Hello all. I've been contemplating buying a macbook air OR the NEW iPad. While both are cool, I plan on going back to college in the fall and I think a macbook Air would be a better bet...but it also costs about twice as much. I don't do much powerhouse work on computers or laptops. I do use itunes a bit and browse the internet everyday. Don't play heavy gaming. I play WoW every now and then. It seems like getting the Air would be a better investment in the long run especially for school work in the Fall. Does anybody know if the Air has Airplay with the appleTV? I have the 2nd gen ATV. Also, i read somehow online earlier today that the macbook Air's have soldered in RAM? Is that true to this day? Bummer if it is... And one more thing, anybody know if the macbook had a hardware refresh this year already or if it may be coming soon. I've been getting more ansy the more I think about it and I would rather not wait too much longer if there is indeed a hardware refresh on the Air's. What's everybody think?
This shouldn't even be a questions if it's for school. Airplay works just fine. RAM is soldered. Refresh wasn't very long ago. Maybe another this summer.
Definitely a Mac, not iPad. If you need to upgrade RAM, internal storage, etc. then get the Pro. I have one that I use for casual browsing and schoolwork as well as the occasional blu ray ripping and gaming. If not then just get the Air. Also the refresh will probably be right before Mountain Lion launches, so my guess would be June or July.
Definitely a Macbook. iPad is a little more on the entertainment side than it is for actual work. I've seen some of my friends pick out a new iPad rather than a laptop for college and they couldn't keep up with their work.
From what I can tell, the RAM isn't a problem for anyone that has spoke of it so it's not a huge concern. Just a bummer. And to be perfectly honest jpga13 I never used the old laptop I had for school all that much. A good portion was me surfing online and doing nothing of that much importance lol. But yeah, it's sounding like the Air would be the way to go, plus it's a little cheaper than the Pro... The 13" that is. I don't think I would like the 11", too small a screen I think. I think i'm going to go to the Apple store sometime soon and get a better idea as to what the screen sizes look like. Also, anybody know of any pretty good deals on them? I work in retail and I get like $70 off one...which is nice but not that powerful a deal ya know? I also can get a student discount but it's $90 off. I was wondering if anybody know of a better deal than those. I looked around online but couldn't come up with anything worthwhile.
Unfortunately no, Apple is very reluctant to put sales up. The two big sales are Back to School and Black Friday. I am good friends with the manager at my local Apple store and he gave me an employee discount for the Back to School sale. One of my other friends at Best Buy told me that Apple has specifically told them not to offer discounts on their products. Your best bet is to visit the Apple store during one of these two dates. 13" is a perfect size for school. Even my Macbook Pro feels very light, I highly suggest you to compare both. The Macbook Pro trades more features and power for a little bit more weight which makes no difference to me. Plus Apple will probably have the new refresh by this summer.
After looking around a bit more online, it seems I am swaying towards the Pro more now. If I get the 13" Pro instead of the Air, as you said, you get more features and power...which i'm all about. Being a little more weighted wouldn't bother me, though being super thin would be nice. Thank you all for your input I appreciate it! Unfortunately, waiting till back to school or black friday would be too long for me.
Back to School Sale is usually mid June. I would wait since the next refresh of the Macbook Pro will probably be before then. The Macbook Pro 13" has some key features like the superdrive, more customization (RAM and hard drive upgrades), and an overall better processor than the Macbook Air 13".
