Apple's new MacBook Air dubbed world’s thinnest notebook

[AppleInsider]

Apple on Tuesday closed out its Macworld keynote address by introducing MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest notebook, measuring an unprecedented 0.16-inches at its thinnest point, while its maximum height of 0.76-inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks.

MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support so users can pinch, rotate and swipe.

MacBook Air is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1.
“We’ve built the world’s thinnest notebook—without sacrificing a full-size keyboard or a full-size 13-inch display,” said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. “When you first see MacBook Air, it’s hard to believe it’s a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display. But it is."

MacBook Air has a vibrant 13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display that is energy efficient, and its spacious trackpad offers multi-touch gesture support for pinch, rotate and swipe, making it more intuitive than ever to browse and rotate photos or zoom into web pages in Safari.

MacBook Air also features a full-size keyboard design in a sleek and durable aluminum enclosure. The backlit keyboard makes it ideal for dimly lit environments such as airplanes, studios or conference halls, and a built-in ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness of the keys as well as the display brightness for optimal visibility.

MacBook Air delivers up to five hours of battery life for wireless productivity and includes AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, which delivers up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g. Apple’s Migration Assistant software now enables users to quickly transfer files, applications and preferences from your old Mac to MacBook Air right over your wireless network.



MacBook Air users can buy the companion MacBook Air SuperDrive, a compact external drive designed for MacBook Air, for just $99. The MacBook Air SuperDrive is powered by MacBook Air’s USB port, eliminating the need to carry a separate power adapter. Many MacBook Air users will not find a need for an optical drive now that they can wirelessly rent movies from the iTunes Store, wirelessly backup files with Time Capsule and access the optical drives on remote PCs or Macs to wirelessly install software applications on MacBook Air, Apple said.



MacBook Air is powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz, and includes as standard 2GB of memory and an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive. An optional 64GB solid state drive contains no moving parts for added durability. Every MacBook Air includes a micro-DVI port so users can connect to Apple’s 20-inch or 23-inch Cinema Displays to extend their desktop or connect to projectors and other displays via DVI, VGA, Composite and S-video adapters. MacBook Air also includes USB 2.0 for plugging in peripherals or charging an iPod or iPhone, a headphone jack and Apple’s acclaimed MagSafe Power Adapter designed especially for mobile users.



The new MacBook Air ships with iLife '08 and Leopard, and embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress with its aluminum enclosure, a material highly desired by recyclers; Apple’s first mercury-free LCD display with arsenic-free glass; and brominated flame retardant-free material for the majority of circuit boards as well as PVC-free internal cables. In addition, MacBook Air consumes the least amount of power of any Mac, and its retail box, made primarily from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material, is 56 percent smaller by volume than the previously smallest MacBook packaging.

Pricing & Availability

The new MacBook Air will be shipping in two weeks through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), and includes:
13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with 1280x800 resolution;1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache; 800 MHz front-side bus;2GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM;80GB hard disk drive with Sudden Motion Sensor;Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100;Micro-DVI port (includes Micro-DVI to VGA and Micro-DVI to DVI Adapters);built-in iSight video camera;built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;one USB 2.0 port;one headphone port;multi-touch TrackPad with support for advanced multi-touch gestures including tap, scroll, pinch, rotate and swipe; and45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options and accessories include the ability to upgrade to a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 64GB solid state drive, MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork ‘08, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 1.5.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[aiolos]

It's pretty sweet with new video port on the side and the external optical drive, and the whole no comprimise with the display, keyboard, and processor, but DAMN is the higher end version expensive! Guess you gotta pay for portability.

Edit: Also that remote disc installation that they show off in the tour on the apple site is mad cool for a business situation: install remote disc on the Mac Pro or whatever (PC works too!), with multiple optical drives, put the main company software install discs there, and if anyone needs to reinstall or whatever, just wirelessly do it. That's very cool.

Also, hope the MB and MBP's get that trackpad soon, that's mad cool.

