Apple Underestimates Demand for 13-inch MacBook Air?

[Jeff Campbell]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/23/apple-struggles-to-meet-13-inch-macbook-air-demand-resellers-ra/' target='_blank'>http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/23/appl...d-resellers-ra/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Apple is reportedly struggling to meet consumer demand for the 13-inch MacBook Air, leading some resellers to add hefty premiums to the larger of Apple's ultra-thin notebooks."</em></p><p><img height="251" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1289832145.usr105634.jpg" width="600" /></p><p>Apparently it's only the 3rd party resellers that are having supply issues, you can still get them at your friendly Apple retail store. In several stores called by AppleInsider, only one was out of the 13-inch version. So while it seems they did underestimate the demand, it's not like you can't pick one up at retail prices. After using the 11-inch MacBook Air all these months, I don't think I could really go back to the 13-inch screen. I don't think I would like to sacrifice the compactness of my MBA. If I do want to get a bigger screen, I'll just spend the money on one of those fancy monitors that Apple sells and hook my MBA up to it. What are your thoughts? 11-inch or 13-inch? Remember, bigger isn't always better.&nbsp;</p>

[Michael Knutson]

I've had three MBAs ... old generation 1 @ 13.3-inches, generation 2 @ 11.6-inches, and now generation 3 @ 13-inches. I do like the added screen real estate (and of course the backlit keyboard), but I'm really not using the SD like I thought that I would. So, I could go smaller with no agonizing ... it's easier to lug around (can I use the word lug with this tiny system?) ...

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

11", definitely 11".

[Deslock]

I prefer the 13":

The larger screen area, lower DPI, and higher resolution all make it more suitable for a lot of the work I do.
The trackpad on the 13" is more fun to use, especially for some gestures (though the trackpad on the 11" is still larger than pretty much any non-Apple laptop).
I would probably get used to the trackpad and keyboard being so close together on the 11", but I often rest my fingers between the keyboard and trackpad on the 13".
The smaller form factor on the 11" would mean I'd have to look down more (not quite as ergonomic for my neck).
50 Whr battery = 5-8 hours real world on the 13". With the 35 Whr battery on the 11", I'd be looking at 3.5-5.5 hours, requiring that I carry the power adapter more often (offsetting some of the size and weight advantage).

Having written all that, the 11" is still intriguing because the smaller footprint feel much more portable and I drool at the idea of having an i7 with 256GB SSD in such a tiny package. But the thought of going down to 1366x768 makes me shudder. So I decided the 13" was portable enough.

[karen]

I went for the 13" MBA, too. I really wanted the tiny form factor of the 11", but the added battery life and the fact that I'm no longer a 25 year old meant I wanted the better readability of a larger screen even with the same resolution.

It took me forever to the make the decision. Conventional wisdom is that if you want a tiny laptop, go with the 11 MBA, if you want the 13" screen, go with MBP. But I think the 13 MBA fit the bill as a nice compromise. I'm loving the portability compared to a regular wintel laptop.

As for added monitors, that's almost never and option for me. The laptop is for travelling, visiting clients and speaking engagements. If they do have a spare monitor, it's not usually anything better than a 17" lo res thing with 12 blown pixels. And a flicker :).

This is my first mac and I'm really loving it.