MacBook Air rev C, "Everything we know, and everything we want." (orig. desperate)

[hohohong]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I have my 2.8 uMBP stolen 10 days after it was released!

Bought a UMB 2.0 temporary to use while waiting for next revision.

Was gonna get the next revision of MBP, but really like the form factor of MBA.

Don't do video stuff,... just mainly word, browsing and VMWare XP.

Top of line MBA and mid level MBP has about the same price..... which should I get?

I don't like the fact that the ram for MBA is soldered on and only 1 usb.

I think Rev C will have the black screen around the LCD.

 

[Scottsdale]

I would certainly like a improved MacBook Air. The speed bump in CPU is the main thing keeping me from buying one.

Actually, the CPU is much nicer than consideration of clock speed alone. The rev B MBA with the SL9400 Intel Core 2 Duo is a Penryn 45 NM 17W CPU running at 1.86 GHz, with 6 MB L2 Cache. It is actually a really nice chip. While it only uses 17W, it still performs excellently and without overheating. The point is the 6 MB of L2 cache is making a huge difference compared to the unibody MB with 2 GHz or even 2.4 GHz and only 3 MB L2 cache. Now, I do not know the exact performance chip vs chip, but I actually think I prefer the 1.86 GHz w/6 MB L2 cache over the 2.0 GHz w/3 MB L2 cache. I know my rev B MBA with SSD and 1.86 performed a lot faster than even a 2.4 GHz CPU with 7200 rpm HDD. A bunch of that is drive speed. However, L2 cache makes a big difference too.

I guess while I feel that going beyond the 2 GHz limit sounds great, I expect more from the rev C MBA by having 4 GB of RAM and need the drive space of a 256 GB SSD. For me, RAM, then drive space, then battery life are far more important than a 2.13 GHz CPU.

But at the same time, a 2.13 GHz CPU will have a nice ring to it.

 

[iMacmatician]

The 17" is ideal for an integrated battery, as it's a desktop replacement. The 15" however, fits a different target market. It's one of the most portable 15" notebooks in the world, and as such people want easy access to the battery to extend their productivity.

The MacBook Air is even more portable, and it doesn't have a removable battery.

Look at the CPU and clock speeds. Apple is spending less now than ever on the CPUs. There are much nicer CPUs available for the Mac notebooks, yet Apple has stuck with Core 2 Duo and around 2.4 GHz for the MBP for THREE YEARS! The MB has has a slower CPU than it did 18 months ago. It was 2.1 and 2.4 GHz, now is 2.0 and 2.4 GHz, and they cost more to get the 2.4 GHz.

The current $1299 MacBook has the same GHz CPU as the first $1299 MacBook.

More details for anyone who is interested (from an earlier post):

2006 Q2: At the original MacBook release, the line used the top 3 CPUs. (MBP: $400/$600, MB: $300/$400)
2006 Q4: The line used the top 4 CPUs. (MBP: $400/$600, MB: $240/$300)
2007 Q2: MBPs still used the top 2 CPUs, and the MBs went back to $300/$400 CPUs, although those would soon be outdated. (MBP: $300/$500, MB: $300/$400)
2007 Q4: Intel bumped the clocks by 200 MHz in Q3, but Apple kept the same clocks while putting the 2.6 GHz as a BTO in the MBP. The MB gets current gen CPUs. (MBP: $240/$300, MB: $240)
2008 Q1: Rather than going back to the top 2 CPUs for the MBP, Apple keeps the Q4 price ranges. (MBP: $240/$300, MB: $200/$240)
2008 Q3: MBP and high-end MB CPU price ranges stay similar, while the $1299 MB uses an OEM CPU that's not even listed (I'm assuming sub-$200), however this could be excused due to the GPU. Same goes for the $999 one when it is updated to the NVIDIA chipset. (MBP: $240/$340, MB: ≤$200/$240)
2009 Q1: Intel bumped the clocks by 133 MHz, but strangely only the top two MacBook Pros received the upgrade. (MBP: $200/$340, MB: ≤$200/$200)

Recent MacBook Pros are pretty much using similar-range (and similar-priced) CPUs as early MacBooks. If Apple uses $300~$500 CPUs now, we would see 2.67/2.93 GHz in the MBP and 2.53/2.67 GHz in the MB. If Apple had used ≤$200~$340 CPUs in the original MacBook series, we would have seen 1.67/1.83 GHz in the MBP (incidentally its original clock speeds) and 1.66 GHz single-core/dual-core in the MB.

