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Considering 13" Macbook Air - Advice??

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  • Nov 27th, 2013 9:12 pm
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Nov 12, 2003
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Ottawa

Considering 13" Macbook Air - Advice??

Hello everyone,

I have been looking for a laptop with a high resolution display and a good battery life for a while. Though there are other options, it appears that the Macbook Air blows them out of the water with a supposedly 12 hour battery life, even if it's 8 thats still amazing.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this? Is there any other laptops with a good resolution screen and half-decent battery life?
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Sep 19, 2005
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The new Macbook Air gets good battery life because of the energy-efficient Intel Haswell processor, not because it's an Apple.

Haswell-based ultrabooks from Sony, Lenovo, Acer and others are beginning to hit the market at around the same price; if you've been using Windows for years and have purchased lots of software, it might be foolish to migrate to MacOS.
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Nov 21, 2004
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just one - don't try to save $100 by getting the 4gb version. Get the 8gb instead.
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Aug 19, 2013
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bryanwf wrote: Hello everyone,

I have been looking for a laptop with a high resolution display and a good battery life for a while. Though there are other options, it appears that the Macbook Air blows them out of the water with a supposedly 12 hour battery life, even if it's 8 thats still amazing.
I have a friend who bought one of these at the beginning of the summer and she says it really does get the great battery life they claim but attributes it to the fact that Apple did not succumb to the temptation to put in a high resolution screen, that's what their pro is for she sayys. It also doesn't have a touchscreen which is so popular these days but also consumes power. This machine is made for those who value serious battery life above all other things, though she says it has a cracking good touchpad too. Too expensive for my money, but it is a beautifully made machine to handle.
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Mar 25, 2005
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The screen sucks. Mid range res and viewing angles are terrible.
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Sep 19, 2013
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If battery life is your top priority then you really can't go wrong with the MBA. There's also the Sony VAIO Pro 13 that you might want to take a look at. It's got very similar specs but with a 1080p touchscreen and you can get about the same battery life with the sheet battery attachment. It does cost more though so the MBA might be your best bet.
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Apr 25, 2006
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On a side note, be prepared to spend money on exclusive Mac programs or run windows.
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Jul 8, 2013
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skinnyp wrote: just one - don't try to save $100 by getting the 4gb version. Get the 8gb instead.
Thanks. What about 1.7 GHZ as opposed to 1.3 GHZ? Worth the $150 premium?
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Jun 30, 2010
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bryanwf wrote: Hello everyone,

I have been looking for a laptop with a high resolution display and a good battery life for a while. Though there are other options, it appears that the Macbook Air blows them out of the water with a supposedly 12 hour battery life, even if it's 8 thats still amazing.

Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this? Is there any other laptops with a good resolution screen and half-decent battery life?
The upcoming (oct/nov) Lenovo T440s would fill your requirements. Pricing should end up around the same as the Macbook Air.

Specs wise:
- 14" 1600x900 IPS or 1920x1080 IPS display
- 3.5lbs
- i5 4200u or i7 4500u
- 4-12GB of RAM
- 500GB 7200rpm + 24GB SSD or full 120-256GB SSD
- Has 1 built in 3 cell battery and one removable 3 cell or optional 6 cell battery (Should give ~7-8hrs with 3 cell and ~10-11hrs with 6 cell)
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TuxedoBlack wrote: Thanks. What about 1.7 GHZ as opposed to 1.3 GHZ? Worth the $150 premium?
It depends on how long you are going to keep the unit and what programs you are going to run.
I also recommend getting the $100 RAM upgrade.
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skinnyp wrote: just one - don't try to save $100 by getting the 4gb version. Get the 8gb instead.
Just got one with 4GB of memory and don't see any issues with it. I tried Final Cut Pro and works as well as my Macbook pro and my Mac mini.
Mac OS is Unix/Linux based and manages memory better then windows machine.
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Kasakato wrote: The screen sucks. Mid range res and viewing angles are terrible.
What are you talking about???
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Kasakato wrote: The viewing angles are terrible?
I'm not sure what u are looking at. I don't see any issues
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I have a Macbook Air myself and the viewing angles aren't any different than all of the other laptops out there. [...]
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Feb 5, 2008
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I had purchased an Air in September but unfortunately had to return it (do to unforeseen income issues).
I had the i7-8gb version and I would get 9-10 hours of battery life on it doing intense work. That is even whole using bootcamp.

Really don't need the i7 as it's only beneficial marginally. It does more work faster at the cost of battery. You're looking at building a project (from source code) maybe 10 seconds faster.

Build quality is unmatched by anyone and the screen is perfectly fine unless you decide that you want to use it on stupid angles.
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ancnfamily wrote: I'm not sure what u are looking at. I don't see any issues
Compared to a MBP, its pretty bad. Resolution is also low compared to other ultrabooks.
Nfsryder wrote: I have a Macbook Air myself and the viewing angles aren't any different than all of the other laptops out there. [...]
Sorry bud. I've had a Mac for the past 4 years.
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Nfsryder wrote: I have a Macbook Air myself and the viewing angles aren't any different than all of the other laptops out there. [...]


In a same price range it is same if not better.
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Feb 5, 2008
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Kasakato wrote: Compared to a MBP, its pretty bad. Resolution is also low compared to other ultrabooks.
Other Ultra books are made cheaply. They use ***** hardware and of course their OS isn't optimized for the hardware.
Also you are comparing a Macbook Air (designed for the travel, the person that doesn't have a desk and has to be mobile) to a Macbook Pro (which is designed for power users and has clearly less battery life, you know due to the CPU/screen/etc).

Also the cMBP screen isn't any better then the Air. Unless you are refering the rMBP.
Starting prices:
Macbook Air: $999 (10-14hrs battery life)
Macbook Pro: $1,199 13"/ $1,799 15" (~4-6hrs battery life)
Macbook Pro Retina: $1,499 13"/$2,199 15"
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Earache wrote: Other Ultra books are made cheaply. They use ***** hardware and of course their OS isn't optimized for the hardware.
Also you are comparing a Macbook Air (designed for the travel, the person that doesn't have a desk and has to be mobile) to a Macbook Pro (which is designed for power users and has clearly less battery life, you know due to the CPU/screen/etc).

Also the cMBP screen isn't any better then the Air. Unless you are refering the rMBP.
Starting prices:
Macbook Air: $999 (10-14hrs battery life)
Macbook Pro: $1,199 13"/ $1,799 15" (~4-6hrs battery life)
Macbook Pro Retina: $1,499 13"/$2,199 15"
What Ultrabooks are you comparing to?

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