[ronster]

wow $1799 that's not cheap...sure looks pretty though.

[Jeremy Brown]

Amazing. The Remote Disc is a stoke of genius I reckon; totally obvious now, but not before. Also being able to do it with a PC is great (not that I have ever owed a PC). I wonder how long it will take them to bring the new trackpad to the macbook pro and macbook. Perhaps they will be overhauling them (at least the MBP) sometime this year. Who knows.

Regarding Time Capsule, i guess we now know what happened to wireless backup for time machine.

[Tracker]

Apple stock has dropped.

I purchased @ $170 now it's a little over $166. Figured all the news would have sent it up?

I'm sure over the next few weeks it will be back up to $200 or so.

[wirc]

They cut some interesting things here. No computer lock? Mono speaker? Analog audio only?

Otherwise, everything seems executed with characteristic boldness. Well done.

[LouisTheXIV]

Question....you guys think we will be able to swap the 80 gig hard drive for a 160 version like in the iPod Classic? Or will it not fit in?

What about RAM? Can it be upgraded to 4 gigs? Is this Penryn? How fast would 1.8 Ghz C2D be compared to a 2.8 Ghz Pentium 4?

[berkowit28]

Originally Posted by aiolos

It's pretty sweet with new video port on the side and the external optical drive, and the whole no comprimise with the display, keyboard, and processor, but DAMN is the higher end version expensive! Guess you gotta pay for portability.

The higher end version is not more portable - it's faster.

I wonder how much the Superdrive weighs - no specs on that. I suppose you can leave it in your room. I wonder how much thickness and weight they "saved" by not including the optical drive in the computer, and how much it adds being a separate item. In the MacRumorsLive transcript they had Steve saying "3 lbs was a good target weight, but required too many compromises with features." Then no weight mentioned at all. So I expected a weight of 3.5 lbs or so. But the spec say 3.0 lbs. Something must have got lost in the translation (aside from the optical drive).

[SpinDrift]

Ooh I like! Now I just have to find a reason to buy one. I wonder what excuse I can use?

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by aiolos

It's pretty sweet with new video port on the side and the external optical drive, and the whole no comprimise with the display, keyboard, and processor, but DAMN is the higher end version expensive! Guess you gotta pay for portability.

There is a compromise on the processor, but it's probably still perfectly useable.

The high end model is because of the $1000 solid state hard drive update. If you just want a faster CPU, you can buy the lower end model and BTO up the CPU for $300.

Now wired ethernet is an option, the funny thing is that it's cheaper than their modem! I guess they aren't exploiting their patent on more compact connectors.

[Flounder]

If this had been available with I needed to get a laptop this summer, I probably would have purchased this and kept my iMac, instead of getting a MBP and selling the iMac to my mother.

[green-bee.salsa]

Where are the Macbook / Macbook Pro Updates???

[wirc]

Originally Posted by Tracker

Apple stock has dropped.

I purchased @ $170 now it's a little over $166. Figured all the news would have sent it up?

I'm sure over the next few weeks it will be back up to $200 or so.

Citibank just posted a $9.1 billion loss and massive slowdown is predicted in every sector. The MacBook Air would have to resolve your debt to make the stock go up, when in fact it generally does the opposite.

[Flounder]

Originally Posted by Tracker

Apple stock has dropped.

I purchased @ $170 now it's a little over $166. Figured all the news would have sent it up?

I'm sure over the next few weeks it will be back up to $200 or so.

Haven't been watching apple stock very long I take it?

I can't think of a keynote where the stock didn't go down several dollars immediately after. That's just the way it is, and always shall be.

[PBG4 Dude]

Originally Posted by wirc

They cut some interesting things here. No computer lock? Mono speaker? Analog audio only?

Otherwise, everything seems executed with characteristic boldness. Well done.

Don't forget, no Firewire port either. So there's just no way to import video at all without using another computer.

[melgross]

I'm going to crosspost part of another post I made on another, older, thread, because I think it fits here as well.

