First Look at the MacBook Air

[OS X Dude]

well its obvious this won't be used by anyone to replace their everyday computer...I personally don't know why people would owe two personal computers I'd rather have one single computer with everything organized:..having said that I think people would buy this as a mere luxury or because they are morally tied to the appple brand. Its obvious why most of us are dissapointed ; we are all geeks that depend on the most complicated comptuting needs to make us satisfied. This laptop only offers basic and as much as we say no it has its target and it would sell, even though its expensive as hell. I know lots of people who know nothing about a computer or even how to turn on...i think this is perfect for those. Sometimes computing becomes too complicated for the most simplistic things like surfing the net.

And these technophobes would happily pay £1200 on a machine that they don't know how to work, or just use to surf the net?

More than anything, the price is wrong. I say they either should have done an EeePC type thing (similar specs and pricepoint, for use as secondary computer/one for casual users) or made the existiing MacBook thinner.

MacBook Air's tagline:
"The Cube. Remade for '08."

 

[NEiMac]

The people who will buy this thing are business people who carry lots of stuff with them and could benefit from the lighter weight, and yuppies that have to much money and no common sense. THat being said it would look cool next to my iMac, it never will though. THe one thing that impresses me about it is this is a great look at what Macbooks will look like in the future I think.

 

[Kabeyun]

This is either the stupidest or most confused post in this thread. Why didn't you just compare the MBA to other things that are completely different?

Here are just a few more things that the MBA is not:
racehorse
apple (you know, the kind you eat)
sock
space station
run-flat tire
open-air football stadium
contact lens

Please, feel free to use these to rant some more about one product available for you to purchase. If you want to. (esp the stadium, it's way too thin to be one! damn Apple)

Oh and, I'm pretty sure Lenovo has never put a Firewire port in a computer. You may want to look up iLink.

This could be one of the funniest things I have ever read, my Dave Barry library included.

-K

 

[emotion]

THe one thing that impresses me about it is this is a great look at what Macbooks will look like in the future I think.

Nail on head. Hopefully Apple will be watching the feedback on the MBA.

Good luck to them if they sell bucket loads of these but somehow I doubt that's it's purpose (it's a design vehicle for Ive).

 

[seedster2]

You know, the more and more I think about this product, the more and more I think it's slight of hand on Apples part. I mean there was nothing earth shattering at this keynote and something was required to draw attention from that point alone.

So it looks like an exercise in 'Look What We Can Do' rather than 'should we really be doing this'

It just doesn't feel complete, perhaps a little unclear regarding 'target'. It's a filler and it creates the space required by to come up with the real innovation that they are bound to be working on.

Just my view on things.........

Right on the money.

The Air is what a lot of people are calling it; a cheap way to roll out a new sexy product for macworld b/c there was really nothing else groundbreaking to unveil. it's easy to continue down the "make it smaller and sleeker" path. not really innovational, but it'll sate the fanatics for the time being

I doubt an exec would want to have to send in his lappie with confidential docs on the hard drive if his battery goes boom what corporate environment supports macs anyhow?

And if you are someone on the go why isnt there an integrated WWAN or pc card slot for a 3G Card? when you travel to foreign offices their wifi networks arent as accessible as their wired, needs ethernet

thin is good but with all that extra bezel why isnt it narrower? Look at the old G4 12" for a design cue.

External drives are fine and the ipod drive was a necessary alternative otherwise with only an SSD offering it would be considered a pro machine due to the price. The stock offering will be slow.....

MBA seems to cater to a casual surfer, office user not a roadwarrior.

If the sony ultraportables ran OS X with bootcamp that would be the best option. This MBA is a nice start but I think it falls short in comparison to the others on the market. And whats with charging for the ethernet/USB dongle, give me a break!

 

[barpro]

As usual I am going to wait..for a slight price drop...

I kinda like having a disc drive in my notebooks.. I don't know that I am ready for not having one. But I think Steve was right in saying that we don't really need them any more.

 

[thefourthpope]

What about the OS?

I must admit confusion...

there are lots of comparisons being thrown around between this Air and other companies' sub-notebook/ultra-portable offerings. Despite the fact that they all seem to differ on price and specs, it's not really a good comparison.
The whole thing about Macs for me is the software. I've never owned a PC, but have had to use Windows.
Even if there are competitor offerings at similar specs but lower price points, the software is the kicker.
The Air comes with a full Mac OS. I don't know of a Toshiba or Sony or whatever that offers that.
So, to reiterate what I said earlier: when I'm looking for a slim commuter computer...that runs OSX...the Air is it for me.

 

[Raukodur]

THIS is what apple should have made...