How about the iMac. Apple could have a full line of Nehalem desktop computers right now if it used the desktop Core i7 CPU in the iMacs. Why in the world would Apple do this, to save money.

Core i7 is much too hot for the iMac, but there are several other ways that are still better than the 133 MHz speed bump for half the line.

a) Improved the cooling and used the 65 W desktop quads instead
b) Used the existing mobile quads, even as a BTO
c) Asked Intel for a custom faster CPU like they did the last update
d) None of the above, because they don't seem to care that much about higher speeds or quad-core for the iMac

You have your answer folks.

 

[Maks]

I would be extremely surprised to see RAM slots on an MBA. While it may not seem like a lot, in terms of the MBA, the additional size of RAM slots + boards it quite a bit of space in something of that size. I'd rather have 4G soldered on board.

 

[Scottsdale]

I would be extremely surprised to see RAM slots on an MBA. While it may not seem like a lot, in terms of the MBA, the additional size of RAM slots + boards it quite a bit of space in something of that size. I'd rather have 4G soldered on board.

If you look at the logic board now, the soldered on RAM takes nearly same space as two so-dimms. Doesn't seem like too far of a strech to make two slots. However I agree it's much more likely that it would be soldered on, but I would be so ecstatic if Apple would give us capability to use 8 GB. It is a premium model over MB, so is possible as thought.

If there isn't either 4 GB soldered or two slots, I will be extremely disappointed.

I know that I am a bit of a dreamer, so I pray Apple doesn't disappoint us all with only 2 GB!

I really am desperate now for a new MBA. I am already sick of waiting with this unibody MB. It is really big, heavy, and the display is such a washed out worthless piece of crap compared to a MBA or MBP display. I really cannot believe how truly crappy it is for an Apple product. Usually Macs are a joy to look at, but Apple really stuck it to MB buyers with this display. It really is sad! And everything else about it is really nice. I just don't get it. I understand Apple not using as nice of display as the MBA and MBP, but this MB display is worse than the display on my six year old Dell laptop.

 

[Scottsdale]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I have my 2.8 uMBP stolen 10 days after it was released!

Bought a UMB 2.0 temporary to use while waiting for next revision.

Was gonna get the next revision of MBP, but really like the form factor of MBA.

Don't do video stuff,... just mainly word, browsing and VMWare XP.

Top of line MBA and mid level MBP has about the same price..... which should I get?

I don't like the fact that the ram for MBA is soldered on and only 1 usb.

I think Rev C will have the black screen around the LCD.

Sorry to hear of your loss. I think the rev C MBA will make us happy. Unfortunately, I think you may be right about black bezel. I could be happy with larger display inside same case to minimize the bezel but it will not happen.

Let's hope we all benefit greatly for waiting it out for the next MBA.

 

[Sdancott]

Unfortunately, I think you may be right about black bezel.

I disagree, I welcome the black bezel. I can't really put my finger on it, i just think it looks nice.

I've just done a quick google and found this pic... Looks awesome IMO

 

[Scottsdale]

I disagree, I welcome the black bezel. I can't really put my finger on it, i just think it looks nice.

I've just done a quick google and found this pic... Looks awesome IMO

I think it would look awesome if the display went all the way to the edge. That is what looks good with the unibodies when the display is off. I love the look until the display is turned on.

It really is about wasted space. The black sorta hides the space. But the problem is glare. It is like a mirror. Maybe if it wasn't so glossy???

Don't get me wrong, I can learn to live with the black bezel if the display is stunning, and if it includes a 2.13 GHz CPU, 4 GB RAM (or two RAM slots), 256 GB SSD, glass touchpad, and 24 hour battery (or a real four hours).

My biggest problem now is the waiting. It could be a long wait!

 

[hohohong]

My biggest problem now is the waiting. It could be a long wait!

Haahaa,... I can see you're really desperate!

I really hope for update this june. There isn't too much rumour going around for MBA aside from the recent carbon fibre casing?

It'll be sweet to have that on MBA!!! I'll be the first on the line up to get it!

