Fair enough. I think there are other advantages as well: 1) form factor is still smaller (although a bit chunkier). Frankly I dont want to carry a 12 or 13" laptop. A 10" is all the size I want for portability.
Whats the difference in carrying a 13" laptop if it's the same weight and half as thick?
2) Has all the ports accessible. MBA doesnt even have a accessible ethernet port!
I think the lack of ports is a PRO, not a CON. I haven't used wired internet in years. The future is wireless. Until then, one USB port is enough.
3) Battery life. MBA gets 3 hours maybe. I can easily manage 6+ on my netbook. 4) Removable battery. I dont know why anyone would get a MBA over anything to be honest. A MBP is a much more useful MAC imo
True, battery life is not the MBA's strength (although you should definitely get 4+ hours). I don't see how a MBP is much more useful considering the MBA is about as fast as the entry model 13" MBP (before the refresh, of course)..
I agree the screen resolution could be better although I like widescreen but would rather have 1366x768 which is what most of the newer netbooks come with.
Even with an increase in resolution, I still think 4x3 is ideal on a 10" screen. Most of the time, you are scrolling down, not left to right, am I right? What do you think a widescreen is better for, except watching movies?
Track pad size could be increased width wise even with the same aspect ratio. some netbooks trackpads are aweful like an old acer aspire I had. Mine is ok, esp. since I use a bt mouse with it.
Again, most of the time, we are scrolling down.
NoNoNoNo Netbooks should be capable of doing any task you want to do with them to a point (unless you are a graphics artists who wants to render in 3d). I use mine to surf, download pictures from my video cam, work on excel documents, sync my ipad
while being tethered on my phone (2 usb connections used), remote vnc into home desktop (the workhorse), rip/copy dvds, IM, etc. I even play lotro on my netbook, although it doesnt have the horsepower for doing too much.I even watch video up to 720P resolution although after sometimes that gets a little rough.
Ripping DVDs is slow on my desktop and I don't even do it on my MBA. Tethering your phone could be done wirelessly so there is no reason for an extra port. Everything else, the iPad can do just fine (using Numbers instead of Excel) so why the need for a netbook? I don't know what lotro is though.
I think a netbook should still do other things but keep the focus on making web browsing a more enjoyable experience. An iPad can do other things but Internet and media consumption is its priority and where it really excels.
Screens fine. Its not as vibrant as a MBP screen but thats ok. The netbook is not my primary computer. I have a sweet dual mon win 7 machine at home. My question would be: why spend $1500 for what is essentially a travel laptop, especially when you dont do alot of traveling.
It's still a $15 to, at the very most, $30 screen. If it looks okay to you, then fine. I don't think the MBA is just for traveling. It's a great around the house machine and the thin form factor makes it much more enjoyable than even a MBP for using on the couch or in bed.
Maybe we have different philosophies here but what you think are flaws, I think are pros. Any moving parts on a portable machine is not ideal. The MBA, with an SSD, no optical drive, only 1 USB port (which will be removed when we are able to go completely wireless), is perfect.
Of course, it is more expensive but my argument is that a netbook exists solely because of price. No product in Apple's line up exists because of price. Let's say everything in the Apple Store is priced at $1. There will still be buyers for a MB, MBP, MBA, Mac Mini, iMac, Mac Pro, iPad, iPhone, iPod Classic/Touch/Nano/Shuffle. They all serve different needs.
Let's say everything in the PC world is priced at $1. Would anyone still buy a netbook?
