 
My air goes everywhere with me. Having the SSD is nice for bumpy car rides (read: LA potholes), and the light weight is great for lugging through airports and between offices.

At home I have a 13 inch pro that I use as a desktop (got it before the air and got tired of the weight) and at work I have a Mini and a 22" display. Both places I'll still use the MBA to run into a meeting in my bosses office or just chill on the couch and deal with my emails/documentation in comfort.

Just about the only time it isn't with me is when I'm on vacation. Then I'm limited to just my iPad. Allows me to work on simple things in a true emergency, but doesn't give me the "freedom" to work when I'm not supposed to be working.
 
My last laptop was an ultra portable Thinkpad which I thought I would take everywhere and rarely left the house. So I knew my 13" MBA would not travel much but I just prefer the slim, light design and SSD. I just got an LTE iPad 3 from work so I'm thinking my MBA will travel even less now. I have no interest in a desktop with my MBA.
 
Take my 13"MBA everywhere with me - it is so much easier to cart around compared to my old 15 MBP and I don't get backache the way I used to with the MBP.... Just saying to a friend, even if Apple bring out a 15" Air, I'd stay with the 13".....
 
Kendo said:
I bought a 13" MacBook Air imaginging that I would carry it around with me everywhere. Well that was back in July 2011 and fast forward to today and I haven't taken it out with me once. It basically sits on my desk as a desktop. Not that I have a problem with that because it looks so sleek.

Did anyone else get a MacBook Air but barely use its Air-like functions? For my next Mac, I'm wondering if I should just go with a 15" Pro since I might as well get a more powerful machine if it is just going to sit on my desk.
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i can related to this. I was happy to sell the macbook pro to buy the air when it came out (2nd generation one) and i'm mostly a pc user to i installed win7 os with it thinking i'll be using it a lot. well, i barely find a use for it with a powerful pc built desktop, an ipad and iphone throughout the house. The air is not being utilized more than i expected. I wish i can use it for work but not possible so i'm thinking of selling it soon.
 
So I would say it's more than "barely" but not up to "substantially". Having said that, I'm totally pleased with the utilization of my MBA 13". The majority of time it does function as my downstairs desktop, but when I do travel for business, it's unbeatable. I've used it more than my company-issued dell clunker. If I need files on that boat, I simply email them to my iCloud account and use as needed.

If I didn't carry it with me on travel, and, as you, it stayed on the desk, I'd go for the MBP, with least ram and HD, then upgrade that sucker's ram and go to OWC's 480 GB SSD. I LOVE the speed of the SSD. If I'm disappointed in the 2012 MBA, I'm immediately replacing my 256GB Apple SSD with the OWC 480GB module. With that, I don't really see a need to upgrade for the next 3 years.
 
GSPice said:
What are these "air-like functions?"
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I would describe it as the only real computer that you can scoop up with 3 fingers on any surface and comfortably move it to your next location. If that alone doesnt turn you on its maybe not the right rig for ya ;)
 
bought my macbook air '11 last month.. then went ahead and bought an alienware m17x r3 last week.. went ahead and replaced the 750 gb hdd to a 512gb ssd on that laptop (which i now called the "beast").. that thing is hella fast.. but heavy as hell too.. i take the air and sometimes, the "beast" every time i go to work.. i get good compliments in both, especially on the alienware (nebula red in color,so it really attracts attention).. but i still grab the air 75% of the time..
 
thejadedmonkey said:
My macbook air uses its 'air' ability to hide from me. Currently it's in clamshell mode, buried under a ton of papers on my desk. If I had a 'pro' machine, I could at least tell where it is. :p
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That's why I got a bookarc stand for mine! It kept disappearing under the tons of loose paper I scatter all over my desk! :p

I do use it's "air" factor a lot (maybe because I have the 11", and not the 13") and I'm glad I have just one machine, and not two or three to manage.
 
iDemiurge said:
I'm glad I have just one machine, and not two or three to manage.
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try 5 :D:D.. sometimes i wish that too.. yes, i have 5 laptops, 3 xps (m1210, m170, and L701x) my macbook air and the M17x r3 alienware (i'm asian so we are allowed a minimum of 3 computers :p).. the last two are my fav now and probably need to get rid of the other 3.. right now they are tucked away.. can't even remember when i last booted them..:D
 
Always buy the most screen real estate you can comfortably manage.