 

[iMacmatician]

I really hope for update this june. There isn't too much rumour going around for MBA aside from the recent carbon fibre casing?

There is a rumor of a 15" MacBook Air that says more info is coming in H2 2009.

 

[qubex]

Yep, I'm desperate.

My first thought when I read your post is "damn, I've been cloned".
My second thought was that you're vying to steal my rank of neurotic-in-chief.

I've been desperate for a MacBook Air revision for several months now. I'm trying hard to convince myself one's just around the corner, and that the new machines will be significant enhancements compared to the current offerings - with a glass trackpad, black bezel screens, speed bumped CPUs, double RAM and double SSD. I badly need a more portable replacement for my current MacBookPro because this slab really doesn't meet my criteria for portability. For something to be portable, it must be pervasive, almost effortless to have always with oneself. Dragging this wide and heavy 15.4" around is definitely not "effortless", and I find the HDD to be a worryingly antiquated technology. The MacBookAir is clearly the kind of machine I need.

And so I've waited, and waited, and waited.

Sometime last month I briefly lost faith, and purchased a refurbished SSD-based MacBookAir revision C as an intended "stopgap" measure. I sent it back within half an hour of it arriving because, despite the awesome form-factory and decent performance, I found the screen to be marred by the infamous "grey lines" problem.

So I'm sitting here with my money ready, desperately hoping Apple will release a unit and stop playing these unacceptable cat-and-mouse games with it's customers. You're right when you say that this is a cruel ploy to extract the maximum sum from consumers, harnessing falling hardware costs and a fixed price-point to maximise it's profit, catching people unaware with a sudden product refresh that makes current models instantly obsolete.

They need to stop doing this. The whole "rumour" website phenomenon is a reaction to these lewd tactics: fundamentally we're all people who speculate on the imminent future as a way of assuaging the damage Apple seeks to inflict on our wallets.

I have the cash. I'm willing to pay premium prices. I want a premium machine that isn't an eight month old design. If it was worth $2,000 eight months ago, it can't be worth $2,000 now.

Honestly, they're screwing with us.

 

[Veinticinco]

My first thought when I read your post is "damn, I've been cloned".
My second thought was that you're vying to steal my rank of neurotic-in-chief.

I've been desperate for a MacBook Air revision for several months now. I'm trying hard to convince myself one's just around the corner, and that the new machines will be significant enhancements compared to the current offerings - with a glass trackpad, black bezel screens, speed bumped CPUs, double RAM and double SSD. I badly need a more portable replacement for my current MacBookPro because this slab really doesn't meet my criteria for portability. For something to be portable, it must be pervasive, almost effortless to have always with oneself. Dragging this wide and heavy 15.4" around is definitely not "effortless", and I find the HDD to be a worryingly antiquated technology. The MacBookAir is clearly the kind of machine I need.

And so I've waited, and waited, and waited.

Sometime last month I briefly lost faith, and purchased a refurbished SSD-based MacBookAir revision C as an intended "stopgap" measure. I sent it back within half an hour of it arriving because, despite the awesome form-factory and decent performance, I found the screen to be marred by the infamous "grey lines" problem.

So I'm sitting here with my money ready, desperately hoping Apple will release a unit and stop playing these unacceptable cat-and-mouse games with it's customers. You're right when you say that this is a cruel ploy to extract the maximum sum from consumers, harnessing falling hardware costs and a fixed price-point to maximise it's profit, catching people unaware with a sudden product refresh that makes current models instantly obsolete.

They need to stop doing this. The whole "rumour" website phenomenon is a reaction to these lewd tactics: fundamentally we're all people who speculate on the imminent future as a way of assuaging the damage Apple seeks to inflict on our wallets.

I have the cash. I'm willing to pay premium prices. I want a premium machine that isn't an eight month old design. If it was worth $2,000 eight months ago, it can't be worth $2,000 now.

Honestly, they're screwing with us.

 

[Maks]

If the cat and mouse games are so unacceptable, why do you have money in hand waiting for them to release something? It is still amusing to me how much you Apple fanboys complain and moan, but consistently hand over money to them regardless of problems.

 

[qubex]

I'm on Xanax already. Hail the benzodiazepines.

