Hi fellow muggers, What's the difference between the early MBA and the latest MBA? All I know is that the 1.6 GHz 2MB increased its hard drive from 80 to 120 GB. Is it worth the additional hard drive space if I can get both brand new for a 34K difference? Or maybe the other upgrades I'm not aware of is worth paying for the price of the latest MBA?
The new Nvidia 9400 GPU makes the user interface move much much smoother and now effortlessly drive a large external monitor.
mmm......if you already have the first gen MBA, the premium is not worth it unless you have the extra cash to burn. The bump up in performance is not earth-shaking and the extra 40 GB in hard drive space is even less impressive considering that the market availability of external storage at a fraction of the premium.
I haven't tried the new MacBook Air yet, but if the new model addresses all the issues I had with the old MBA, I would've paid the premium to update.
from what i've read, most issues are sorted out. random freezing when playing media, heat, etc have all been improved on in one way or another.
maybe on low settings, yeah. the 9400 in the MBA is clocked lower than the one in the MB so expect performance to be slightly better in the MB. smooth isn't guaranteed though.
I started this thread when I just unboxed my brand new MacBook Air first gen to upgrade my 3.5 year old 12-inch Powerbook G4. I wanted to make sure I made the right decision because cash is not a problem but value for money is always a concern. Thank goodness, I made a right decision and I feel exhilarated about it. In the end the best is actually what perfectly suits your needs. I'm a Mac and never a PC yet my computing needs never went beyond the usual email, word processing, spreadsheet and presentations for work, surfing the net, downloading audio and videos for fun. I will stop breathing if they took away my Mac and the internet yet my computing needs are modest. In fact, my old and always reliable Powerbook G4 never failed me. Disk space is addressed by my portable external HD. Macbook air is perfect for me. It spared me the agonizing decision most of you went through whether its MacBook, MacBook Pro or Mac Book Air. Now I understand that Apple really has a specific market niche for the MacBook Air. It is perfect for those who prefer wireless portability without heavy computing. That's the reason I never parted with my good old 12-inch Powerbook because of its size. But as time passes and you see all those 10-inch portables, it already feels heavy especially during those on the go offshore business trips. We never put our beloved gadgets inside our checked-in luggage so you have to carry them around while traveling. Heaven made the MacBook Air for me.
congrats, rideontheriver. I felt the same way. I couldn't get rid of the PowerBook 12" because it was Apple's smallest and lightest computer ever. Then came the MBA. I've gotten so used to the width of the MBA, and when the unibody was introduced, and I found out that it was even lighter and thinner than the 12" PB, I went for it. You're right in figuring out who the MBA was designed for. Enjoy!
Another thing I discovered about Macbook Air is the screen. I recently put it side by side to my friend's new 2.4 GHz Macbook and my friend got so mad. Well, don't do it if you happen to be the owner of a Macbook (and not a MacBook Air or a Mac Book Pro), it's not worth the bad feeling hehehe. @elbert: I love the Steak Room. Had business lunch there a couple of times late last year. Will surely go back.
