What will make you want to buy the mid-2011 MBA?

[Duke15]

Backlit keys
i7
tb
4gigs ram standard
price drop
better battery life

Not in any specific order, but i do feel like they should offer 4g ram standard, more storage or back lit keys seeing as a) saving money by not having discrete graphics b) if they go with 17w chip in the 13" that leaves plenty of power for blk and more battery life (although i believe they'll go with a 25w chip in the 13inch)

 

[Cheffy Dave]

What will make me want to buy the mid-2011 MBA? I'd say... winning the lottery

I'm interested in the 13", so I'd say:

• i5/i7 CPU
• 1600x900 resolution
• 320GB SSD (standard or as moderately priced upgrade)
• 4GB RAM standard (but upgrading isn't that big of a deal to me)
• 8-9 hours of battery life (I'd be happy with 7, but seeing more seems possible with newer CPU architecture and no Nvidia GPU)
• Smaller footprint (which would mean, smaller bezel)
• Backlit keyboard (never used one, but they seem neat)
• AMD/Nvidia GPU (not happening, but boy would it be nice!)

KP, I like the cut of your Jib on this I'd change the SSD to 128/256 with 320 optional, 4 GB standard, with 8 gb optional, that said, EVEN WITH MY ADDITIONS, if it has INTEL integrated graphics, I'll be happy with our 3 2010 11 inchers, with 360 GB OWC SSD's

 

[Young Spade]

i don't get the allure of a backlit keyboard. do you guys not type in home row? can you not see the keys with the light from the screen?

Well I'm a touch typer so I never really look at the keyboard, however when I'm at my friends' houses and it's dark in the room I have to tilt the screen down so I can find a specific key if I need to. I am using a BlackBook so everything's black (that doesn't help lol) but it would be nice to have.

Don't need it though and I wouldn't mind if they left it out. That's really the only time I would need it; I tend to have some light on so I don't kill my eyes.

 

[samroberto]

THese will make the new MBA fine by me:

1. decent processor boost in the SB's, better fsb and cache.
2. 4gb RAM Standard. Upgrade to 8gb. And bumped to 1333mhz.
3. x>256 GB SSD. Even if it's only to 320 (but would hope for 512 of course).
4. Backlight Keyboard.
5. Facetime HD.

Thunderbolt? sure ok. Doesn't do us any good yet. :/ would love to see some hard drives and peripherals roll out for the average consumer range.

 

[Cynicalone]

Core i7 2677M is the one thing I think I really want.

4GB's of RAM is already available, and should be standard going forward, with the option for 8GB's being a strong possibility. As someone who has tested Lion for months I can safely say it is a memory hungry cat. I know it is only a beta, but it is damn close to launch.

I would say a 512GB SSD but shudder to think what Apple would charge for that.

 

[KPOM]

I don't game, so the HD 3000 doesn't bother me so much. I'd like to see the 1.7GHz Core i7 make it into the 11", though I'm guessing it's going to be limited to the 13". A Core i7 of any kind in the 11" combined with a 256GB SSD option would probably be enough for me to pull the trigger. I'm almost certain we'll get Thunderbolt, and that interests me, too. I'd like to see some more peripherals come out, but I'd settle at this point for a Thunderbolt HD enclosure that I could use for an external backup drive.

 

[Apple Expert]

Since we got an idea of the cpu and the possibility of more memory, would you still want the refreshed one if it didn't include back-lite keyboard?

 

[seepel]

I think I have already convinced myself that I'm going to pull the trigger on an 11", basically what I want is some Sandy Bridge goodness. Although if for some stupid reason the 11" doesn't come with Sandy Bridge I may be second guessing myself...

What would make me do it with a giant grin? The above plus upgrades on the 11" for 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM (in that order). And improved battery couldn't hurt.

 

[leftywamumonkey]

KP, I like the cut of your Jib on this I'd change the SSD to 128/256 with 320 optional, 4 GB standard, with 8 gb optional, that said, EVEN WITH MY ADDITIONS, if it has INTEL integrated graphics, I'll be happy with our 3 2010 11 inchers, with 360 GB OWC SSD's

Cheffy Dave, do you bring that up in every one of your posts???

 

[jameskohn]

Ir

Interesting to note that nobody has mentioned putting back the IR port so the Apple remote would work again. I ordered a 13" ultimate config 2010 MBA when they were released. Only after I received it did I realize that Apple had removed the IR. I do a ton of presentations, and all of the workarounds were just too clumsy for me. Ethernet still comes in handy when traveling, as some hotels only have wired internet in guest rooms, so the MBA required carrying another dongle. Lack of backlit keyboard and the unattractive bezel bugged me too. Performance was not an issue at all: I'm not a gamer, and I have an iMac for any heavy lifting. So I returned the MBA for a 13"MBP with an SSD. So much more machine.
So my wish list is for IR and Ethernet, then backlit keyboard and blacked out bezel. I don't expect any of that to happen, so I'll wait for the next MBP and hope that the form factor evolves toward that of the MBA.

 

[mwayne85]

11.6" with:
Sandy Bridge
Thunderbolt
256GB option (I think it's possible)
Backlit keyboard (I think it's possible)
AMD graphics (Not gonna happen)
SD card slot (Not gonna happen)
Turns me into an instant chick-magnet (Definitely not gonna happen)

I'll be content with the first three, the rest would just be a bonus.

 

[MyRumors]

a 15" MBA would be sweet!

I want a bigger sceen but think the MBP is to bulky and heavy.