Apple MacBook Air Announced at MacWorld '08

wow...with SSD it's 3300 CND. that is just ridiculous

I dunno, most people I know don't use sleeves. My Hp nc8430 cost ~2000 and it always goes inside a bag bareback. Those notebook bags are huge and completely unnecessary.

 

It is worth the $699 (not 799 as you said) to get this over an MB or MBP, because to some people it is worth every penny to get the smallest and lightest notebook they can. Granted, I think they'd still be better off getting something else, but I guess this is one of the few 3lb machines that use a decently powered C2D (the ULV processors are dirt slow, truly).

 

I think this is a little ahead of its time, and really, not for the majority of users.

This MacBook Air looks to be targeted not to the majority of users, but for the small market of highly-mobile professionals who don't mind paying a bit more. They need a thin, lightweight and powerful notebook, and that is what the MacBook Air is...an ultraportable that happened to stuff in a 13.3-inch display while still keeping its light weight.

Also, this is great for as a secondary computer for people that have a desktop computer as well. If I had a powerful desktop PC to rely on at home/office when I need to, I'd love a lightweight and thin notebook to carry around to say clients or on flights. Primary computer? The MacBook Air would not be my primary computer.

And yeah, the lack of a second USB port is bugging me, mainly because my external hard drive requires two USB ports. Apple did note that there are "alternatives" now, such as using Time Capsule to back up, but still, I'd rather have a second USB port as well.

I see lots of great things with this new MacBook Air, but of course, some flaws as well.

 

I'm not buying it!!! I wanted an X61t w/SXGA+ screen before I found out it falls apart faster than Britney Spears. The things I like about the MBA are the weight, thinness, LED backlight, lit keyboard, and non ULV processor.

 

most people who want an ultraportable will still go w/ the tz because of the smaller footprint

 

OK. I'm going to summarize why the TZ is a better deal. You can search the Internet for one that costs only slightly more than the Macbook Air:

- more USB ports
- upgradable memory
- replaceable battery (+ option of having an extended high capacity battery)
- DVD-RW drive
- weighs less
- smaller in footprint
- more ports that does not require any adapters
- higher screen resolution (16:9, 1366 x 768)
- more battery life (I can say this w/ confidence since Macbook Air's 5 hr is manufacturer claim, real world only 3-4hrs)
- if you are willing to pay, WWAN

Even though the TZ has more battery life, one thing it does sacrifice is performance. It also runs on Vista, if you find that as a downside.

 

Yes you'd want one, but then wait...Whats this? You wouldn't be able to use your 30 inch display with it? oh that sucks

 

Highly-mobile professionals? You're kidding right? They'd much prefer Thinkpad since it has been proven time and time again that businesses love to buy these in bulk for their employees...

The Macbook Air is a flashy, consumer notebook that requires an additional adapter to hook up to a projector. It has no docking station options and has only one USB port. I don't see this as a business notebook at all....

 

Looks nice, but I would be way too afraid of breaking it in two to take it anywhere.

 

Ever since the announcement, all I'm seeing here are Thinkpad zealots trying to justify their oh-so-perfect, unbreakable Thinkpads. Yeah, everyone should get a Thinkpad. Can we discuss about the MBA without actually bringing in non-relevant Thinkpads like the T61?

 

I agree with jsis both about why the TZ is better and why the MBA is not a business notebook. And Sammy, this isn't an ultraportable with a 13.3" screen stuffed into it, its a 13.3" notebook thats been hacked down to ultraportable thickness and weight.

I will say though, seen as an engineering feat, the MBA is absolutely amazing. Also, its the closest thing thus far to the Intel Metro PC concept notebook that was shown at CES last year.

 

There are quite a few complaints about only having 1 USB port... If you use a bluetooth mouse I don't see why one is not enough when you're "on the move". At home you could always connect all your devices to a simple hub.

Anyway you can get v. small 2way/4way hub to carry with you.

