Played around with the MBA for about a week before I decided it just wasn't for me. There is a lot to like there, including a great screen, keyboard, form factor, weight, and looks. In its' weight range, I still think the MBA is the best laptop out there. I just should have considered my preferences more carefully before picking one up.
1. Closed System - It works great right now. In 3-5 years it's gonna be looking mighty slow though, and the fact I can NEVER put in a new hard drive, ram, battery, etc, really got me after a while. I am a geek, I like to break things open and mess around with them. When they break, I fix them. I can't do that, ever. The more I thought about it, the more this got to me. It basically goes against the the entire ethos of open system architecture, open source software, etc. Mac has always been a closed system, and this has enabled them to achieve some amazing things. Here I just thought they went too far, and it rubbed me the wrong way.
2. Ergonomics - The trackpad is positioned in a bad way for me, and it is super sensitive. That means it picks up slight brushes of my hands while I am typing and there is no option in the MBA to disable accidental mouse gestures while typing. The click button is quick small. You get used to it, but I would prefer something more solid feeling. Also, the wrist wrest edge is quite sharp. No, I don't have cuts on my hands, but it's annoying.
3. LED Backlit Keys: The light peeks out under the keys. It's an annoyance, but for a laptop that is supposed to be sexy, beautiful, and perfect in every visually appealing way, it's a blunder. It does not look professional.
4. Poor wireless - For a laptop called the "Air", it should have a really amazing wifi pickup. It didn't. Sitting in the student cafe, the two guys next to me were happily working away on their Macbooks. I couldn't get a reliable signal. It's not horrible, but it should be better considering that wireless connectivity is so important in this laptop.
5. Battery - Long charge times, quick rundown.
I'm picking up a 15-Inch MBP for $1499 on Apple Refurb. Less money, more features. Fixable. Time-tested. No computer is perfect (except perhaps the near-legendary 12" PB), and the Air is a great computer for what it is. I think once the price comes down and the we see a revision or two, I may still pick one up as a secondary notebook.
1. Closed System - It works great right now. In 3-5 years it's gonna be looking mighty slow though, and the fact I can NEVER put in a new hard drive, ram, battery, etc, really got me after a while. I am a geek, I like to break things open and mess around with them. When they break, I fix them. I can't do that, ever. The more I thought about it, the more this got to me. It basically goes against the the entire ethos of open system architecture, open source software, etc. Mac has always been a closed system, and this has enabled them to achieve some amazing things. Here I just thought they went too far, and it rubbed me the wrong way.
2. Ergonomics - The trackpad is positioned in a bad way for me, and it is super sensitive. That means it picks up slight brushes of my hands while I am typing and there is no option in the MBA to disable accidental mouse gestures while typing. The click button is quick small. You get used to it, but I would prefer something more solid feeling. Also, the wrist wrest edge is quite sharp. No, I don't have cuts on my hands, but it's annoying.
3. LED Backlit Keys: The light peeks out under the keys. It's an annoyance, but for a laptop that is supposed to be sexy, beautiful, and perfect in every visually appealing way, it's a blunder. It does not look professional.
4. Poor wireless - For a laptop called the "Air", it should have a really amazing wifi pickup. It didn't. Sitting in the student cafe, the two guys next to me were happily working away on their Macbooks. I couldn't get a reliable signal. It's not horrible, but it should be better considering that wireless connectivity is so important in this laptop.
5. Battery - Long charge times, quick rundown.
I'm picking up a 15-Inch MBP for $1499 on Apple Refurb. Less money, more features. Fixable. Time-tested. No computer is perfect (except perhaps the near-legendary 12" PB), and the Air is a great computer for what it is. I think once the price comes down and the we see a revision or two, I may still pick one up as a secondary notebook.
But whatever!
