Which one is better for me? MacBook Pro or MacBook Air?

Hi, I am about to start graduate school and my PC laptop has been giving me some trouble for quite some time. So I figured it was time to get a new one for school. I've keep hearing about how good the macbooks are and decided to try one today. I fell in love! However, now stands the question of which one is better for me, the Pro or the Air?

I plan to use the laptop for the following things (which I divided into two categories):

School work:
-Word
-Excel
-Power Point presentations
-Data analysis on SPSS and similar programs for data analysis (I expect heavy work with this tool)
-Storage of documents, research papers, articles (will probably need adobe for pdf files right?)
-Would definitely like to be able to print (can't remember the different between the two regarding the amount of USB ports and not sure if it even matters that much for this)

Some entertainment:
-I don't plan to have cable so i'd like to be able to watch movies/tv shows on my laptop without any issues about speed (perhaps plug it to my TV through HDMI adpter)
-Storage of photos and videos (I do like to play around with these, as in edit them, sometimes).
-Storage of music (kinda hoping I can somehow transfer all of the music from my current laptop into the new one)
-I play piano so sometimes I like to store music sheets found online

I know the Air is lighter, but is the Pro that heavy? I think I might be carrying it around frequently when in school but I won't be walking too far with it. Who knows, it might stay at home most of the time. Anyways, I would really appreciate any input that you may have.

Thanks!

Answer
Mac

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3 Answers from the Community

  • Best Answer

    Personally, I would recommend the Macbook Pro. You're paying a premium for the weight of the unit if you go with the Air. Another disadvantage to the Air is that you don't have a CD/DVD drive. All things considered, the MacBook Pro appears to be a much better buy for the $. I bought the 13.3" one last week and am very pleased thus far.

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  • "-Data analysis on SPSS and similar programs for data analysis (I expect heavy work with this tool) "

    MacBook Pro. Definitely.

    The MacBook Air, while a good laptop, does not have the 'idea' processing powers to make this task less painless.

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  • Just a side note about watching movies on your TV with your Mac: with Apple TV and airplay you don't need to plug in. Pull up any video on your Mac, iPad, or iPhone and send it straight to the TV. At $99 Apple TV is a great deal for those of us who no longer feel the need for cable TV or buying DVDs, and you can access all your content on every device. Just my little plug for apple.

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    4 of 9 people found this useful

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