 

Sam, I agree with you on many aspects and while it is light and very thin, an ultraportable it is not. If you judge an ultraportable solely by the weight, then one would have to include a notebook like the Panasonic Let's Note (Toughbook) Y7, which weighs approx. 3.3 lbs (depending on configuration). However it has a 14.1 inch screen (with thin bezels, thank God) and hence the foot print would, just like the MacBook not classify as an ultraportable. It has to be both light and small. And I'm not just saying this only due to semantics, but rather for me an ultraportable needs to be small enough to fit in some of my small bags. The MacBook Air will not.

Now if they'd make a 10"-12" notebook using the same design (hopefully with a thin bezel) I'd call it an ultraportable and probably buy one myself. On second thought... only if Apple would reduce their marketing hype.

 

And DVD RW, and more USB ports, and 3G and replaceable batteries.... the list goes on.

 

meh...the only things this has going for it are the backlit kb, neato touchpad, and the fact that it runs osx. everything else blows.

who cares if its insanely thin? what situations do you get into where you need such thinness? not as many as where you need things like ports, drives, card slots and replaceable batteries.

 

Its not an ultraportable!!!! *turns blue yelling*

 

*starting to asphyxiate*

Its not an ultraportable!!! It fails horribly on possibly the most important definition of an ultraportable - its footprint. Would we call an incredibly thing 15 or 17" ultraportable? No. So why this with its footprint thats bigger than a standard MacBook?

Sorry if I'm beginning to sound like a broken record but as someone who owns an ultraportable and uses it every day of their life I think I'm entitled to put forward what I'm sure many owners feel is the defining feature of an ultraportable along with high battery life.

 

I'm with you all the way (along with an army of true ultraportable followers)

 

i think everyone would like it a lot more if it was a 12" screen

 

well the sz has a terrible processor compared to the mba. but the sz has integrated optical drive. but is thicker. plus that is beside the point because the mba is meant to be a pure wireless machine unlike the sz. so you should not compare. these are two totally different animals. sorry

 

i think you meant tz, not sz

and the tz is still better.

 

Can you tell me one notebook these days that doesn't have wireless ????

 

Oh come on...all I wanted was a 14.1" MacBook Pro with a 8600GT (GDDR3) is that so much to ask for? ...I mean this thing is alright but it would be at the end of my shopping list if I was looking for a 13.3" notebook.

 

Because Apple doesn't have the market share or sales numbers to make so many models yet. Apple is no Dell or HP, they don't sell that high a number of computers compared to them...they can't have a lineup of 10 Macs for every category, as there's not enough buyers to fulfill the cost of research, design and production.

 

anyone else like apple's awesome strategy?:

"let's take away all the features of the notebook that everyone needs, give it something really mesmerizing yet trivial like thinness and then sell all the features back to them at extra cost! brilliant!"

 

At first when I read this I thought you were joking. But wow. Apple is number 3 in US market share behind only Dell and HP. Competitors below Apple like Toshiba, Sony and others have been making many different models for years. They have more than 18 billion in cash reserves. If they wanted to make more machines they could. Easily.

But we know that's not how they do things, they prefer to have machines that broadly cover market segments like the imac, and macbooks. It seems to be working.

 

Here's something that seems oddly little-mentioned on these pages:

The 13.3" MacBook (and the MBPs for that matter) already have major heat problems. The CPU on all these MacBooks in my uni idles about 10-15C higher than the one on my ThinkPad T61, which itself runs rather warm. How is Apple ever going to cool this thing sufficiently? And with it being so thin, any and all heat will go straight through the keyboard/touchpad and into the users hands! How on earth is that a good idea? Not to mention the basic concept that you're paying more for less here - I could get a Dell XPS M1330 with longer battery life, same LED screen, dedicated graphics, much faster processor, an optical drive, 3 times as many USB ports and a whole passel of other ports, and better heat dissipation with the same (if not smaller) footprint for less money! Yeah, shaving off a pound and a half is really worth it! This machine has "epic fail" written all over it from the start.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot "much larger, much faster hard drive" under the M1330's advantages. And "integrated WWAN." Silly me, this MacBook is certianly looking better all the time.

