I have a confession to make...

[fluidedge]

I was dead against the MBA when it was previewed at MWSF but I had a play with one today - It's a very nice machine! If you think about what a laptop/notebook should be; light, portable, able to do some tasks but certainly not all - the Air has it completely right.

If i had £1200 to spend on a laptop, i would only be looking at one product. The air would be the perfect compliment to a mac pro - do your high end work on the pro and use the Air when you're out and about. It does make it a very expensive internet surfing machine, as that and MS office is about all you're going to ask it to do - however if i was going into a meeting with a potential client, pulling that out of your bag to give a presentation is going to send out all the right signals - and i'd say for the £1200 investment, you'd quickly get it back with new clients impressed with the professional in front of them!

However, i don't have £1200 to spend on a laptop - I've just bought a Mac Pro . Personally i'd be looking more at the macbook as a next laptop for me (my iBook G4 is still going strong though!! I love my little iBook!) as it's a better price range and with 4GB of RAM it's bloody quick, my dad has one with 4GB and it just slices through video editing on Final Cut.

But i have been impressed with the Air when i first tried it today. I'd say for £1200 there is nothing better, but it's a lot to spend on any laptop imo, You could almost buy the base spec Mac pro for that! Or the other option would to be looking at a very nice second hand MBP for about £1200 that will just knock the Air out of the park performance wise, but that isn't what the Air is about is it?

 

[Cybergypsy]

Thanks for being truthful, many here are not, you cant go wrong with any Apple product at all.....

 

[TEG]

I was aprehensious about the Air when it was released, mainly because everyone I know wants a 12" MBP. However, last weekend I had the chance to use one at the Tigard, OR (Washington Square) Apple Store. I was quite impressed. I still want a Firewire port, but if I had a "base" computer, I'd certainly consider an Air. As of now, I'll have to live with my PowerBook G4 667 (DVI) until such time as I can afford a new computer, most likely an iMac, but I really like the Air, and would definately consider one in the future.

TEG

 

[jackc]

Right now the early adopters are paying a bit of a premium, I think when the price/specs start to improve it's gonna be a great machine.

 

[PDE]

I was dead against the MBA when it was previewed at MWSF but I had a play with one today - It's a very nice machine! If you think about what a laptop/notebook should be; light, portable, able to do some tasks but certainly not all - the Air has it completely right.

If i had £1200 to spend on a laptop, i would only be looking at one product. The air would be the perfect compliment to a mac pro - do your high end work on the pro and use the Air when you're out and about. It does make it a very expensive internet surfing machine, as that and MS office is about all you're going to ask it to do - however if i was going into a meeting with a potential client, pulling that out of your bag to give a presentation is going to send out all the right signals - and i'd say for the £1200 investment, you'd quickly get it back with new clients impressed with the professional in front of them!

However, i don't have £1200 to spend on a laptop - I've just bought a Mac Pro . Personally i'd be looking more at the macbook as a next laptop for me (my iBook G4 is still going strong though!! I love my little iBook!) as it's a better price range and with 4GB of RAM it's bloody quick, my dad has one with 4GB and it just slices through video editing on Final Cut.

But i have been impressed with the Air when i first tried it today. I'd say for £1200 there is nothing better, but it's a lot to spend on any laptop imo, You could almost buy the base spec Mac pro for that! Or the other option would to be looking at a very nice second hand MBP for about £1200 that will just knock the Air out of the park performance wise, but that isn't what the Air is about is it?

I was also completely against the MBA when I first read the specs and saw the price. However, I got one yesterday and am inclined to sell my MBP soon if it continues to work as well as it does. People who are not always on the move may not fully appreciate what a difference the weight makes. This thing weighs almost nothing and it fits anywhere your normal documents fit, like a thin notebook. It's simply a great travel computer and I wouldn't really hesitate recommending it as main computer either, together with a usb hub, external hard drive, display, keyboard etc, as long as one doesn't need firewire and the raw CPU power of the macbook pro. Given the size of the display and keyboard, the light weight is simply unbeatable. So happy with this thing!

