Comparison: MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro

Two Guys And A Podcast’s Karl Johnson has posted a comparo of the MacBook Pro and the 13″ MacBook Air, noting that the Pro 15-inch has a 16% larger screen but is 24% heavier than the Air 13-inch, but while the extra weight makes it more of a burden to carry around by its palm rests while open, the 15-incher is twice as fast in Geekbench scores, although Johnson observes that most users won’t notice the difference in real-world use unless they’re performing CPU intensive tasks, and concludes that the 13-inch Air is 36% lighter than even the 13″ MacBook Pro, has a standard SSD, and is the perfect size for most users with just the right amount of screen real-estate (significantly higher resolution at 1400 x 900 than the 13-inch Pro’s somewhat pedestrian 1280 x 800), and notes that Apple offers three different 13-inch MacBooks aimed at different customer demographics: MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air.

I pretty much agree with these observations, although the MacBook Air’s 128 GB (or optional 256 GB) SSD’s modest storage capacity could be a deal-breaker for some users, and should be considered. However, it’s my general opinion that an awful lot of computer users buy much more powerful hardware than they really need, just like some folks will purchase Microsoft Word for writing letters or composing community newsletters, and others imagine they need Photoshop CS to edit their family snapshots.

I think that dynamic is part of what’s behind the iPad’s wildfire popularity. The iPad is perfectly adequate for doing what most non-professional users do with their computers 95 percent of the time, and arguably superior for some tasks like relaxed reading and casual Web surfing.

And when the iPad isn’t up to the task, an entry-level white MacBook or 11.6″ MacBook Air, both selling for $999, probably will be, with Johnson noting that the MacBook could be on the bubble as the 11-inch Air’s feature set is upgraded, presumably with Core “i” processor power and a Thunderbolt port coming in the not too distant future.

As for paying $200 more for the 13″ MacBook Pro, that makes sense if you need FireWire and/or the new Thunderbolt ultra high speed I/O ports, or the Pro’s twice as high RAM support ceiling, or the backlit keyboard would be an advantage.