i disagree with you scottsdale, i understand the new macbook airs are nicer than the old one, but when the old one came out it was a game changer. And im not sure if you had a "bad" machine or not but i use my macbook air 95 percent of the time, and i have A IMAC I5, i just never really need the speed of the IMAC. When the macbook air was released it did what it was supposed to and then some. My original rev macbook is running better than ever, because i just swapped out the hard drive for a runcore ssd and i couldnt love it more. Oh yea one more thing, I think this is JUST CRAZY but i just wanted to know what others thought, well i started up my imac i5 and my macbook air 1.6 ghz at the same time and the macbook air started up like 5 seconds before the imac also the shut down is like 1-2 seconds, the imac takes about 6-7 seconds to shut down. All this is oubiusly because of the RUNCORE SSD but i still think its amazing that the ssd can make THAT much of a difference.
I understand your views. The original MBA had a classy aluminum case. It had the best keyboard. It had a wonderful design that hid ports. The display was stunning. The large multitouch trackpad was innovative. However, I think there was a failure to execute because it didn't operate and perform like a Mac. It looked like a Mac, but it didn't act like a Mac to the user.
Macs could play simple videos. Macs didn't have core shutdowns and spinning beachballs from hell. Macs didn't fry and overheat so easily. Macs were dependable... the original MBA was not like a Mac. I admit that Apple did improve upon the original disasters with some better, but still not good, drivers. The best deal of the original MBA was for those who just wanted a secondary Mac to surf the web, do email, and word processing. For a writer, the original MBA would be perfect. The MBA was also great for on the go email and Internet.
I believe the 100% complete change to every major component in MBA v 2,1 shows just how bad the original MBA failed to execute. Intel Merom overheated 20W CPU. Intel 3100 GMA was terrible. DDR2 RAM wasn't special at 667 MHz. PATA drive controller was abysmal. SSD bandwidth was limited by the PATA drive controller. Micro DVI could only drive up to a 23" ACD.
The improved v 2,1 MBA brought... A Penryn 17W SL9x00 C2D at up to 2.13 GHz that doesn't overheat and can easily drive and cool like a Mac should. A new Nvidia 9400m GPU at 5X the graphics of the original MBA (along with better all around system of the integrated GPU) - and it keeps getting better with OpenCL, h.264, and phenomenal OpenGL. DDR3 RAM at 1066 MHz and over 55% faster. SATA drive controller that doesn't limit the SSD's capabilities and an SSD that smokes its predecessor and gets faster with new drivers with 10.6. Mini DisplayPort that allows the MBA to drive up to a 30" LED ACD!
As a capable computer to its intended target market, the v 2,1 MBA has truly succeeded where the original failed its intended market. The reason people were so upset who bought the original MBA for $1799 to $3099 was SJ didn't tell them that it wasn't like every Mac they had used before that actually worked.
Those who bought the dumped MBAs for $999 to $1299 had far different expectations. For those buyers, they got a piece of the "big time" in the coolest looking Mac ever, but it only did non-video/non-Flash-based Internet, email, and word processing. These buyers who bought the original MBAs on clearance only wanted to use the MBA as a secondary computer... these people are happy with the iPad now, and the iPad is a big improvement for the purposes they bought the original MBA and iPad for.
At the end of the day, most people I knew who bought the original MBA new at launch or within five months, and at full price, were completely disappointed. It failed those buyers who wanted this to be their primary Mac and who were willing to pay $1799 to $3099 for a Mac that was light as Air and fit in an envelope. The perfect traveling Mac was great in theory. Those who bought the MBA later as it was being dumped was completely happy with the MBA at $999 to $1299. It fit their needs for a secondary computer, but these were not the intended target market for the original MBA. Apple didn't have an iPad nor a cheap ultraportable or netbook alternative, so the closeout MBAs ended up fitting that role.
However one wants to view the original MBAs, they definitely damaged the brand in two ways. For one it was known as a computer that wasn't like other Macs as it didn't just work in fact it often failed its users. For the second, it devalued the potential price of future MBAs. Buyers got used to a $999 MBA and it was more difficult to sell a $2499 MBA when there was a $999 MBA out there. I don't believe Apple would have ever had to drop the price with the price change last June if the original MBA didn't damage the brand so badly. In addition, Apple didn't have a netbook or iPad so it went ahead and used the MBA as a high-priced alternative at $1499 to $1799. Apple couldn't upgrade the components because it couldn't afford to update and drop the prices. Keeping the prices high wouldn't have worked with that economy.
The economy is improving, and we're ready for a new MBA. I suspect we will see a price bump of $200 to $700 on the high-end MBA. I think the BTO options will determine the price points. Since Apple doesn't have to keep prices as low for the economy and it has an iPad, I think it will feel comfortable truly upgrading the MBA to make the updates worthy of the price increases.
