I am looking at getting a new laptop for when I travel. I am torn between two extremes: Macbook Air and the 17" Macbook Pro. Both seem to have huge advantages and disadvantages.

I thought about getting something in between, but I already ruled it out. I wouldn't mind carrying on the Macbook Air, but with anything heavier, I want to check it. If I am going to check my laptop anyways, I might as well get the best performance.

Do any of you experiences with either of these Macbooks?

-Jonathan
http://www.askoncall.com

I have a nice Dell laptop but got sick of carrying it around so I downsized to an Acer Aspire One netbook. Love it

I have a MacBook Pro 15"--I find the 17" to cumbersome for business travel as it does not fit my briefcase. If I was buying one for non-business travel I would get a 13"--less is more when it comes to leisure packing as far as I'm concerned.

Don't want to get into a debate about Apple v. PC--I've used Mac for years and I'm just used to it.

pspercy I was thinking about getting a Acer Aspire One. Glad to hear you are happy with it. any idea what they go for in the States? Still seem quite expensive here (Australia) wondering if we should get one there and deal with the different power cord later????

I love my MacBook Pro 15" for travel -- I use it to download all my pictures each day, so I prefer the larger screen. Plus, the screen is great for watching movies on the plane. The 17" does seem a bit cumbersome for travel, but the 15" is great for me. I would never check my laptop, so not sure this is helpful information to you or not. The weight of the laptop doesn't seem so significant, what with everything else in my carryon (usually a camera or two, books, etc.). Sounds like the biggest consideration is if you want to carry it on or check it, and I guess I'd go with whatever you can carry on!

I travel with my MacBookPro 15", too. It fits in my carryon bag or tote. I looked at the Air but it really isn't that much smaller than my 15" to justify me buying another laptop . I really like how light weight it is though. Hopefully, Apply will come out with something the size of a notebook.

I have to take whatever will go in my carryon as I would be a worry wort if I checked my macbook.

I have a MacBook Air and I love it! I know it's not for everybody, but the lightness makes a big difference to me.

This has been an intersting thread for me. My laptop is HUGE (and heavy) and I could barely even open it on the plane because the seat in front of me was reclining. I opened it enough to transfer my pics from my camera, but couldn't type anything. So frustrating! Told dh our next laptop will be small!!

sorry... (interesting)

We used to travel with a 15" Compaq, but since getting an Asus eeepc 1000HA, 10" (similar to the Acer Aspire One), we travel with nothing else. In fact, I mostly use this one at home, too. It fits in my purse (which is neither small nor huge -- I normally carry only a purse on the plane, although now that I have "real" headphones, I need something larger). FWIW, the processor is a tad slower than a regular laptop processor, but I downloaded a couple of movies from itunes for my last trip across country and they were fabulous (looking, not necessarily content) -- looked like HD even though they weren't, crisp picture and colors, great sound, perfectly synched. I use it for uploading pictures, surfing the net, getting emails and watching movies.

I have an MacAir, and I love it. I bought it after taking a trip to Europe and carrying old laptop and nearly having my shoulder fall off from the weight of it, I immediately changed my travel priorities to lightness. That's not to say that I've sacrificed anything for the MacAir. I use it as my only computer and am totally spoiled by it and its light weight.

aussiedreamer
I paid $199 for a refurbished unit from www.compusa.com , looks new, standard spec, 160GB HD, Windows XP, 1meg RAM etc.

Local WalMart has brand new ones now for about $250.
Have since bought a 9-cell battery upgrade and external Samsung DVD drive but it's all still much smaller than the laptop. We use for travelling etc not for business so smaller screen not a big deal, size & weight are the drivers.

Good hunting

woh, thanks. $800 here is the best I can do!!!!!!
18 hours 'till we leave

do most of you use a lap top at home?We are thinking of going from a desktop to a laptop. DH has a desk top upstairs and we are chained to a desk downstairs as well. I was considering going to a mac intosh laptop for everyday use for me and the teenagers. I was considering the 15 inch as well. 17 is too expensive. 15 is too expensive, but I think that it might be the better size. My eyes are aging. The 13 is too small. What is your opinion? You all seem to love the macs. We have never had them, but dell computer seem to crash every two years. Sick of it.

They do have "Netbooks" now which are meant only for surfing, e-mails and chat. If you are buying a laptop just for traveling and not for work that might be ideal because they're small.

girlonthego: "do most of you use a lap top at home?"

Laptops are about a generation behind desktops, if you are buying a computer for the home, and you have space, a desktop would be (in my opinion) a better option.

generation behind as far as what?

I don't understand either.

girlonthego, I didn't think I would like switching to a laptop but I really enjoy my 15" MacBook Pro. I can work anyplace in the house and it's not too large to take with me on trips. I still have my desk computer for photo work. The screen is quite large. The 17" is nice but was too heavy to carry to the coffee shop or on trips for me.

I've been a Mac owner for many years and no crashes. I did knock the key off of my keyboard once and they replaced my entire keyboard. For free.