 

[MRU]

If i had £1200 to spend on a laptop, i would only be looking at one product. The air would be the perfect compliment to a mac pro - do your high end work on the pro and use the Air when you're out and about. It does make it a very expensive internet surfing machine, as that and MS office is about all you're going to ask it to do - however if i was going into a meeting with a potential client, pulling that out of your bag to give a presentation is going to send out all the right signals - and i'd say for the £1200 investment, you'd quickly get it back with new clients impressed with the professional in front of them!

Which is exactly what I do and use mine for...

your right as an accompaniment to my Mac Pro it's the best laptop I've ever had.

 

[sananda]

i too have an ibook g4 but if i didn't have it i would get a macbook air.

 

[daneoni]

Funny i was gonna make a similar posts after having played with on in the Regent Street store. I was lucky because that table was heavily crowded and as soon as i finished a young woman launched at my empty spot.

Anyhow, like some Apple products i had a visceral hatred towards the machine but when i touched it and carried it...i have to say i was impressed. It was very light and easy on the eyes. It's performance (1.8/HDD model) wasn't shabby either, launching most programs quickly. Have i mentioned how light it was?

Right then and there i thought of walking up to a genius to buy one, take home and sell my BlackBook but then i got a mental 'smack' on the head and remembered it wasn't going to be practical for my needs.

Even though i have an iMac as a main machine. I needed an Optical drive as i watch DVDs frequently on the go, i thought "well i can handbrake the movies and transfer them" but thats extra work, time consuming and 80GB isn't exactly 'plenty' storage. Also i needed an Ethernet port as i use Gigabit ethernet to basically sync my iMac and my current BlackBook. Wi-Fi syncing whilst ok is not as fast obviously

Yes i know i can buy the External Optical and USB to Ethernet adapter but thats just adds extra cost and the price then starts to push past MBP territory at which point i said to myself "Not for me at this point".

My opinion (as it was pretty much on release) its a nice machine...mostly to look at but with ok performance as well. However its only worth it to those with deep pockets who have basic needs from a laptop AND ideally another main machine. I have another main machine but my needs/price ratio doesn't fit the MBAs current offerings. I have to spend extra to bring it somewhat close to my needs and then the question becomes "whats the point?, save yourself money & buy a macbook instead".

So i'm holding tight onto my BlackBook. However, i no longer hate the MBA but look forward to the possibility of owning one of its descendants

 

[fluidedge]

Funny i was gonna make a similar posts after having played with on in the Regent Street store. I was lucky because that table was heavily crowded and as soon as i finished a young woman launched at my empty spot.

Anyhow, like some Apple products i had a visceral hatred towards the machine but when i touched it and carried it...i have to say i was impressed. It was very light and easy on the eyes. It's performance (1.8/HDD model) wasn't shabby either, launching most programs quickly. Have i mentioned how light it was?

Right then and there i thought of walking up to a genius to buy one, take home and sell my BlackBook but then i got a mental 'smack' on the head and remembered it wasn't going to be practical for my needs.

Even though i have an iMac as a main machine. I needed an Optical drive as i watch DVDs frequently on the go, i thought "well i can handbrake the movies and transfer them" but thats extra work, time consuming and 80GB isn't exactly 'plenty' storage. Also i needed an Ethernet port as i use Gigabit ethernet to basically sync my iMac and my current BlackBook. Wi-Fi syncing whilst ok is not as fast obviously

Yes i know i can buy the External Optical and USB to Ethernet adapter but thats just adds extra cost and the price then starts to push past MBP territory at which point i said to myself "Not for me at this point".

My opinion (as it was pretty much on release) its a nice machine...mostly to look at but with ok performance as well. However its only worth it to those with deep pockets who have basic needs from a laptop AND ideally another main machine. I have another main machine but my needs/price ratio doesn't fit the MBAs current offerings. I have to spend extra to bring it somewhat close to my needs and then the question becomes "whats the point?, save yourself money & buy a macbook instead".