 

[Andre1980]

some people even fantasize about new OLED displays:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/697724/

...which would be kinda neat, I admit.

 

[dubhe]

I agree with you Scottsdale, not sure when, but an update to all of the MacBooks is imminent. For this reason I have just sold my MBA, and today I bought a Mac mini to tide me over until new MBA/MBPs are released. When they are I will decide what I am going to buy and relegate the mini to HTPC.

I don't see the MacBook line being updated at the WWDC though, this is going to be very much iPhone orientated and apple won't want a MacBook stealing the headlines. I think they may follow on the wave of the iPhone though, say a week or two later. I seem to remember a couple of years ago when I bought my Black MacBook that apple released a new product each Tuesday for several weeks after the big keynote.

 

[Veinticinco]

some people even fantasize about new OLED displays:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/697724/

...which would be kinda neat, I admit.

Drat! And I almost got away with the benzo gag too...

In my defence, in that thread I was merely chewing over the possibility of OLED in my normally cool and unflappable style. Very different to qubex's glorious foaming-at-the-mouth paranoical rant about "them" and what they're doing for his sanity.

Fantasising? I've been a faithful Apple consumer for well over 10 years, and look forward to a new product as much as the rest of us (ok maybe the rev.C MBA a little more excitedly), but I reserve "fantasies" for you know, a billion euros in my bank account and Monia Bellucci and Rachel Weisz (yes BOTH!) on my arm. I figure world peace can look after itself.

 

[Veinticinco]

I agree with you Scottsdale, not sure when, but an update to all of the MacBooks is imminent. For this reason I have just sold my MBA, and today I bought a Mac mini to tide me over until new MBA/MBPs are released. When they are I will decide what I am going to buy and relegate the mini to HTPC.

I don't see the MacBook line being updated at the WWDC though, this is going to be very much iPhone orientated and apple won't want a MacBook stealing the headlines. I think they may follow on the wave of the iPhone though, say a week or two later. I seem to remember a couple of years ago when I bought my Black MacBook that apple released a new product each Tuesday for several weeks after the big keynote.

That's a timeline I think most likely too. I think WWDC is just a line in the sand really, which will kick off the fun and games with the iPhone, but then within the month they'll announce upgrades to the laptop range.

 

[seb-opp]

Going to the RAM, I think Apple really should rethink its soldering the RAM on the MBA. The target buyers for the MBA are people who can afford and want more RAM in their Mac. I don't think most need 4 GB of RAM, but why not let people decide for themselves how much RAM they need. Make it BTO and profit from it. I really want two RAM slots and capability for 8 GB of RAM in the next MBA. It will not cost Apple any more to make that happen.

I think the reason the ram is soldered on the MBA is because if it wasnt, there wouldnt be room! I remember the pictures of the inside of the revA, and the ram chips looked tiny, plus I couldnt see where there would be room to have a full size laptop ram module, let alone two.

I think your right that there should be higher ram options though, the MBA is a premium product, so those who can afford it should be able to get higher specs. I expect the next rev would at least have 4GB ram for the high and low end model and 8GB as BTO, but probably not standard on the high end model.

 

[Sesshi]

I'm not desperate, but I'd buy one and keep it if it actually delivered on what it is on paper without pegging out when catering for more than Twittering witterers posing in the pretentious coffee joint of their choosing.

Lugging the Macbook around when I need a portable OS X machine is far from ideal, but currently it's a better compromise than having the Air due to the myriad of inadequacies, which exceeds the inadequacies of the Macbook itself.

I'd like that not to be the case.

 

[GadgetGeek407]

I have a rev B 1.6 120gb and its brand new iv never used it...today I bought a macbook unibody 4gb and i love the glass trackpad n all, I noticed as some people with air are waiting for rev C as am i, they have a MB unibody and i remember reading that the screen on the unibody is horrible in comparison to the AIR...considering the MBU is the newer model why is the screen so bad compared to AIR? how can i notice this and where can I look? is it just in comparison to rev B screen or rev A as well?
I would LOVE more ram, more hard drive the black bezel n better battery life maybe another usb port

 

[Dr_Maybe]

Not really desperate, but would like to replace my old, battered MBP with an MBA that has more RAM than this almost 3 year old machine. It still works so I'll just sit and wait. I agree that it's usually best to buy just after a release, if you have a decent machine to work on while waiting.

