Mac laptops forum: MBP vs MBA vs iPad

So far I've yet to find a student that could perform the needed work on a tablet. This may change over time but my bet is that many folk will buy a tablet and discover they need the laptop soon.

As to the 128 or 256 question, 256 is the safe answer.
Bob

i think an ipad or a tablet in general is a nice accessories but it can't replace a laptop yet. (the surface pro is a promising candidate)
i would go with a mba. you will notice a huge difference in carrying a mbp or a mba. but on the other hand you won't able to play games with it... thank you intel

Hi

The macbook pro is still portable, but it is a lot bulkier than the other two options. It also has a lot more processing power than the MBA and the iPad. The macbook air, on the other hand is very portable. When they first announced it, Steve Jobs had it in a manilla envelope! It has a SSD (Solid State Drive) which means that the hard drive has no moving parts, and it is a lot faster. (When I say it is a lot faster, I mean that the hard drive can be read a lot faster, not that the MBA has more processing power.) I am writing this on macbook air and I love it.
The iPad should not be a substitute for a computer. It dosen't run a desktop operating system, it runs a slightly modified version of the iPhone operating system (iOS). You cannot download any applications that Apple dosen't approve, so if you have any games on a disk, good luck playing them on the iPad. I'm not saying the iPad isn't fun, it's actually very good for watching YouTube videos and watching any videos that you download from iTunes.

As for your question about getting the 128 or 256 GB MBA, if you have the cash, go for the 256 GB MBA. Personally, when I bought my MBA, I got the 128GB one and am able to make it work. I do store many of my files on an external hard drive. If you have any more questions for me, just reply to this thread and I will try to get back to you.

ericlericl