 

LOL only a st***d person who wants to overclock this thing

 

I'm amazed that with all this ranting about how this isn't innovation and how people need optical drives and numerous USB ports, nobody has been able to actually pin point the only real flaw about this computer: The lack of EDGE/EVDO/3G/HSDPA. The whole point about this computer is that it's supposed to get all its resources wirelessly. If you want to connect a mouse: Bluetooth. If you want to connect a printer: WIFI. If you want to connect a DVD-burner: WIFI. If you want to do a backup: WIFI. There is almost nothing this computer can't do if you just spend a little extra cash on a wireless printer and other accessories, except perhaps connecting to firewire video cameras, but you wouldn't want to use a thin notebook for that. The only REAL flaw is that it can't connect to any mobile networks without connecting a USB adapter first. That's really bad when the whole point is a lightweight, wireless computer. It's like advertising a 4WD car, except the car only has three wheels.

 

I think this machine is getting a lot of negative feedback simply because it's not for everyone. Not everyone needs an optical drive. Not everyone needs 8 USB ports. Not everyone needs dual SLI graphics cards. The MacBook Air will do what it's supposed to very well: be a thin, light, portable machine suitable for e-mail, internet browsing, word processing, etc, in a professional and stylish package. But I think the $1K premium for the SSD is insane...common Apple. It's better not to offer it at all at that price! You could buy a whole other notebook.

 

I was unaware that Laptops wer epart of the animal kingdom. Anyways, are you joking? please say you are. Any notebook you buy has wireless and can do all the trash that the macbook Air can do, but some things can't be done wirelessly like lets see umm external hard drive with a fast transfer speed (not wirlesss trash ones) and some people enjoy having evertything build in like an optical drive and monitor output so you dont have 6 thousand accessories. Also, the sony Tz is both smaller, lighter, and older. Just stop trying to defend mac when you don't know what you are talking about. Thanks

 

I have never understood the EMO hatred of Apple. Each platform has its uses and I will continue to own and use both. I love to see Apple succeed, because as much as you hate their prices, their innovations give many the power to create something they otherwise couldn't.

I read every page of this thread and see a lot of the same criticisms, many of which are valid, though I don't think we are looking at a "miss" on the order of a Cube here. In my opinion:

PROS:
- LED backlit screen
- OSX, its polish and usability now and for looming home AV/Internet integration
- Touchpad features and backlit keyboard
- Seemingly high battery life

CONS:
- Sloped, asymmetrical shape (I like simple boxy designs)
- Huge bezel (engineering reasons for sure, think Nintendo DS first release)
- Slowwwwww HD
- Ridiculous price for the SSD upgrade
- Big footprint, I just don't see thin as that great of a benefit

The single USB is fine and the lack of optical doesn't bother me per se, but I would rather see them come out with something along the lines of eeePC, maybe 8-10" that runs OSX and has LED, awesome battery, new mobile Intel powersaver chip etc. This thing has an audience though and will sell a bit, but I think it ultimately misses the mark and they just had to release it now and go back to the drawing board.

 

Paul,

Your PROS are a bit out of line.

OSX is so so so not polished and usable as hyped
Touchpad with 1 button, c'mon its 2008
High Battery? We'll see. I doubt it
LED Screen -> SZ have it, Dells have it, so nothing 'premium' about it.

 

also, I don't really see any innovation in this product. sure, its thing, but everythign else it has is quite outdated or just bad. 1 usb, no oitical drive, terrible hd, can't even use a 30 inch monitro and it goes on. Also, their so-called innovation of this product came directly from sony from the looks of it so...

 

I haven't said much here, but I'm going to mostly withhold judgment on this MacBook Air until I can get my hands on one (which is on order). On paper I'm quite skeptical of this notebook and my experience with the Sony X505 taught me keyboards tend to suck pretty badly on ultra thin notebooks (no travel to the keys and mushy), so I'm scared for that. The multi-touch does look cool.