If your Air is never leaving the desk you should for sure get a set up that includes an external 24 inch+ display. If you're not mobile the bigger display the better I think.

For me, I have a Mac Pro with dual ACDs, a MacBook Pro and an Air. I can't stand sitting at a desk all day or working in one place for hours on end. I highly value screen real estate but I value mobility just a little bit more.

In addition to travel I'll work from home for days on end and I'm sure I would be more productive using something with a much larger display. But I'll move from office to den, kitchen, great room, deck etc. so it's the perfect machine for me.

The Air and my 3rd gen iPad is a great combo. The dictation feature on the iPad for email and documents is great and spoiling me. It allows me to send long winded posts like this one real quick :D
 
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Mine mostly stays on my desk, hooked up to the Klipsch speakers, but I love that it is so light for those occasions when I want to use it on the couch or the porch.

And living in a neighborhood that has a lot of break-ins where computers get stolen, it's important to have a slim one that's easy to hide!

When I bought it, I thought I'd have to get an external monitor for it as soon as I could afford it, but I love the screen -- with my old eyes, I can read things on here better than on the big monitor I have on my work PC.
 
Love it

I adore my MBA. The 2011 release is nearly as powerful as the previous year's MBP, so I hear. I edit video and music on it frequently, and the only complaint I have is that the SSD is small (128gb) and yet so speedy that it has spoiled me. Whenever I have to use an external USB drive it seems to take for EVER! :rolleyes: I think it's powerful enough for most anything I can throw at it, so I don't think of the portability as part of the bargain. I carry it around the house a lot and take it out a few times a week.

As others have said, if you don't care about portability, I would suggest a Mini or iMac.
 
I travel a bit (well upstairs to chill on the bed) and I got rid of my iPad to get my 1st Mac of some kind.


Decided my best solution would be to get the 11" MBA 128GB/4GB for the iPad replacement and get a TBD for use on my desk.

Works great for me, has all the power I need, and the gorgeous display when I sit down to work.

Still miss the iPad though :D
 
stu.h said:
I travel a bit (well upstairs to chill on the bed) and I got rid of my iPad to get my 1st Mac of some kind.


Decided my best solution would be to get the 11" MBA 128GB/4GB for the iPad replacement and get a TBD for use on my desk.

Works great for me, has all the power I need, and the gorgeous display when I sit down to work.

Still miss the iPad though :D
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Why not keep both? The MBA might be an ultra portable laptop, but in the end it is still a laptop. I think those who have an iPad and an iMac or a MBP combo is no different than those with an iPad and a MBA. It is still the combination of having a computer and a tablet.
 
I bought my 11" MBA two weekends back, it is beautiful, it goes everywhere with me.

My work bag generally has the following;
ASUS Zenbook 11" (work computer)
MBA 11" - my personal portable.
iPad - for those times where media consumption is needed.
iPhone - Personal
iPhone - Work
Chargers for laptops
Cables for charging iDevices
Earbuds

My personal bag generally has the same if I am not going near work (work laptop too in case I get a call) but also my MBP 13" as it has all my vids and mp3s for the iDevices.

Got to say, I love having an ultraportable that looks and feels so nice whilst being a powerful little beast as well, it runs so beautifully.
 
I replaced my 13" MacBook Pro with a 13" Air. I wanted to be able to comfortably carry my laptop, my iPad and a handful of occasional accessories in one smaller bag. The MBP, while still relatively thin compared to most laptops, is too thick for this purpose, but absolutely swims in a regular laptop bag.

I also expect to be issued a Windows laptop from work at some point in the near future. I'll need to be able to carry both, because I rely on too many Mac apps to leave it behind. I wanted something thin enough that it doesn't add a ton of bulk or weight, so the MBP had to go.

I carry mine every day, though I can honestly say I find that I need it less and less and rely on the iPad more as of late.
 
My MacBook Air is usually in one of three places:
1) Used on the throne
2) Used in bed (sterilized of course ;))
3) Docked to my Thunderbolt display.

Does any of these count as using the "Air" functions?

As far as I'm concerned I do not want to be using my MacBook Pro in first two circumstances and my iPad is great, but lacks a keyboard for those longer typing sessions.
 
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