CHECK THIS OUT:

http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_h/HCL_Infosystems/20080116_frugal_laptops.html

In particular, the HCL 'MiLeap' Y Series:

"The HCL 'MiLeap' Y Series, powered by the latest Intel Ultra Mobile Platform and Microsoft's Vista Home Premium operating system, weighs just 960 gm. This ultra-portable Leaptop comes with a Swivel 7'' touch screen, 80GB HDD, wireless connectivity, Data Card option, blue tooth & Ethernet network port offering full PC functionality with true internet experience on the move.

The MiLeap Top Y-Series incorporates a unique navigational pad that offers multiple navigational features such as touch screen, thumboard, stylus, keyboard, mouse and one touch buttons, making it one of the most intuitive products. It also features a Swivel 7'' display cum note pad, making it a pleasure to input using a stylus and hand writing. The Microsoft Windows Vista Home premium powered MiLeap Y series is priced at Rs33,990

Designed using the latest Intel Ultra Mobile platform- Intel processor A110 & Intel 945GU express chipset- this energy efficient lower power silicon design consumes less power, reduces thermal impact and gives an extended battery life. Both products are fully RoHS compliant with low energy footprint design. "



To tell you the honest truth, I was praying Apple would release this exact design, where you have a really small, and hence ultra-mobile laptop (similar in size to the Asus EEEpc, otherwise being thinner doesnt make it any more portable), which had a touch sensitive screen that you could swivel around use the whole thing as a tablet PC.

This computer will I believe be shipped on the 26th of January, so it will be interesting to see if it will only be sold in India, or if it will find a good international market (which I bet it will).

 

[Bababasjd]

First of all, let me say that I think this is an achievement in making something thin. I can't take that away from Apple.

But I am an independent Apple certified technician and I look at the MBA not as a user, but as someone who will have to repair it for a user (software repairs only, of course. Hardware repairs will have to be sent to Apple due to warranty).

The lack of both a firewire port and an optical drive will make this a little more difficult to troubleshoot and repair. Sure, I can pack my own external out onsite, and even boot to my usb hard drive, so it's not horrible, but I'm afraid that many people who buy this are not going to know what they're missing until they need it. This is truly going to be a "depot repair" computer in that any hardware issue will need to go back to Apple to have repaired. That will make a difference in places where I am (literally) the only Apple tech for 100 miles.

Also, the supposed target group for this machine is the same group (generally in my experience) who isn't going to know how to set up remote disk to install software, or have a N router to get the full benefit of the wireless on this machine (yes, I know it works on other wireless networks). There's a lot of people who may buy this as their primary computer that are really going to be turned off by how much setup they might need. And you can be reasonably assured that the customers won't be told all of these things before they buy it (but that's the same with electronics in general, so I'm not bagging on Apple for that flaw).

This one also really defeats the "ready out of the box" idea that Apple has courted the last couple of years, because this one really isn't ready out of the box, like most people think that it will be.

So, for what it's worth, that's my two cents. I think it's an interesting idea and that it does have some market, but I'm still not sold that it's a good idea.

EDITED: Another thing I'm interested in is if the MBA can bootcamp windows? Could you install Windows using a wireless remote disk? That might actually necessitate the need for an optical drive. The only reason I ask is because that has been another of Apple's selling points the last few years. This might take away from some of it's usefulness if it's a pain in the ass to install windows onto.

Also, if the optical drive is dead why can't you download Leopard? (maybe you can and I just don't know about it.)

wait a minute optical drive dead Apple is trying to go from a to z but they are not going abcdefg...That is A BIG MISTAKE! The optical drive will be here for at least 30 more years. Dvd bluray is just getting popular. Technology is no where near what apple has in mind. Maybe around 2030.

 

[Bababasjd]

As usual I am going to wait..for a slight price drop...

I kinda like having a disc drive in my notebooks.. I don't know that I am ready for not having one. But I think Steve was right in saying that we don't really need them any more.

No you are very wrong. CD drives are vital. The indsutry is not going to cahnge any time soon I just spoke with somone at microsoft and they said not a change at least 40-50 years. Unless microsoft does something like apple it IS IMPOSSIBLE!! (NOTICE THE WORD IMPOSSIBLE!!!) Apple does not have the money and marketshare to change how people use theri computers. Dell and micrsoft do, but apple has no where near the power. And judging from what microsoft said, The CD/DVD drive is here to stay for a very very long time. Apple is just doing what they said about the G5 "worlds fastest coputer," which in fact it was much slower sometimes twice and four times slower than the AMD. Then when intel came along they are"G5 is very slow, new products 5-10 times faster." See it is all marketing!!!! When they make a cd drive small enough to fit inside the MacBook Air then Steve Jobs will be like "see unlike other comptetiors ore notebook is .1 inches and has a cd drive for your latest dvd and games" people grow up, you mac people are starting to really get in my nerves. I mean you guys are living in some fantasy. No wonder this guy is rich! I think you forget apple only own 6% market share! Mainly due to one thing!!!! IPOD!!! Yes I am aggitated because I see people on this forum with no brains trying to say that a CD drive is not important because the MAcbook air came out. The only reason why it does not have a cd drive is not because apple does not think it is important, (if they did why not do it to the powermac, macbook pro and everything,) it is because it WILL NOT FIT. You people act stupid you get treated like your stupid!