I'll also say this, there's a notebook release coming next month that is similar to this MacBook Air but from another and rather unexpected company, and it's definitely better than the Air in many regards yet shares some of its best features. Keep an eye out for possibly the best notebook ever (IMHO) arriving towards the end of Feb. 2008

 

please restrain from making personal attacks toward other members. let's also remember that it's OKAY for people to have different opinions and priorities about what they want for a notebook.

 

And you also pay high price for it... Brilliant !!!!

 

^intel's metro? i can only dream

 

Good strategy of keeping us coming back to NBR huh ?
Just kidding, I'll look forward to that, I can't for all the notebooks come out before I make my purchase.

 

OSX is pretty darned good. I bop back and forth between various windows flavors, Redhat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Solaris, AIX and OSX every day. If I had to choose only one, it would be OSX. Then again, I know unix, so to me Windows is fundamentally lame. If windows is all you know, then anything else is painful.

The Macbook Air is not for me, but it is priced a lot lower than I expected, and is in line with the Sony TZ and Panasonic Y7 and W7. The panasonics get the nod for battery life, but I think they use ULV chips and will be slower; they are very cool laptops.

 

I get a kick how alot of people want to compare the MBA to mainstream notebooks. Some don't realize that it is not a mainstream machine. It is meant for a certain target audience, and not for the majority of the population. If someone looks at the features of the MBA and scoffs at the price then they are just showing their ignorance (hopefully not stupidity). When you compare the MBA with similar machines (ultra-portable/ultralight) will see that the price is very competitive.

It wasn't so long ago that $3K didn't get you much. I believe alot of people here are looking for the best bang for the buck. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. Hell I'm using a refurb machine myself. To them $1800 is just crazy money. To others $1800 is a small price to pay for a machine that is always ready to go wherever you are. And that applies to any ultraportable machine. I have saved my skin multiple times by having a notebook and WWAN with me.

 

It must be a new Package Bell.

Leopard works quite well. I'm not using as my main OS at the moment, but for the most part it does work better than Vista.

I'm am intrigued by the MBA and I'll definitely take a look at one when they show up at the local Apple Store. If I'm impressed enough I may take one home. The Pany's are quite nice machines, but the one thing that I've always had an issue with is that they are quite chunky. Between the massive battery (explains the battery life) and the durable case they are too thick for my taste. The displays on the Toughbooks sucks serious a$$ as well.

 

Yeah, yeah, and what do you say about Apple advertising the MBP everywhere and having it in display at Apple store and best buy ? Also, there is nothing about the MBP that makes it "targeted for a certain audience". Build quality ?? no. Features ? no, Mac OS??? everyone Mac computer has the Mac OS...
but yeah, it's targeted people who have money to pay the premium price for the look

 

amazed at the rate this thread is growing wow
apples definately created a stir
im sre it has its lovers and its hater

i acctually think tht the multitouchfeature is truly innoative
the laptop is damn thin too
yes it does look like one of sonys concepts but then again.....
for me 1USB port isnt enough hile on the road aand detest carrying aroud a usb hub whereever i go
and the no inbuilt otical drive is a killer for me
if they only made a slot loading one
tht backlit keyboard is awsum!!
LEARN SONY TZ LEARN
well atleast some manufacturers would now put in their efforts to come on par
just my two cents

 

Yes and I am sure all 10 of them will be happy...

Basically you are paying $1800 for an overpriced internet device. Which it is not even fully capable of being due to its lack of built in data network support. And without expansion slots you will never get it. I think what is bothering most people is that there seemingly is not an overwelming demand for something like this other then the fact that Apple is relying on its name simply to garner hype and sales. If I want an ultraportable I would probably be looking towards the 12" screen market and yes I may end up paying more but I would have a more full featured device, which would include silly things like optical device (which many people still use even if it is to simply watch a movie or something there is not exactly a demanding market for portable computers without optical drives)

More then 1 USB drive which becomes important when you jettison every. single. port. drive. off your computer. it has no express card slot making the USB port even more valuable, it has no ethernet, no modem, no card reader. So yes I can buy all those special things from apple (which is probably their whole pan anyways) nickel and dime me until I have a useful machine then find hey I can only use one of those items at any given time.

