Rumor mill suggests MBA now.

I've been debating over a Macbook or a Macbook Air that I would use for travel purposes because of the lightweight and reduced size.

I've been checking some rumor sites and some of them are suggesting that the Macbooks are due for an overhaul in June. I'd hate to buy one of them now and then see them change in June. Since the MBA is relatively new on the market, I'm guessing there won't be much of a change, if any, in the Air.

In trying to decide, here's my pros and cons for each.

MB Pros
Built in DVD, more USB ports, replaceable battery, bigger hard drive

MB Cons
No backlit LED screen, no backlit keyboard, does not have the "new" keyboard that is standard on the MBA

MBA Pros
Smaller and lighter, see MB cons

MBA Cons
1 USB port, 80 gig hard drive, no user replaceable battery, some thermal issues reported

Any other things that I've neglected to consider?

 

no cd/dvd drive in mba is a con...even thought i hardly ever use my cd drive now a days...

 

I'd say its always good to wait for an Apple announcement, especially so close to an event. You never know whats coming.. my opinion, wait it out and make your decision after the show.

-G

 

if you need it, buy it.

waiting is endless, and the current product will more than suit anyones needs.

time is money, at least to me.

 

Also... to throw a monkey wrench in your works...

I find the MBP more portable than the MB. Something about the form factor of the MB makes it feel heavier and bulkier than the MBP. Course, that doesn't change the foot print. But yeah, I've always felt the MBP to be easier to move around.

 

The macbook pro weighs less for its size than the macbook. It gives the macbook pro a greater sense of portability. But the truth of the matter is that it is larger and heavier. Its just your brain tricking you for sure. But for a 15" laptop, the macbook pro is one of the absolute most portables that exist.

 

yea the MBP is lighter per square inch, thats probably something to do with how light it feels.

 

Well, I think with the release of the MBA, you won't see the MacBook getting too many "flaws" fixed...it'll probably still be a bit heavier than average, it may get a bit thinner, but yeah. With the MBA out, Apple's basically saying "If the MacBook doesn't fit you, this is the one you're going to get".

 

According, to mac rumors, it notes that the MBA was refreshed at the end of Feb. it is rated a "buy", not a wait.

 

If you are talking about the article about the redesign of the MBA and MBPro, it was a fake.

http://www.macrumors.com/2008/04/16/aluminum-multitouch-macbook-new-macbook-pro-and-more/

 

There would not be any expected MBA redesigns for at least a year, most likely in two or three considering Apple's record. Unless there was enough furor over an issue with the current design to warrant one.

 

The MBA is just way beyond either the MB or MBP. If you can justify an MBA then you need not look at anything else.

 

My guess is that the MBA will remain the same aesthetically (a good thing IMO) but with better innards, such as faster CPU and larger HD, coming down the pipe (but who knows when).

Personally, I'm waiting for the Air to come with a larger SSD and faster processor for not much more than what they're currently selling the basic model for. Yeah I know, I'll be waiting a while.

The good news, after Samsung announced their 256GB SSD a while back, Toshiba announced they're working on releasing a 512GB SSD in the next year or so, which means hopefully (maybe) we'll be seeing a 128GB SSD at a reasonable price before year end. Just a wild guess on my part of course.