Woe Is the Apple Geek

TL;DR I need a laptop recommendation… skip the ramble section and help me decide.

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I purchased an iPad last October.  Loved it.  Didn’t know what my use for it would be prior to purchasing it, and managed to find some pretty good spots for it after I did.  It is my primary data consumption device, though it is admittedly poor at any sort of composition efforts.  I watch videos and baseball, read, play a few games, check email and Twitter, and generally ingest the internet through the device.  Tried writing a blog post once, and it worked OK, but I definitely had to do some post-formatting on it.

I’ve also owned a 17″ HP laptop since 2008.  The thing is a mammoth, heavy, and non-Apple… therefore, I detest it.  Seriously though, it’s extremely poor at fitting into my workflow, and I feel like wherever I take it, I can’t get anything accomplished simply because I don’t have any of the tools on that machine that I desire to use.

Early this week, I had a gentlemen offer to buy the HP, on one condition; I also had to sell him the iPad.

I now have a conundrum.  There’s nothing that I want more right now than to unload this piece.  By the same token, I really do like my iPad, but I’m honestly not sure if I would miss it in my workflow.  I’ve left it at home/in my bag the past couple of days, and the only things I’ve used it for is my alarm clock and to watch baseball.  Both are things that I can do with other products I currently own.

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So, dear readers, here are my options:

1) Purchase a new iPad ($499).  I will unload both items regardless, because as I said, I want this laptop gone.  But I could always go out and purchase a new iPad to replace the one I missed.  Still making a considerable sum of money, more than I asked originally for the laptop.

2) Buy a MacBook ($1,039).  Not really a fan of this option.  While it does have quite a bit of power, I’ve never been a fan of the plastic-like case.  Seems like a toy.

3) Buy a MacBook Pro ($1,789).  a) too expensive, b) I don’t need all that power.

4) Buy a MacBook Air ($1,339).  I lose a bit of power and a few features, but I gain a sleek, fast computer that does exactly what I need it to do, and nothing more.

I’m leaning, in order, to 4, 1, 2, and 3.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about the MB Air, and first-hand accounts that even the high-power-requirement things (like Photoshop) that I would want to run would work just fine.  It offers me portability, speed and a good battery life.

If it were your decision, which would you pick?