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I think I know why the Air 11 sports a 16:9 screen ratio.
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If it was a 16:10 screen with a full keyboard, it would be a 12" MBA. By making a 16:9 they can reduce the size and call it an 11", it is really 11.6"
11.6" 16x9 LCDs are a fairly common LCD size, even before the MBA was released. It's probably also a manufacturing/parts supply decision as well.
I agree, it's to differentiate it from the "13" which is actually only 1.7 inches bigger. I'm amazed anybody ever gets anything done on such a short screen.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the 11 inch. I've written pages and pages of things on it. Prefer it over the 13 inch. The 13 inch, to me, is just another macbook or macbook pro. The 11 inch...that's the WOW factor one...that's the one that truly feels like air. A++++++!
It was the pixel resolution (in addition to storage) which steered me away from the 11-inch in the first place - it has only 768 pixels in vertical direction, whereas in comparison, 800 pixels (of the MB and MBP 13) was already a bit too little for me. I'd have to keep the dock on the side of the screen then, in the very least.
It has to be mentioned, though, that I'm using the Air as my primary computer. I suppose most of the 11-inch-users already have an iMac, Mac mini or Mac Pro as well.
I contemplate the MBA 11 Ultimate - and have a maxed out iMac 27 SSD with extra (soon to be Thunderbolt) ACD 27 LED.
Only battery life steers me away from the 11 and towards the 13. I need 4 hours a day, no less than that using Pages, Numbers, iPhoto and Safari/Chrome.
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I don't understand. If it is 16:10, wouldn't it have 10% more height? So how can that be too short for a full keyboard? It is adding more space if anything.
I think he meant changing to 16:10 while keeping the height constant. That would reduce the width and the space altogether.
The 12" iBook G4 (what i upgraded from) has a slightly narrower footprint than the 11" MBA, even though the keyboards are the same width. The keyboard of the 12" goes almost all the way to the edge, whilst that of the 11" has like half an inch of 'keyboard bezel'. Maybe the MBA is thin enough that things like USB ports can't fit underneath the keys, requiring the extra case width.
