Windows expert here, completely new to Macs. Which Mac for app development?

[Bandolier]

I am very proficient with Windows and I've never had a Mac. What Mac laptop do you recommend for me for iPad/iPhone app and Cydia development? That's pretty much all it's going to be used for. A strong graphics card doesn't matter too much to me at this point, but a good processor and decent RAM is necessary. Price should be no more than 1,100.

Please keep in mind I'm not looking for the equivalent of an dual SLI 480m nVIDIA GeFORCE, Quad-Core 3.2 GHz, etc. Just mainly for coding.

I appreciate it.

 

[robbieduncan]

iPhone/iPad development is not that intensive. Any Intel Mac will be fine.

 

[Bandolier]

This post has been deleted by the author.

 

[stridemat]

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook?mco=MTM3NjU3MDM

 

[robbieduncan]

The one things I would add to my comment above is that you need to consider screen resolution if you are thinking of a laptop. The MacBook and 13" MacBook Pro both have relatively low screens. The 15" MacBook Pro (especially with the optional high resolution screen) is easier to work on.

 

[wisty]

Dual SLI nVidia for development? Why? Are you doing CUDA?

Apple uses low power (i.e. laptop) parts, so high end parts are very expensive and a little wimpy. Except the Mac Pro, which uses dated server parts - expensive and a bit old. Sigh. Oh, and the graphics drivers suck.

You won't get the raw power of a good desktop PC, but you can get a very nice laptop.

What I like:

SSD, lots of RAM, and a fast CPU. SSD is really important, because if your CPU is better than an Atom, it's mostly just sitting idle while your slow HDD is seeking. Look for the fastest linear CPU performance - Quad Core is nice, but it's expensive, and your worst bottlenecks are likely to be linear. (Maybe your work is faster when you have more cores - I use Python so I'm more worried about slow single-threaded stuff).

Also look at screen size/resolution, battery life, and other extras.

 

[chrono1081]

If you are after portability I love coding on my 13 inch air. I can hook it to one of my 27inch ACDs if I want more screen real estate (or just transfer my project to my desktop).

For coding on the go the 13 inch MBA is great.