A huge footprint. A 13.3" screen can be fine but not if you are going to but a 1.5" border around the entire edge so the foot print is larger then your own 13.3" MacBook which is cheaper and certainly more full featured.

The lockdown on the battery is unnecessary and a lame attempt at grabbing more money.

So who is this for? If a person wants a Mac and simply wants a to do internet surfing and word processing they would probably be better served using the much cheaper MacBook. If a person is looking for an ultra portable then its too large for them which is only made worse that apple had a small 12" laptop before that it seems they have abandoned now in this new intel generation. If a person wants a machine that can connect anywhere they are wirelessly there are tons of other laptops out there that can do it and do it cheaper. I think the market for this is the Apple lover who and wooed by the prettiness of the device and chooses to ignore its many shortcomings and whom I believe will join the Mac Cube fan club.

 

1. We're discussing the MBA (Macbook Air) not the MBP (Macbook Pro).
2. Actually, Apple doesn't advertise the MBP as much as the MB (Macbook). You'll see many more ads on TV and in print media for the MB. Rarely do you see an ad for the MBP. In Apple Stores and in BB the MB is displayed very prominently.
3. Every manufacturer, regardless of what they produce, has a target audience for what they plan on selling. It's one of the most important aspects when developing a business plan to sell something. If you ever go to a bank or venture capitalist to lobby for funding for a product one of the first things they are going to ask is who are you going to sell this to? Price, features, and asthetics will dictate who the target audience will be in this particular instance. It's like comparing a Porsche 911 to a Ford Mustang. Both will get you where you need to go and both are nice looking machines. But you and I both know which one is the premium product. You don't have to put up neon signs and go door to door espousing the virtues of the Porsche. People just know which one they would pick if given the opportunity.

 

+1 congo
jus remebered the nokia N800 internet tablet!!
somewhat in the same category i presume

 

I misread your post, so I take back my words.
But still, the MBA looks like for kids than for anyone to use. What's the point of sacrificing many features for just the weight? Who is so weak that can't carry a machine with some pounds heavier but has everything they want. I still can't see who is the audience of the MBA. It's also more breakable than any other notebooks.

edit: now I see, a lot apple fanboys will buy it and claim that it's the best notebook again. , another industry revolution

 

LOL! I remember not too long ago the cry's from people that the iPhone wouldn't sell. Obviously, the MBA is not an iPhone, but I think it will do quite nicely. I'm sure you were just kidding.

You have some good points. I think the MBA really fits in a tight demographic besides the usual fanatics that will buy anything Apple. If you ever take the train or a short haul flight you'll see alot (and I mean alot) of business smucks (a category into which I unfortunately fall) carrying on their work on the smaller portable machines. You see alot of Thinkpad X series for example. These machines are one spindle machines, because rarely do you need a CD drive for these instances. They do have ethernet, but where do you plug it in? Most likely the only input device that will be used is the one that is built in (lack of space dictates that). Realistically, how many USB ports does a person need while on the go?

I think Apple is really targeting people that are on the go (no kidding huh?) not people sitting at their desks. People that are always moving and keep their tidy lives wrapped up in their computers will see some benefit in the MBA. As the world becomes more and more independent from wires the MBA and devices like it will become more mainstream. The MBA and similar devices will help drive change in that direction. To be honest, people are still going to need full feature devices. It would be very hard to replace such machines at least in the near term. As WiFi continues to grow and services such as WiMax become more readily available we will be less tied down with cables and physical media. That time isn't here yet, but give it a few years.

 

:yes:
and it will be a nice surprise.