MacBook Pro with retina display or MacBook Air?

[Anonymous]

that is pretty much it...

[Anonymous]

I have a MacBook Air. Love it but I have a MacPro for serious work. You really can't do heavy duty stuff on the Air.

[jsteele]

What do you value more, portability and lower cost or an amazing display?

[Anonymous]

I love my 13" Macbook Pro for its portability, so an Air would be an even better choice on that front.

However ... that retina display is amazing

[Anonymous]

Love my MacBook Air, but I'm not a heavy duty user. I mainly use web based apps, word process, and occasional spreadsheets. Love how small and light the MacBook Air is!

[Anonymous]

Op here - My needs are pretty much like pp's: MS Office, Internet browsing. So, I guess a MacBook Air will do the job just fine.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Op here - My needs are pretty much like pp's: MS Office, Internet browsing. So, I guess a MacBook Air will do the job just fine.

Yes, more than fine.

[Anonymous]

The air only takes SSD hard drives, which are generally smaller/more expensive, so if you are planning to keep all your photos (and maybe music) on the air you might look at how much space they take up now. Also it doesn't seem as though you can upgrade or replace anything in the air (like RAM or possibly the harddrive).

On the other hand, the retina display is for now at least only on the 15" macbook pro, which is a little large for a laptop (IMO).

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:The air only takes SSD hard drives, which are generally smaller/more expensive, so if you are planning to keep all your photos (and maybe music) on the air you might look at how much space they take up now. Also it doesn't seem as though you can upgrade or replace anything in the air (like RAM or possibly the harddrive).

On the other hand, the retina display is for now at least only on the 15" macbook pro, which is a little large for a laptop (IMO).

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display also only has SSD drives. It is basically a 15 inch MacBook Air with a better display. With iCloud it may not be as necessary to have everything on your drive anymore (though I am a traditionalist in that regard and still keep everything local).

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The air only takes SSD hard drives, which are generally smaller/more expensive, so if you are planning to keep all your photos (and maybe music) on the air you might look at how much space they take up now. Also it doesn't seem as though you can upgrade or replace anything in the air (like RAM or possibly the harddrive).

On the other hand, the retina display is for now at least only on the 15" macbook pro, which is a little large for a laptop (IMO).

The MacBook Pro with Retina Display also only has SSD drives. It is basically a 15 inch MacBook Air with a better display. With iCloud it may not be as necessary to have everything on your drive anymore (though I am a traditionalist in that regard and still keep everything local).

I didn't realize that. Leaving aside the privacy issues of storing everything in the cloud, is icloud really a viable backup for photos? I thought it was only 5 gb or so, and anyone (still) using a digital camera will probably exceed that fairly quickly.

[Anonymous]

p.s. I am leaning towards the 13" macbook pro myself because I do value HD space (and upgradeability) more than portability.

[Anonymous]

13" macbook pro does not have the retina display. Only the 15" has it.

[Anonymous]

If storage is an issue, get an external hard drive. They're cheap and huge. That's what I'm planning to do with pictures once baby comes!