 

[Lonon]

What happened to the MacBook Pro? It is LOOOOOONG overdue for an update. I was very disappointed that no changes were made to the line to coinside with the Air. As far as the Air, I am concerned about fragility. I also don't quite understand the need... shaving 2.5 pounds vs. performance and expense. Just another cool gadget.

I was going to sell Apple before the keynote... should have.

They *usually* update the Pro machines on WWDC.

 

[balamw]

CD drives are vital. The indsutry is not going to cahnge any time soon I just spoke with somone at microsoft and they said not a change at least 40-50 years.

Since the CD has already been with us since 1981, it's only got 10-20 more years.

Microsoft is already distributing plenty of things online without optical media. You can buy download Vista for crying out loud.

Just as the floppy, zip drive, and CD-RW have all been permanently eclipsed by flash drives and online distribution, so too will DVDs. The only place for physical media will be for things too large to practically distribute online. Right now the barrier is in the 4-8 GB range, so the DVD remains a good medium, but even then you can already download plenty of DVD sized ISOs. (Yes, legally, no I'm not talking about torrents).

B

 

[Bababasjd]

Since the CD has already been with us since 1981, it's only got 10-20 more years.

Microsoft is already distributing plenty of things online without optical media. You can buy download Vista for crying out loud.

Just as the floppy, zip drive, and CD-RW have all been permanently eclipsed by flash drives and online distribution, so too will DVDs. The only place for physical media will be for things too large to practically distribute online. Right now the barrier is in the 4-8 GB range, so the DVD remains a good medium, but even then you can already download plenty of DVD sized ISOs. (Yes, legally, no I'm not talking about torrents).

B

It is all simple economics. You think that in 20 years the Cd companies that produce Cd's will just stop. Ha are you kidding me, it is like oil industry, there are alternatives but it wont happen. See you have to know history to know what you are talking about, because histroy repeats its self in realtionships, markets, sucess, and just about everything!

 

[balamw]

It is all simple economics. You think that in 20 years the Cd companies that produce Cd's will just stop. Ha are you kidding me, it is like oil there are alternatives but it wont happen. See you have to know history to know what you are talking about, because histroy repeats its self in realtionships, markets, sucess, and just about everything!

No I don't expect them to go away completely, I expect the to fade slowly like all other technology. There are plenty of companies still making floppies, and plenty of music still available on LP or cassette, but that doesn't mean it's the main way things are distributed.

Simple economics will tell you that when it costs more to ship an install CD with your product than not you will stop. This is exactly what Apple has done with the new iPods. The box would have to be significantly larger and heavier if they continued to ship iPod nanos with an install CD, so they don't.

B

 

[netdog]

It is all simple economics. You think that in 20 years the Cd companies that produce Cd's will just stop. Ha are you kidding me, it is like oil industry, there are alternatives but it wont happen. See you have to know history to know what you are talking about, because histroy repeats its self in realtionships, markets, sucess, and just about everything!

Optical media are well on their way to being marginalized. The real winner of the BluRay/HD-DVD war will ultimately be the network.

 

[c8w6h]

Does anyone think that multi-touch gestures will be part of the 10.5.2 release of Leopard? Also I predict we will see 10.5.2 when the air goes on sale in 2 weeks.

 

[chewietobbacca]

Physical discs will remain so long as a) people need "hard-copy" ownership of products, b) internet connections are still limited, and c) backups are required that can be easily stored

Floppies died because it was clear a much more efficient system was in place. CD's are dying and being replaced by DVD's, but they are still the same size. In 5 years, it might be BD's as mainstream and DVD's on the way out. But there is still a disc!

The type of discs, size of discs, etc. may change, but technology will always be around for something physical to insert.

You know, the more and more I think about this product, the more and more I think it's slight of hand on Apples part. I mean there was nothing earth shattering at this keynote and something was required to draw attention from that point alone.

So it looks like an exercise in 'Look What We Can Do' rather than 'should we really be doing this'

It just doesn't feel complete, perhaps a little unclear regarding 'target'. It's a filler and it creates the space required by to come up with the real innovation that they are bound to be working on.

Just my view on things.........

