MacBook Pro or the MacBook air?

[Cognizant]

Price aside, which is better? I want to prove to my dad that a MacBook is more helpful than an iPad, but I don't really know which one to convince him about :P

I heard that the MacBook air is faster, despite the Processor being much slower.

[Donkey]

Macbook Pro is faster and technically better in just about every way, Macbook Air is thinner, more portable and lighter.

[Invincible]

A standard MBA is generally quicker than a standard 13" Macbook Pro because of the solid state drive. That said, it's theoretically impossible to have more power in a smaller form factor/lower TDP. A Macbook Pro has the advantages of expansion, the processors are higher-powered and there's more room for expansion, and a solid state drive will no doubt put an air to shame. The screen res lacks a little but the quality of the displays and colour reproduction are as good as laptops get.

An iPad is useless for work, at this day and age, period. If you're getting in to graphically intensive work, get a 15" for its dedicated graphics card. If you aren't in a hurry, there is a vital and very significant upgrade just around the corner..

[Voleurz]

MacBook Pro is more powerful and much more storage space. The MacBook Air however, now has flash memory, which means faster access to memory and faster boot times.

[Midland]

You need to think about what you would use it for and if your answer includes video editing, photoshop or any thing like that you probably need a Pro, if you only want it to run word, access the internet and play movies and music then go for the Air. The Pro also gives you a ton more storage space for the same price which can come in handy.

[JackOfClubs]

Definitely the Pro. Contrary to popular belief, the optical drive is still very essential. I will always have one on my laptop, unless it is unreasonably priced or inaccessible.

[sandyrip1]

I have had both Macbook pro (current laptop) SO MUCH BETTER!

[Cognizant]

Is there any good places I can get a discounted MBP? The prices of the MBP's are waaay to high :(

[Jufjufjuf]

Is there any good places I can get a discounted MBP? The prices of the MBP's are waaay to high :(

You could get a Windows laptop ;P But I guess that defeats your purpose. In my opinion a lot of people here missed the point. You want to convince your dad that a laptop is more functional than a tablet. Now he's used to the weight, portability and ease of use. He probably won't want to lug around a MBP because it's heavy, vs the iPad which is quite light.

13 Inch MBP 4.5 lb
13 Inch MBA 2.9 lb
iPad 1.5 lb

Yes, the MBP is the better computer of the two, but it may not convince your dad that it is more useful because he'll definitely notice it's much less convenient to bring around.

[nicetomeetyou]

well i have 2 MBP's and have experience with MBA's as well. I would definitely say the MBP was far superior in every way. Carrying around a MBP isn't that bad either, the biggest one I have is 15" and I love it. Easy to use and fast!

[Josh8080]

Mac Book Pro, Just got one in January and its pretty fast to me. & It's a decent size, but i just love it

[missy_moo]

Personally, I love my little Macbook Air. I've not touched a dvd since forever and i don't need to processing power someone who is running multiple video/graphics software packages at once. And it fits nicely into my handbag!

[Cognizant]

The most graphically advanced programs I run is Photoshop CS5, and The Sims 2.

Would a MBA work fine with that? I went to the Store today and even the 11" models are uber-expensive for the features you're getting :\

[Djentleman]

Man, get the MBP. It's just more for your money machine in terms of those two. What iNub said is completely true, if you get the new MBP even in a 15" with a SSD then you're going to be sprinting. Get the smallest capacity to save money and then turn out for a good external HD and you'll be beasting. The MBA is good, but on a production scale, it doesn't beat the MBP on the long haul.

[Electra Heart]

I have a Pro and my friend's got an Air. I like mine better because; A. The screen's bigger, B. Airs break... REALLY easily... C. It's got like, 1 usb, a headphone jack, and a power cord... I need all the extra stuff but that's just me.

[Cognizant]

Lower the price down ~600 dollars and I would buy one...but I am dirt poor.

[Joe96]

Get the Macbook Air if you need it to be portable. The Macbook Pro is faster and better (in my opinion) it just weighs more and is thicker. I think it's also a bit more expensive too.

[Rayquaza]

The Air is basically one of what I like to call "Apples Eye-Candy Products", basically a product which they will release which isn't as good as their other products around the same time, but looks stylish and is usually more smaller, and portable. I prefer Macbook pro, since it is much faster and isnt incredibly delicate.

[applegeek897]

If you want super speed the MacBook Air because of the SSD but if you want power go with the MacBook Pro 15" or 17", the 13" MacBook Pro is silly now because the MacBook Air is so good why would you have something that is more expensive, the same size, thicker and heavier and with a lower resolution screen because the MacBook Air has a 1440x900 which is the same as the 15" MacBook Pro vs 1280x800 just because it a little bit more powerful, the only good thing about the MacBook Pro is the hard drive is bigger but because it is a normal hard drive and 5200RPM it is much much slower.

[Thunduhbuhlt]

Cnet (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20082192-1/macbook-air-vs-macbook-pro-which-apple-13-incher-should-you-buy/) has a good article about this.

[BrassMonkey]

I dont have an apple product except Safari,lol, but I want a Macbook Pro, which is best for any kind of business person or anyone who is creative with media and entertainment, which is what I do.