What will last longer? The Air, The Pro or the normal macbook??

Hi,

I don't have an answer to your question,but....

sometimes i ask my self when will my 2007 15" mbp will go bust....so i can get a new one.lol.

The Pro will last longer because you can easily switch out the hard drive for a bigger better one, add RAM, etc. That's the drawback of the Air. What you get is what you get and you can't upgrade it.

That doesn't mean that the Air can't give you another four years of solid and faithful service. The Pro isn't "tougher" than the Air, it just has more easy-to-replace parts, and if what you're after is the laptop that will last you the longest, then most certainly, the Pro.

But the Air is beautifully built, solid and reliable, and, personally, I think that you should go with what you love. A laptop should be reliable and long lasting, but it should also be a joy to use. And if you think you'll get more joy out of the Air, then get the Air, as the device you most enjoy using is the one on which you'll be the most productive.

Just make sure you get a top-of-the-line Air (whatever size you pick--biggest HD, most RAM) so that it will last a good long time 🙂

It's true you can't upgrade the RAM, but as long as Toshiba and others continue to make the type of flash memory this computer uses, that IS user replaceable.

I agree that the build quality of this computer is some of the best I have seen and is a joy to use in every respect.

Keep in mind that both the Air and the regular MacBook are currently using very dated processors (they're two generations behind at this point). If you want to be as future-proof as possible, I would stay away from either. If you were thinking about a MacBook, then I would say just go for the 13" MacBook Pro instead. It is slightly more expensive, but it has much more current hardware than the MacBook. If you have your heart set on a MacBook Air, you may want to wait until Lion is released. While Apple has not officially announced any updates, there are some clues out there which suggest there may be an update for the Air. We can't speculate about unannounced products here, but you can Google MacBook Air updates and you'll find lots of comments.

What is future proof? Nothing really... if you keep waiting for the next best thing, you'll never buy anything, that said...

The new MacBook Air models coming out will most definitely come with newer processors. I would like to to point out however that the processor is only one part of the recipe that makes for good performance. The current generation of MacBook Airs has a MUCH faster GPU than many other laptops running a Core i3 or i5 processor. Add in the flash storage and you have a computer that, for the average consumer, will be more than fast enough. Since Apple is supporting the Core 2 Duo for Lion (indeed, many demos of Lion have been shown running on Air), I hope it will be supported for at least the next 4 years. I just retired my original, 1st gen 17" MacBook Pro (2.16 Core Duo) after 5 years of loyal service- it is going to another colleague who will give it a lot of love.

Indeed, if you must have the latest and greatest, I would wait as JoeyR advises, but if you have average computer needs and you can score a deal on one when the new MBA's launch, I'd highly recommend one- this is by far my favorite laptop ever.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a new computer. "Future-proofing" is indeed important, but make sure you also consider how you will use it, where you will use it and if it's overall size/weight have anything to do with your decision. If you look forward to lots of changes (HDD, RAM, video card, etc), then a laptop with user replaceable/upgradeable parts is a wise choice. If a laptop that can handle all you've described above and more and is thin, light, fast and can boot from a cold start in under 12 seconds (instantly from sleep) is what you have in mind-the MBA is your best choice.

My MBA 13 beats the pants off of my old Windows laptop in every consideration, does all I'd like it to do and is pure heaven to use daily.

Sly