Macbook Air: the thinnest notebook ever, based on Flash-memory (still there's a HDD-version), featuring a 13,3" screen and a 1.6 GHz Intel Core-Duo inside.
It's undeniably beautiful. It's unbelievably thin. But:
- Costs $3000 and has the same specs as a PC laptop for $1000
- No DVD-drive. If you want to install some software, rip CDs or watch DVDs - get an add-on drive for another $100
- Only one USB-port which is too little these days.
- No Ethernet, No Firewire, No Audio-input... But you can get an adapter for all that. For instance, an Apple USB-to-Ethernet adapter for $30. But you won't be able to use Ethernet and DVD simultaneously (see #3).
- Only 1.6 GHz which is a bit slow. But I've read that Apple even coaxed Intel into reworking their Core 2 Duo processor to be 60% smaller, just for the Macbook Air.
- RAM is un-expandable. Stick to the default 2GB.
- Nothing is replaceable. The battery is not user-replaceable, nor is HDD (if you choose a HDD-version). So if the battery dies in 2 years, you’ll be taking your notebook to Apple to replace it.
Yes, you pay more for smaller size, but who, exactly, is this product for? It's not a "subnotebook", but it fails to be a regular notebook.
8 comments:
do u know that $3000 price tag is for the version of MacBook Air having the 64 GB Solid State Drive? Adding the same 64 GB SSD to a dell laptop will cost $750 extra. Come on, please be a bit more honest in your comparison.
Yes the battery is not instantly snap-in replaceable but from reports the battery seems to be screwdriver accessible. If so, there will be a healthy third party array of replacements. iPod batteries are supposedly not a user task either, yet there are many iPod batteries for sale. Don't come to conclusions before it is in the hands of the public.
If you want all those features or abilities buy a MacBook or a MacBook Pro. It's fairly obvious what market they are targeting, who will use it and how. If you haven't figured that out by know you need to hang it up.
The $2000 price premium is for the coolness the user gets by association with this product. The fact that in two years you might have problems replacing the battery, those that buy bleeding edge tech will be replacing this (by then) clunky laptop by that time so they won't care.
It is not easy being on the bleeding edge. In fact it can be painful. Some of these people are like junkies and Apple will tend to abuse them at times because the junky has nowhere else to go.
Kind of a lame title. I'll probably not buy an MBA but nor will I buy a MacBook or a Mac Pro. The MacBook Pro 17" suits me. However, those other fine machines are probably great for various other people.
The idea that you could buy a PC with specs like this for $1000 is just wrong.
Try looking at dynamism.com for pricing of small Japanese computers.
Panasonic W7, 2.6lbs, 1.06 GHz core 2 duo, $2200
Panasonic Y7, 3.3lbs, 14.1 inch display, 1.6GHz core 2 duo, 1GB memory, $2300.
Both of those come with DVD drives. The point is that there are similar machines which have some better good points (includes DVD drive) and which have some lesser specs (1.06GHz CPU, 1GB RAM).
The MacBook Air has price and specifications in line with those of other small computers.
Having lived 9 years in Japan I understand that US people don't put as much value on thin and light as do Asians and Europeans. I think it is partly because we travel so much by car. If you had to schlep everything around 12 hours a day you'd really start to appreciate something like an MBA after a month or so. I would have absolutely loved to have had a machine like this when I lived in Japan.
I want a subnotebook to be light and SMALL. The MacBook Air is light enough but has a huge footprint. One of my favorite subnotebooks, the Toshiba Libretto, was the size of a videocassette and could be carried anuwhere. I was ready to buy an Anpple subnotenook (I love OS X) with a 7"-10" screen, but when this was announced, I bought an iPod Touch instead for portable web browsing. I can live with 2GB of RAM max, evn wirh a small hard drive, certainly with no optical drive to add size and weight, but the battery is a non-starter. On the road. you have to be able to carry a second battery to swap in quickly The lack of ports is ridiculous in a machine at this price point.
Empathy seems to be in short supply with the Air. So many reviews by people who say, "It isn't for me so I have trouble believing it can be for anyone."
I only represent a single data point but I have to say it is perfect for me.
1. It will not cost me $3000. I have no problem with the price.
2. I don't care that there is no DVD drive in the machine
3. Only need 1 USB port.
4. Likewise don't need Firewire, Ethernet or Audio input
5. I don't need performance so what was considered great a year or two ago is fine.
6. 2GD RAM fine
7. The battery can be replaced in about 2 minutes, even by an amateur.
Why will I buy it? I will be travelling for three hours a day on the train and carrying a number of heavy books. I don't need any extra weight.
I don't loke the Air, but this post is just silly. The whole idea of a subnotebook is to be small and light. Leaving out the optical drive is an obvious way to do this, and since you can load software or even boot from a remote drive, this shouldn't be a problem. In fact, it is the lack of an oprical drive that defines a machine as a subnotebook.
Saying that you can get a full sized notebook with better specs cheaper is meaningless. You can get a desktop with better specs than a laptop cheaper, duh! You pay a premium for small size and light weight with similar power. Look at the prices of the small and light Sony laptops, for example.
The 13" screen is not too small, it's too BIG. The smaller a laptop is, the more you can carry it. I would prefer 7-10 inches.
Amazingly, you managed to miss the biggest problem with the Air - that you can't just swap in a second battery. Any travel laptop must have this capability. I would like to have Ethernet and FireWire, but the battery is the showstopper for me.
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