So i'm holding tight onto my BlackBook. However, i no longer hate the MBA but look forward to the possibility of owning one of its descendants

great comments - i too look forward to upgrading my ibook to something else in 3 years that is descended from the Air.

For those who haven't got a chance to play with one yet - go and do it! However thin you expect it to be, it's thinner!

 

[PDE]

The descendants of the MBA will undoubtedly come as close to the perfect travel computer as possible!

I'm sure Apple will add a USB port eventually - it was crazy to cause unnecessary trouble for people by just putting one USB! I think most people need two - one for the basics (mouse, keyboard etc) and one for peripheral stuff like hard drives, cameras or whatever. In a few years, this will be an even more amazing notebook, but for now I think it's the nicest ultra-portable notebook around. It may not be the most full-featured as others, but the compromises it makes mostly make sense to me. We're used to compromises that are different, that's all. To me, the usability (i.e., display, keyboard, weight and reasonable CPU power) is more important than a few ports or built in DVD drive. If I could have them in the same form factor with the same weight, I'd of course prefer that, but such is the state of Apple design that it's not possible.

 

[devilot]

Thanks for being truthful, many here are not, you cant go wrong with any Apple product at all.....

'm afraid I disagree. Different products suit different folks' needs. And I don't feel like Apple makes the absolute best product for every task. Doesn't mean their goods don't do the job for me, though.

Right now the early adopters are paying a bit of a premium, I think when the price/specs start to improve it's gonna be a great machine.

I definitely agree. Apple's early adopters seem to often pay a premium. iPod prices seemed to really come down in late iterations. Just like iMacs and iPhones (and probably other products, but those are the few that come most readily to my mind).

That said, I'm really drawn to the MBA and I'll be paying the premium to have that little baby be mine. (And likely rev. B, too. )

:edit: If we're gonna be confessing MBA confessions-- I knew I'd like it, but when I saw it for the first time in person yesterday, I was completely unready for just how much I'd fall for it. I really like that machine.

 

[BongoBanger]

Thanks for being truthful, many here are not, you cant go wrong with any Apple product at all.....

Now, you see, that isn't being truthful. Macs aren't good games machines for example.

 

[akm3]

Thanks for being truthful, many here are not, you cant go wrong with any Apple product at all.....

I feel the $700 I spent on the first Newton was going wrong...

 

[Schnebar]

Yeah at first I thought it was cool but I would never need it.

As I go to college next year I am looking to get a laptop.

At first I was set on the MacBook Pro but now that I look at it, I would do fine with just the MacBook Air.

I could probably even get away with using it as my only computer. I have only used 50 gigs on my iMac and a 1.8 GHZ compared to my 2 GHZ iMac would be bearable.

I am a very clean person who likes little clutter and I actually like the fact that it only has one USB port.

I would even like it if it had no usb, headphone, or DVI ports.

I do not do heavy processor stuff on my computer.

The hardest thing I would do would be photoshop and maybe making an iMovie.

If a new Air comes out before September I might have to go for it instead of the Pro.

 

[fluidedge]

you'll really struggle to make a movie on it - how will you capture the footage without a firewire port? And how will you distribute the final piece with no built in optical drive.

I really think a student is best suited to the macbook - so many students at my uni had had them. A MB with 4GB RAM is a monster suited to any photoshop/imovie task (well maybe not HD)

The Air is focused (IMHO) towards the business user who will be using the internet, email and MS Office to type documents and give keynotes. It also has the WOW factor i talked about in my OP, showing a potential client a portfolio/proposal/whatever on a MBA will just send out such positive messages in the same way that a design studio full of cinema displays sends out all the right messages. I'd say for any business a MBA is a must have piece of kit! It will pay for itself so quickly