Macbook pro 13 too small?

neo2210

neo2210

neo2210

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Was thinking of getting one of these, got the chance to play around with one while doing my xmas shopping and it just looked and felt so small.

Like, unusually small. :confused:

It's a nice machine, but the screen is just tiny, makes me wonder if it's even worth getting one.

The 15" seems a little better size wise, but it's wayy over my budget for a laptop.
I would wait until the refresh and go aheaad and get one, but it seems the older models barely drop in price even then.

This will be my first mac by the way! :eek:
 
Depends what you use the Macbook for. I have a 15" and wouldn't like to go any smaller and I mainly just use it for browsing.

If cost is a problem, check out the refurbished section on the Apple site, good savings to be had.
 
I went from a 24" iMac to a 13" macbook pro. You get used to the screen size. Remember that usually you're closer to the macbook pro than a desktop computer so 13" doesn't seem so bad.

I first purchased a 15" macbook pro but sent it back soon after as I found it to be not as portable as I would have liked and I did not miss the extra resolution at all.
 
I find the screen size on my 13" MBP to be perfect, and as has been said, you get used to it.

It's big enough to be useable and if I want lots of things open I use Spaces. But it's still small enough to be really portable.
 
I'm surfing on a 13" MBP right now and it's fine. I love how portable it is compared to the bigger models. I do set the dock to auto-hide to give me extra screen real estate though.

I've got a desktop machine for anything serious though.
 
Was this in an Apple store? I own a 13" MBP and a few months ago I walked straight up to a 15" MBP in the store because I thought the 13" next to it was the MacBook Air.

Now, that's not me being stupid (although admittedly I could have been paying more attention ) - it's because I've noticed Apple display their products in a way that makes them appear smaller than they are.

The 13" is fine for a laptop. I do miss the vertical resolution when I'm doing "real" work but for general use it's fine in my opinion.
 
im on a 13"macbook now, if its just for web browsing then the screen is fine, just put the dock to the side so you get a bit more screen.

if your only using it for browsing save the pennies and just get a macbook?
 
I've always been used to 13 inch laptops as its between having a netbook and a 15 inch. Netbooks were just too small and 15 inch or higher were just too bulky/big for me. I changed from a Dell XPS M1330 to a MacBook Pro 13 inch and its great ;)
 
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theheyes said:
Was this in an Apple store? I own a 13" MBP and a few months ago I walked straight up to a 15" MBP in the store because I thought the 13" next to it was the MacBook Air.

Now, that's not me being stupid (although admittedly I could have been paying more attention ) - it's because I've noticed Apple display their products in a way that makes them appear smaller than they are.

The 13" is fine for a laptop. I do miss the vertical resolution when I'm doing "real" work but for general use it's fine in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Nah, no apple store where I live (edinburgh), was in john lewis.

I actually done the exact same thing as you, initially thinking the 15" was the 13". :p

Going to be using it for a general portable machine and learning some objective-c programming.
 
I think once you start using something regularly, you quickly become accustomed to the size, big or small. I have a 17" that felt gigantic initially but now seems normal. Similarly I often browse the web without zooming no sweat on a 6" Kindle.
 
This is what prevented me buying a mbp. I was looking to replace my old 17" windows laptop. The only apple laptops that were in my budget were the 13" ones. Too much of a step down for me. So I stayed with windows and bought a 15" machine. Virtually the same spec except a much bigger hard drive (it even has a multi touch trackpad) for half the price of a 15" mbp.
 
I use a 15" Lenovo at work and a 13" 2010 MBP at home, watch movies and stream media from the web is fine.

As it's portable I love using it even more....
 
I personally recently upgraded from a PowerBook G4 15' to a MacBook Pro 13'.

Admittedly, despite a smaller screen this new 13' actually has a higher resolution, but really I don't miss the larger screen size and got used to it straight away.

At the end of the day, it's all down to what you need your laptop for and how you use it. For me 13' is ideal because it's the smallest form factor, weighs the least and I can take it into an office and plug it into a monitor for a larger screen.

If you are going to be using one as a straight up desktop replacement then it probably makes sense to go larger, but as I said it's down to personal preference.
 
No smaller than any other 13inch laptop really is it?

I know the new air has a higher res, but what are most 13inchers running?

End of the day a 13inch laptop is a relatively small laptop, so wouldn't expect it to feel big.

That said I would think it'd be fine for the majority of things, I'm just waiting to see if it's updated with the higher res screen this year before getting one.
 
I have an MBPS 13 and have thought about the 15 for a while. I think that if you are going tdoing a lot of programming on it then the 15 would be better. But if your priority is portability then the 13 is perfect and certainly very usable. I don't carry mind.e around very often but on the that occasions I do, I can put it in my rucksack or bag without noticing it. I think I would miss that portability if I changed.
 
It's the same with anything in a shop, it always looks smaller. Seeing as it's John Lewis, get them to unplug you one, find you an armchair and let you use one with it on your lap. I think then you'll find it's the perfect size. A 15" laptop to me feels too large and unwieldy now.
 
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