[quote]There is very little here that we weren't hearing about, though without the detail and accuracy.

Thin. About 13/16" at its thickest, which is what I've said. Actually, most of the computer is almost that thick, tapering at the edges.

No optical drive. Pretty obvious for an ultrlight. But, one IS optional at a fair price, and will be small, and weigh little.

Drives!!! The biggest contention. A 1.8" 80 Gb standard. That shows that Apple does believe tha people will want more than a 32 GB SSD as standard—at a much lower price point.

The price for the 64 GB upgrade to that is what is expected. Those who niavely thought that Apple could just buy cheap Flash chips and solder them to the board were so far out on this it's a joke.

The price is a bit more than I expected. I was with the $1,500 estimates on this. But, as I said, the thinner it is, the more expensive it is.

But, the aluminum enclosure also adds to the cost, as does the all built-in status of WiFi, Bluetooth, lighted keyboard, LED backlighting, multitouch pad, etc.

So, even though it doesn't carry the moniker of "Pro", it clearly is in that line.

[Jeremy Brown]

Originally Posted by aiolos

It's pretty sweet with new video port on the side and the external optical drive, and the whole no comprimise with the display, keyboard, and processor, but DAMN is the higher end version expensive! Guess you gotta pay for portability.

Yeah, the Solid state drive option is hugely priced. But I guess that's what it costs. However the regular hard drive version, even with the 1.8 Ghz CPU is competitive. How much does a Sony TZ cost?

[riversky]

Originally Posted by green-bee.salsa

Where are the Macbook / Macbook Pro Updates???

They will just have a processor bump in spring or by the WWDC. They are state of the art now.

I configured the top end MacBook Air and it comes close to $4000!!! Wow. Very nice though.

No 4 Gig option because it uses a new motherboard completely different than the MacBooks (pros)

[amac4me]

This is really sweet. It's gonna be a hot item. Looking forward to purchasing mine!

[Bergermeister]

I really like the look of this new thing and it will serve my needs perfectly.

Though I almost impulse-ordered, I will hold off until I see it in person and can check the quality of construction. Apple has slipped badly in quality control and I don't want to waste 2 grand.

Otherwise, WOW!

[jamezog]

Originally Posted by green-bee.salsa

Where are the Macbook / Macbook Pro Updates???

My thoughts exactly. I'm disappointed that there's no MBP update...

[Booga]

They are going to sell a butt-load of these systems. However-- The lack of ethernet is the big negative for me. And... no dock?! Are they insane? This device screams for a dock, and without it, despite its size and weight, I don't consider it very portable.

[teckstud]

Stunning! The best looking Apple laptop since the Titanium- 5 years ago. A welcome return to their impecable design which has slipped as of late.

[floccus]

$1699 with edu discount... but the flash drive is a whopping $899 upgrade..

I'd still rather get a normal Macbook Pro at the moment.. but let the price of flash HDs fall and I might bite in a few years.

Very interesting method to resolve the lack of an optical drive.. share another computers over wifi.. Steve is pulling another iMac.. getting rid of a disk drive before we'll really miss it. Time will soon tell if this is the right time for that.

[caldercay]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/notebook-...azr-263359.php

[riversky]

[QUOTE=melgross;1198233]I'm going to crosspost part of another post I made on another, older, thread, because I think it fits here as well.

There is very little here that we weren't hearing about, though without the detail and accuracy.

Thin. About 13/16" at its thickest, which is what I've said. Actually, most of the computer is almost that thick, tapering at the edges.

No optical drive. Pretty obvious for an ultrlight. But, one IS optional at a fair price, and will be small, and weigh little.

Drives!!! The biggest contention. A 1.8" 80 Gb standard. That shows that Apple does believe tha people will want more than a 32 GB SSD as standard—at a much lower price point.

The price for the 64 GB upgrade to that is what is expected. Those who niavely thought that Apple could just buy cheap Flash chips and solder them to the board were so far out on this it's a joke.

