MacBook Air - CUBE / or not CUBE?

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I think this product is going to fail miserably. I can not believe Apple thinks this thing is going to sell. I think it's so niche that it's ridiculous.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 185
    I said it may do ok because of the kids, especially girls digging the "thinness."
  • Reply 2 of 185
    mr. hmr. h Posts: 4,870member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by onlooker View Post


    I think this product is going to fail miserably. I can not believe Apple thinks this thing is going to sell. I think it's so niche that it's ridiculous.



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    Just so we're clear on this: you think that the Ultra-Portable market is too niche and Apple shouldn't have bothered, or that the MacBook Air is a poor Ultra-Portable?



    I don't have any interest in buying an Ultra Portable, but for those that do want one, the MacBook Air looks incredible and is very competitively priced.
  • Reply 3 of 185
    elixirelixir Posts: 782member
    truthfully, i think the mock ups look better than the actual laptop.



    apple dropped the ball in its look. the concave thing doesn't do it for me either. mainly its the screen that bothers me. it looks really fat and crappy. they needed to do the black outlining like they have on the imacs.





    i'm disappointed.
  • Reply 4 of 185
    The thing isn't even available yet, and we're already bashing it? I know true Apple enthusiasts are supposed to bag on Apple if and when they mess up, but c'mon! This is too much, it's like you want it to fail...



    Quote:

    truthfully, i think the mock ups look better than the actual laptop.



    I disagree 276%. The mockups were hideous. The Air looks sexy.
  • Reply 5 of 185
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Karelia View Post


    The thing isn't even available yet, and we're already bashing it? I know true Apple enthusiasts are supposed to bag on Apple if and when they mess up, but c'mon! This is too much, it's like you want it to fail...







    I disagree 276%. The mockups were hideous. The Air looks sexy.



    I agree the final Apple product is better.
  • Reply 6 of 185
    gfeiergfeier Posts: 127member
    More like an air ball. Let's see... $1799 and slower than a $1299 MacBook but more expensive than the MacBook with 2GB RAM, no optical drive, smaller, slower HD. Only thing going for it is 3 lbs. vs 5 lbs. The solid-state drive option is simply too expensive for a mass-market machine, so this is one for the style-concious only. Perhaps there are enough of them out there, but I doubt it.
  • Reply 7 of 185
    To me it looks fine but I won't overpay for a computer missing essential features such as optical drive, usb ports, firewire, ethernet... and has a slower cpu than the current Macbook. All of that to save 2lb??? I'll pass.
  • Reply 8 of 185
    chris vchris v Posts: 460member
    I'll take "not Cube" for $800.00, Alex.



    Hasn't everyone been screetching for this thing for two years, now? And what about Japan? Hundreds of posts here saying Apple can't sell laptops in Japan because they don't have a sub-notebook. As to the no external drive thing, that was 1: forseen. 2: overcome.



    It'll sell just fine. I bet lots of folks order this WITH the new base stations.
  • Reply 9 of 185
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gfeier View Post


    More like an air ball. Let's see... $1799 and slower than a $1299 MacBook but more expensive than the MacBook with 2GB RAM, no optical drive, smaller, slower HD. Only thing going for it is 3 lbs. vs 5 lbs. The solid-state drive option is simply too expensive for a mass-market machine, so this is one for the style-concious only. Perhaps there are enough of them out there, but I doubt it.



    Why on earth are people comparing this to a MacBook? For crying out loud!!!!!!!!! Wake up!
  • Reply 10 of 185
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KennyWRX View Post


    To me it looks fine but I won't overpay for a computer missing essential features such as optical drive, usb ports, firewire, ethernet... and has a slower cpu than the current Macbook. All of that to save 2lb??? I'll pass.



    Optical drive is FAR from essential. Cripes.



    Remote disc FTW.







    STOP COMPARING IT TO THE FREAKING MACBOOK.



    I propose that whoever keeps doing so, Audio, you should ban them.







    lol
  • Reply 11 of 185
    gfeiergfeier Posts: 127member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fishyesque View Post


    Why on earth are people comparing this to a MacBook? For crying out loud!!!!!!!!! Wake up!