You know, my guess is they paid Intel a lot of money to make this. After all, its basically a special-ordered platform that Apple ordered from Intel (SFF CPU, motherboard, etc.) and either Apple ordered a ton of them, or there is a large price premium exactly because it would have cost a lot of money to get a custom design.

As a shareholder, doing this for the sake of doing it isn't the smartest business move. They have to have invested into this to make it a keynote.

 

[balamw]

CD's are dying and being replaced by DVD's, but they are still the same size. In 5 years, it might be BD's as mainstream and DVD's on the way out. But there is still a disc!

That's what I already said above, but what you're missing is that the discs are so huge that few things will require that much space. For those applications, other media or 'net distribution will take over. I venture to state that few software packages will ever be distributed on BD.

It makes no sense to ship a physical disc capable of holding 30-50 GB of data for 500 MB of data, so the uses for the physical medium become fewer and fewer as the media size increases.

B

 

[Lonon]

Oh yeah. Cuz MacRumors forums users are representative of the mass market. Don't make me laugh even harder, I beg you. If Apple had to depend on only the whiners in here to make money, they'd have been out of business long ago.

LOL. That's so true...

 

[Lonon]

I thought that was the whole point. To look cool. Remember how Steve is always talking about how the other companies lack style? Its not about features or price its about putting on a turtle neck and going to coffee shops and looking really cool. I guess I am like the PC guy in the ads. I use my computers for work and to earn money. Then I go home and use my custom built pc to play Crysis near full resolution. This new laptop is not for me. I do hope people enjoy it since you will have to take a loan out to buy one.

Riiiight. Why are you in MacRumors, please?

 

[ejb190]

You know, my guess is they paid Intel a lot of money to make this. After all, its basically a special-ordered platform that Apple ordered from Intel (SFF CPU, motherboard, etc.) and either Apple ordered a ton of them, or there is a large price premium exactly because it would have cost a lot of money to get a custom design.

Maybe, but Intel didn't do this for Apple alone. Apple will have these chips exclusive for a year or so, then like usual everyone else will struggle to catch up once Intel comes out from under the exclusive contract.

 

[macidiot]

Just thought I would respond to everyone commenting about the Air not being powerful enough. 1.6-1.8Ghz dual processor with 2 gig of ram? I am still using my 1.33Ghz iBook G4 with 1.25gig ram as my main computer, as £1200 is too much for me to be splashing out every couple of years just to stay "cutting edge". My point is that this dinosaur is still more than ample for me as I can edit home movies, record 8 to 12 tracks of instruments in Garageband, Cubase and Reason, without any freezing up. I can draw architectural plans, run photoshop etc, etc, etc. So its hardly just for text documents. What do you really need the extra horsepower for on a laptop? I mean if you are talking about games, why are you buying a mac? I also had to laugh at the guy saying the footprint was far too big as there was a Sony that was 1/2 an inch smaller. I would gladly trade half an inch for OSX (and so would my wife...)

Just chill out people. If you like it, buy it. If you don't, then buy something else. I'm just gutted there was no mac nano.....

Good lord, you must be an expert at watching the spinning beach ball.

Just because you can do something on an old computer doesn't mean you should.

And to answer your question of what do you really need the extra horsepower for... how about being more productive. As in getting more done in less time.

 

[macidiot]

So the battery is not removeable.. so what? I've owned 5 laptops in my life, and I haven't had the need to ever have two batteries for a laptop NOR have I ever had the need to have a battery replaced on ANY of my 5 laptops. How many people keep their laptops for longer than it takes for their Li-Ion batteries to become unusable? The typical lifetime for one of my laptops is two years tops.
The MacBook Air will be obsolete before the battery degenerates to unusablity. In fact, the MBA will likely be obsolete in 6 months, knowing Apple.

Funny, I had to replace the battery in my fancy schmancy 17" MBP after only 6 months because it died.

Must be me. Oh wait, no it wasn't as this happened to thousands of MBP owners.

 

[Keane Fan]

Should I purchase the MBA?

I am a senior in high school currently but am going to college next year and would love an ultra portable laptop. To give you background information, I have somehow crashed around two-three laptops including a $2500 one (lol,long stories). I plan on toting this from class to class next year. But at home, all I use my laptop for is browsing the internet, itunes, e-mail capablities, and designing graphics... and obviously just word documents. I only use the cd-drive to burn cds or install programs occasionally... is it worth it for me? I'm not sure if I am better off buying the black regular macbook... but weight is a significant factor.

 

[macidiot]

Hard to believe you believe this given that width (or lack thereof) was a huge factor in the success of the iPod mini and iPod nano, both of which also lacked features compared to the iPod.

The iPod mini and nano were/are huge hits because they hit the right price point. People were ok spending $250 on an iPod, not $400.