All I want is 4GB RAM, then I'm buying.

 

[Scottsdale]

I have a rev B 1.6 120gb and its brand new iv never used it...today I bought a macbook unibody 4gb and i love the glass trackpad n all, I noticed as some people with air are waiting for rev C as am i, they have a MB unibody and i remember reading that the screen on the unibody is horrible in comparison to the AIR...considering the MBU is the newer model why is the screen so bad compared to AIR? how can i notice this and where can I look? is it just in comparison to rev B screen or rev A as well?
I would LOVE more ram, more hard drive the black bezel n better battery life maybe another usb port

I am "stuck" with a unibody MB myself right now. I think the display is absolutely terrible. I have to look straight on, as any angle whatsoever and it is completely washed out. Also, dark colors have a light hue or tint to them. Video on it is terrible as it is washed out or faded or looks like has white tinted glass over it. The biggest problem for me is watching video on it. Turn a video on a non-MB Mac and compare it to a MB, and differences are night and day.

I badly wish this MB had an "acceptable" display but it doesn't. It is extremely noticeable going from a MBA to a MB.

For normal use of email and word processing, it looks fine. But I would rather not watch any video on it at all. It's sad really as the unibody MB is really nice in every other way. Too bad just how cheap Apple went with it. The MB has so much potential until you have to turn it on and use it.

I will stick with the MacBook Air, as the display is one of the greatest features.

I see there is another thread about Apple introducing an OLED display in the next MBA... I doubt it. The manufacturer Apple has supposedly purchased them from makes 16x9 displays. All Macs have a 16x10 display in them. I don't think Apple jumps ship just for that reason. At the same time, maybe it would help get rid of the display issue in the rev B MBAs. If Apple does introduce an OLED, I think the MBA could be the first to get it... but it just seems like a rumor to me unless somehow Apple got 16x10 OLED displays.

 

[Veinticinco]

I see there is another thread about Apple introducing an OLED display in the next MBA... I doubt it. The manufacturer Apple has supposedly purchased them from makes 16x9 displays. All Macs have a 16x10 display in them. I don't think Apple jumps ship just for that reason. At the same time, maybe it would help get rid of the display issue in the rev B MBAs. If Apple does introduce an OLED, I think the MBA could be the first to get it... but it just seems like a rumor to me unless somehow Apple got 16x10 OLED displays.

Aye, that was me

A point for you to consider then (probably best continued in the OLED thread)....

Re. the 16:9/10 format issue: Given Apple has just signed a long-term deal with LG to supply ALL their displays indefinitely, you have to think there will be some bespoke design discussions going on, rather than off-the-peg. Even if not the case, I don't think 16:10 is set in stone within Apple's hardware 'ID' - it's just a historical almost vestigial configuration, just as 4:3 was for TVs. OLED is in every sense, a 'next generation' technology, and so it makes sense Apple will do whatever is necessary to implement it.

 

[Scottsdale]

Aye, that was me

A point for you to consider then (probably best continued in the OLED thread)....

Re. the 16:9/10 format issue: Given Apple has just signed a long-term deal with LG to supply ALL their displays indefinitely, you have to think there will be some bespoke design discussions going on, rather than off-the-peg. Even if not the case, I don't think 16:10 is set in stone within Apple's hardware 'ID' - it's just a historical almost vestigial configuration, just as 4:3 was for TVs. OLED is in every sense, a 'next generation' technology, and so it makes sense Apple will do whatever is necessary to implement it.

We will see. But I don't think it happens with any rev C MBA that is released before September. I think if we get updates in May or June, as rumored, the displays will all be LED backlit and not OLED. I think if we get an MBA update soon, it will be the same form factor and same 16x10 display. The longer it takes, the more likely a different form factor is introduced, and the more likely a new OLED display is used. If there is a 16x10 OLED, I can see it happening any day.

I really think we are going to see new Mac notebooks soon. But, we may just see a new MB and MBP. Apple may be reworking the MBA. I would hate to see it but it could be possible that Apple wants to win "thin" outright vs Adamo.

I agree for the money we are spending, we all should get the latest greatest technology. If OLED is that much better, I will take it. I just hope we don't get stuck with 16x9 format.