Nice find Jobsian. You're always good for a thread or two per week, and you didn't disappoint with this one.
A lot of this seems too good to be true... I remember thinking that when the v 2,1 MBA was introduced. Back then, compared to the MB, the MBA was nice and similar except portability, but compared to other ultraportables, the MBA was INCREDIBLE! There was no competition for the v 2,1 MBA. The original MBA failed to meet the claims of Apple as it wasn't really Mac capable. But the 2,1 MBA had everything one could expect from a Mac and more.
I am not putting it past Apple to make such an MBA in Early 2011, but I have ZERO hope for an MBA this year as we can look to the recent MBP update and see ZERO INNOVATION! For the first time I can recall, the MBP updates had ZERO innovation improvements in the update. Thinking about how a company could achieve standard voltage CPUs in an ultraportable that weighs two pounds and is that thin, is amazing. Remember back two years ago Apple was submitting several liquid cooling patent applications for its notebooks. Then there were several more apps last Summer. I have learned over the years that inside information on early prototype testing takes one year or more before it gets released in a product. I believe these patent apps seem to turn up two years before a product is released.
I believe a lot of trade secrets are stolen from insiders at companies and sold to competition. We also see a lot of direct copying of new technology from one product maker to the next. While using a Core i7-620m sounds great in an ultraportable, even if it could be cooled, it's going to use a lot more battery tech than is currently capable to achieve a 5-hour battery. I think the Core i7-620m might be the only standard voltage used and sold as BTO for someone who is happy with a 2-hour battery... especially if it could be charged in ten minutes. I guess the point is if another company can do this, APPLE CAN COPY IT! If Apple doesn't have the resources to care about its Macs anymore, as it's too damned focused on iPhone OS products, then I guess we can just hope Apple copies an ultraportable like this for its next MBA. It's sorta sad to say it, but with the iPhone OS products, Apple has lost its way as a computer company.
I agree with the few posters here that say Apple is now so far behind the competition, or that it's focused on iPhone OS products, or that it doesn't seem to care about the MBA. It is true as Apple hasn't upgraded the MBA since its v 2,1 introduction in October 2008. A lot can happen in 19 months, and in this case the whole competition has caught up in 19 months.
Apple should deliver this product as the v 3,1 MBA at WWDC. It would be great if Jobs had "one more thing" to show us. However, with the recent Macs from Apple, and the complete lack of innovation for recent Mac upgrades, and the long time between updates, I say there is almost ZERO possibility that the next MBA will compete with such an ultraportable. Isn't it sad that Apple has decided to forget about the MBA for so long? For 19 months, the MBA has stayed nearly exactly the same. 19 months is an eternity in the technology age. We can look at this competing ultraportable to see just how badly our innovative Apple has lost its way... too focused on its damned iPhone OS products!