    Check out a few other sites. Everybody is comparing it to the MacBook, and everybody will continue comparing it to the MacBook. Live with it.
  • Reply 12 of 185
    macflymacfly Posts: 256member
    its a cool laptop but once again, apple missed the point of an ultra portable. while the weight is nice, its the width that counts. people who need a small computer to carry around are usually more concerned with the dimensions (width, depth) rather than just weight. this thing is almost the same total size as a macbook just thinner and lighter. if i am in a cramped space and want to whip something out to do a little browsing or something wont this be too big? why not just get the macbook? at least i can have ethernet if i need it and a firewire port.

    the fucked up on the price point. if this had been $1100-1300 i think they would have had a winner for those of us who might have bought it just for the weight and cool factor who might not need a full fledged notebook. at $1800 ...uh uh.
  • Reply 13 of 185
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fishyesque View Post


    Why on earth are people comparing this to a MacBook? For crying out loud!!!!!!!!! Wake up!



    Ummm... Because it's the 3rd Apple laptop? It was positioned between the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro in the Keynote? What.. Now you can not compare the MacBook's features to the MacBook Pro's features to help decide which one is for you. "For crying out loud!!!!!!!!! Wake up!"
  • Reply 14 of 185
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Funny, I just posted somewhere else that I thought the MBA would be Apple's next Cube. It's even the same price (in the US) that the Cube debuted at.
  • Reply 15 of 185
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by onlooker View Post


    Ummm... Because it's the 3rd Apple laptop? It was positioned between the MacBook, and the MacBook Pro in the Keynote? What.. Now you can not compare the MacBook's features to the MacBook Pro's features to help decide which one is for you. "For crying out loud!!!!!!!!! Wake up!"



    I'm talking about when people call it a ripoff for not "having as much stuff" as the MacBook.
  • Reply 16 of 185
    lundylundy Posts: 4,466member
    Do not compare it to the MacBook. This is the ultra-portable that business travelers want. It is not for students or the usual MacBook customer.



    $1100-$1300? DREAM ON. Ultraportables cost more, not the same, as their heavier and thicker siblings.
  • Reply 17 of 185
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    I think Mr. H has it right.



    As an ultra portable, this thing looks awesome. If you see the demo, you'll also notice that Apple have leveraged the software to get the most out of this thing. The remote disk feature is very smart and AFAIK, has no equivalent in the pc space.



    IMO it also gives users of 'full sized' notebooks an idea of what to look forward to. I think the gestures features in the trackpad will show up on the next versions of MBP and MB.
  • Reply 18 of 185
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macfly View Post


    its a cool laptop but once again, apple missed the point of an ultra portable. while the weight is nice, its the width that counts. people who need a small computer to carry around are usually more concerned with the dimensions (width, depth) rather than just weight. this thing is almost the same total size as a macbook just thinner and lighter. if i am in a cramped space and want to whip something out to do a little browsing or something wont this be too big? why not just get the macbook? at least i can have ethernet if i need it and a firewire port.

    the fucked up on the price point. if this had been $1100-1300 i think they would have had a winner for those of us who might have bought it just for the weight and cool factor who might not need a full fledged notebook. at $1800 ...uh uh.



    1) Go take a look at CNET's "Top 5 ultra-portable laptops".



    2) Note prices, weights, and feature sets.



    3) Come back here, beg forgiveness.



    As has been noted, people are posting as if they have never heard of the ultra-portable category. Of course it costs more than a MacBook. Of course the specs are somewhat constrained. That's the market. People are willing to pay for size and weight reductions.



    It remains to be seen if it's a market that Apple can do well in, but it's just stupid to act like Apple has made some kind of grave miscalculation because this thing isn't priced and specced like a MacBook. Nobody makes that machine.



    Moreover, Apple is offering some nice amenities not available from the competition-- back lighted keyboard, "Air Disc", LED screen, and, as they note in their marketing materials, no compromise in keyboard or screen size (although the point made in an earlier post about all over size being an issue strikes me as valid, and possibly the real weakness in this design-- have to wait and see how it's received to know for sure).
  • Reply 19 of 185
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    This is the laptop my mother (a trans-continental business traveler) has been whining for for five years. She feels a MacBook is too heavy, ferchrissakes.



    Three pounds has been her magic number for a while now - it'll be interesting to see if she bites.
  • Reply 20 of 185
    macflymacfly Posts: 256member
    dude, besides the thin aspect how is this an ultra portable. that was my point. yeah great...its thin ..and weighs 2 pounds less. but it also has the same dimensions as a macbook. with smaller drive, no optical, no firewire(no target disk) , crappier graphics, and no ethernet.

    as i said, it is nice but not $1800 nice.
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