[Closed] Mac Air vs Mac Book ... key differences pls

So your using MS office and your buying a mac?

The MBA RAM tops out a 4GB and it is attached to the motherboard. MBP has huge RAM space but is a bit more bulky. They a rumoured to be getting rid of the disc drive on future MBP, but whether it takes the MBA form factor I'm not sure.

Could you buy a macmini and screen, plus ipad for presenting?

Basic? SSD rather than HDD. The Air uses solid state flash memory, and has no optical drive, the Pro has optical and a conventional hard drive. That about sums it up, really, the Air was designed as a superlight lappy for people who travel a lot and didn't want to lug around a big heavy laptop, and were happy to use wifi and thumb drives to transfer data, or just plug in an external optical.
I think that about sums it up, really; there are lots of rumours flying around about a complete revamp of the whole PowerBook line, perhaps involving SSD instead of a HDD, although what may happen, and seems likely, is that there will be a small SSD with all the OS and apps on, for super fast boot up, and a regular HDD for storage, possibly with a Retina screen.
All I can suggest is that you hold off as long as you can, and keep your eyes on the Mac forums, like MacDailyNews, and see what happens, as a refresh would mean older models being reduced to clear; I got my Mac Mini that way, and I had it modded with the optical removed, a second HDD installed in the empty bay, and an extra 2Gb of RAM put in for free! (The RAM, that is).
Hope that helps a bit. 😀
Edit] That suggestion of tails' is a good one, actually, the Mini is a fantastic little computer, very versatile, cheap, if you can get a refurb of an older model like mine, the 2010 version, and mod it like I did, and with a tiny footprint. And it can be run as an office server, with the Server version of the OS. Then just copy stuff onto the pad as pdf's, or whatever.

We have several Macs and my business partner recently got an Air - all our work is on a server so same situation as you really.

It is noticeably quicker than my iMac (both processing and start-up functions) but the small screen would do my head in. However my business partner has his linked to a desktop monitor for when he is in the office so it isn't an issue.

But we don't have a Pro to compare to.

12 months ago I was in a similar position. It came down to a straight choice between a 13" Macbook Pro or the Mac Air.

I don't know too much about the internals of Macs so for me it came down to; would I prefer the lightness/portability of the Air or would it be more useful to have the DVD drive inc with the the Pro, save several hundred pounds but be slightly heavier

Having thought about it for a few days I went for the Macbook Pro and can honestly say I have never regretted it. I carry it everywhere on the bike, walking, tube, train and can't say I have ever thought I wish I'd saved xx grams by buying the Air.

BB

if you work on big files then a 13in macbookpro would be better as you can easily fit a bigger HD and 16gb ram, the airbook doesn't have ethernet or FW800. for small jobs they are more than capable. thunderbolt accessories are now more readily available and coming down in price (if you need the storage speed)

Does it really need to be portable? I only ask because the screen on the basic iMac is fantastic - compared to their portables it represents really good value for money.

Same as Bianchi-Boy except I went for the 11" air 😆

I don't use it as a desktop machine, just for out and about and its perfect. The clincher for me was the form factor. Bizarrely (perhaps), I find the keyboard on the air to be better than the one on the 13" pro. I did go for the 4/128 gig model though.

TBH, either would be a good choice.

unless you're doing heavy duty stuff (big video, monster server duties or need masses of screen estate for photo editing) then the MBA is all the computer you're likely to need. It's quite capable of running Aperture, iMovie, Office and parallels (with SQL server + associated nonsense all at the same time if you're doing local things). I was astonished when I saw that whizzing along at work.

The only drawback of the Air for regular use is the limited storage space. That might change in the next version. There again, this might force you to declutter. Limited storage space is a frustration present with most any laptop if you have a big music and photo library.

I have a MBP 13" that I have been using for 3 years +

First it was purchased purely as a style toy and the fact that I got a discount and a great cash back deal on an iPod Touch. However I now use it for my business and it is only getting better!

Some of Apple's own software is excellent and I have designed my own 3 page company flyer using Pages and my business cards. They are are quite sophisticated using layers and masks and all this on basic software.

I run a free 2d CAD package called DraftSight which having used AutoCAD for 20+ years is incredible.

As others have said the Air will do the job as well, just make sure you can live with the smaller display and limited storage.

Either way you won't go wrong.

Apple don't make the MacBook anymore, the Air replaced it.

Whatever you decide wait - if you can - until after the WWDC to see if anything new is released. And DON'T BUY A RAM UPGRADE FROM APPLE. Get from crucial and install it yourself - much cheaper that way.

What CaptJon said... Don't buy anything yet. The MBA / MBP range is overdue a facelift with the rumour being that Apple will merge the two lines / launch slimline MBPs / retina displays etc.

Except you can't upgrade the ram on a MBA yourself.