13" MacBook Air vs Pro comparison is actually very balanced
Comparing the MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro is actually very balanced. For 1.389 EUR I can get the 'basic' MacBook Air 13" with 4 GB RAM upgrade. The 'basic' MacBook Pro 13" with 128 GB SSD (so we can compare apples to apples - no pun intended) would set me back 1.464 EUR. Comparing specs (Air first, then Pro):
- same in both cases are 4 GB DDR3 RAM, 128 GB SSD (Air one directly on the mboard) and NVidia 320 graphics using 256 MB onboard (plus some minor stuff)
- 1.86 Ghz CoreDuo with 6MB L2 cache / 2.4 Ghz CoreDuo 3MB L2 cache (Pro 29% higher clockspeed)
- 1.32 kg weight / 2.04 kg weight (Pro weighs 55% more - though SSD may reduce this a bit)
- 1440x900 / 1280x800 resolution screen (Air 27% has more pixels)
- 7 hours battery / 10 hours battery
- 2 USB & 1 SD / 2 USB, 1 SD, 1 FireWire, 1 Ethernet
- no SuperDrive / SuperDrive
- no illuminated keyboard / illuminated keyboard
- instant-on (from 30-day standby) / ?? (can the Pro do this with SSD?)
In real-life use I wouldn't think that, with all other parts (RAM, graphics, SSD, etc.) being equal and the Air actually carrying twice the L2 cache, the performance difference would amount to more than 10-15% in favour of the Pro. In addition the Pro gets the very useful benefit of 3 hours extra battery time. However, to get this you carry around substantially more weight (low weight being the entire point of this type of 'super portable') and are stuck with an inferior screen (and in this screen size you extra pixels do matter). I think this is a pretty even trade-off - really depends what you want to use it for. But for general purpose 'leisure' use I think the Air has the edge. Instant-on is also a big selling point for me, but I'm not sure a Pro with SSD won't (with software update?) also be able to pull this off?
As for the other differentiators, whether any of those matters is really a personal thing. But I'm probably not alone in saying FireWire and Ethernet, on a laptop, are meaningless to me. As for the SuperDrive, the only time I still use CD/DVDs is when I pick up a bargain basement game or record in the shops, and I can still load/rip those via my iMac or W7 work laptop. In fact I can't recall any situation in the past 7 years where I needed a CD/DVD player on the road (and I work in client offices 3/4th of my time). Plus with the cash you save you can buy a spare drive or dongle for the above anyway. Which leaves just the illuminated keyboard - me I hate using computers in low light (kills my eyes) and type blind anyway.
All of this of course ignoring the actual design of these things - both have their strong points but I think most people would favour the Air (I certainly do).
Disclaimer: I ordered that 1.389 EUR 13" AIr the day it became available, and I hadn't even known it was coming until I read about it on TheReg. Had been looking at the Pro for a long time, but there were small points holding me back - not enough portability and for that kind of money, not quite sexy enough basically (yes - this type of device *is* a lifestyle choice, I will have this laying around in my living room every day and want something 'nice' - something my wife is also enthusiastic about and something I feel good about every time I pick it up). The iPad on the other hand then is way too crippled/restricted for my liking, plus when I actually gave it 5 seconds of thought I quickly figured out that a laptop form factor is *much* better for relaxed use (sits on lap, hands resting on keyboard) than a wrist-(s)training tablet.