After using this laptop for two months now I am convinced that this laptop was the right choice. It was inexpensive (after seriously considering the rMBP), and it fit all my criteria except the HD display, but the pixel density is the sam as a 15" 1080p. The MacBook Air became the obvious choice.
2012 APPLE MACBOOK AIR PRO
At first I was looking at the retina MacBook Pro but as this was only an out-and-about laptop, I found I couldn't justify the cost. When I first started shopping for a laptop I knew exactly what I needed just not what laptop would fit my needs great battery life, backlit keyboard, usb 3.0, great graphics, weight was important but not vital, an HD display, NO DVD drive (I cant stomach them, so much wasted space). I bought this laptop around 6 months ago to bring to take to lectures and do work in the library. For me I was curious about OSX and running Windows in a VM was a good trade out. At that point operating system will make the difference. Runner up was Lenovo Yoga and 3rd Lenovo X1. Don't even hesitate, get 8 Gig and the Macbook Air will be a satisfying computer for the next couple of years and will have a much better resale value if needed.I am impress and satisfied.
2012 APPLE MACBOOK AIR UPGRADE
This mean next OSX upgrade will more than likely need more RAM. I noticed way too often 4 gig of memory usage only doing Xcode and Safari browsing. I do strongly recommend an upgrade to 8 Gig of ram. It really feel snappy mainly thanks to the SSD. I use it mainly at home and for university. It still amaze me, how responsive and fun the macbook air is. But I got used to the lesser screen (comparer to retina 15" rMBP) and now really enjoy the product.For me OSX is new experience and I have no regret getting a jump in it with the Macbook air 13". I was mainly fearing the non retina and smaller 13.3 inch screen. For me, saving more than 1000$ for a stable product (Macbook Air) was a better choice. The macbook retina screen may worth the extra money, but not the image retention problem associated with it. But after 3 months, I truly feel this Macbook Book Air 13" is an awesome computer. Took me 2 week to get used back to a non-retina screen. Microsoft software developer (C#).I originally purchased a retina Macbook Pro 15" but returned it because of the image retention problems everyone was facing.