The Air will not be 'nixed', it's a very successful product for Apple, especially with the price drop ... before the price drop they where selling about 20,000 MBA's weekly ... that's respectable volume.
Why people write on this forum that it's a "failed product" I'll never understand ... they've likely never owned an Air that's for sure
It's definitely NOT a failed product, but some people have negative impressions about it due to the original MBA's failures. Anyone who has given the rev B/C MBAs a chance with Nvidia GPU and SSD definitely love their MBA!
However, I do think Apple has lost a ton of money on the MBA development in the short-term... but it's becoming successful with lower pricing, at least I have to believe.
Finally, the 5% odds I say that the MBA doesn't exist is really just Apple taking the MBA branding off the table and creating a MB that is the former MBA.
Going back to the MB. A friend of mine has family at Apple. The family member has given him credible information in the past. He did say the MBA would not be updated when it was, claiming it would come later. It was a very minor update, so makes sense. Anyways, so my friend tells me two weeks ago that the MBA prototype seen was plastic or carbon fiber. It was thinner than a MB yet not quite as thin as the MBA is now. Worst part was thinks it was an Atom CPU, Ion Graphics, and included a built in optical drive (none of which sounds like an MBA). In addition, it absolutely was NON-UPGRADEABLE in ANY WAY. I think that means everything is soldered on the board and drive is probably somehow not serviceable too??? What I think the "insider" saw was the new MB and NOT the next MBA or an MBA prototype. It makes all the sense in the world with the MB rumor. So, still no insider or new news on what the next MBA might entail. Quite frankly, I was nervous about what I heard UNTIL the MB RUMOR the other day... that made perfect sense.
What I still pray is the MBA remains a LOW VOLTAGE CPU and not ultra low voltage, as that would be the end of my primary Mac capable MBA. A carbon fiber MBA doesn't interest me either. And the last thing I want is a little thicker to include an optical drive.
I am actually hopeful for an update or addition of a new high end MBA before the Arrandale CPU switchover. I would be very happy with the same exact CPU - SL9600. Throw in the Nvidia 200m GPU rumored last week, a 256 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM (or better yet two RAM slots), and glass trackpad. I don't care if we cannot get more battery power if it raises weight or adds to thickness.
Anyways, here's to a new MB, a new tablet, and a new MBA later this year!