The price is a bit more than I expected. I was with the $1,500 estimates on this. But, as I said, the thinner it is, the more expensive it is.

But, the aluminum enclosure also adds to the cost, as does the all built-in status of WiFi, Bluetooth, lighted keyboard, LED backlighting, multitouch pad, etc.

So, even though it doesn't carry the moniker of "Pro", it clearly is in that line.

I think you are wrong! I wouldn't at all say this is a pro machine. No internal optical drive (production people need to burn on demand), small screen and no independent GPU chip.

AND it is 1ghz SLOWER than the top MacBook Pro

[movingstereo]

wait till june for another upgrade ,

[shanmugam]

Everything is STUNNING but price is expensive

i think they should call it as

Mac Book Expensive

it is more expensive than 12" PB

[ginjg]

Are they targeting the midrange business user with this. Sure it's sleek, light and well featured but it has no firewire port so no video in for imovie, fcp express, or idvd creation on location.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Flounder

Haven't been watching apple stock very long I take it?

I can't think of a keynote where the stock didn't go down several dollars immediately after. That's just the way it is, and always shall be.

Well, I was disappointed in the lack of any info about Penyrn upgrades for any of the other machines. I also expected Apple to take advantage of that to offer better graphics for the iMac. My daughter and I waited for this keynote before buying her a new machine, and now, I don't know what to do.

I'm wondering just what Wallstreet was expecting. The movie rentals is really BIG.

I wonder if it was the lack of some sales numbers? The Air costing $300, or so, over expectations? The lack of other Penyrn announcements? More movie sales? No talk of more DRM-free content for iTunes?

Could be a bit of all the above, including what I've forgotten to put in to this post. Haven't checked my realtime stock account so far today. Could be the markets are down too.

[wirc]

Originally Posted by PBG4 Dude

Don't forget, no Firewire port either. So there's just no way to import video at all without using another computer.

Would you do video editing on this machine? I think this is aimed at business travel, and iMovie is just there because it's standard.

[John F.]

The Apple website says this has a special custom-built Intel Core 2 Duo processor in it, which is 60 percent smaller than the regular one. Is it true that Intel made it specifically for Apple? Did it cost Apple much, you think?

[frugality]

In retrospect I'm glad I didn't wait for this Macworld announcement hoping for a MBP upgrade. I bought a MBP in early Dec. I absolutely detest the chiclet keyboard...too bad Apple feels the need to use it on all their new computers.

This new name is going to cause confusion....the MBA....

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by PBG4 Dude

Don't forget, no Firewire port either. So there's just no way to import video at all without using another computer.

Not if you get an AVCHD camcorder, then you just connect it to the USB port and you get random access too, unlike tape. miniDV and HDV had a good run, but they're losing out now.

[anantksundaram]

Absolutely phenomenal. Wow.

As I look ahead at the spending plans for the next few months: Step 1 -- Time Capsule (1TB) and @TV (40GB) ; Step 2: MBA (the base version; would be nice if they came out with 3 or 4 GB RAM and 120 or 160GB as options) + External optical drive. .

Ouch. Ouch.

Screw the impending recession.

[eAi]

I've probably used my MacBook Pro's disk drive 3 times since I got it 6 months ago, and I could have just downloaded the drivers I was using it for...

I still think they'll be necessary (installing the OS without another computer) but external might be the way to go...

I'm impressed with the Air, and from a UK-based perspective, it's not that bad value, even with Apple's odd idea of exchange rates...

[audiopollution]

... people will find anything to whine about.

[ncee]

Originally Posted by Tracker

Apple stock has dropped.

I purchased @ $170 now it's a little over $166. Figured all the news would have sent it up?

I'm sure over the next few weeks it will be back up to $200 or so.

Count on $200.00 PLUS within the next few weeks. The drop ALWAYS happens. It sucks, but I've never sold any shares when this happens. I have several hundred. Of course I did purchase at UNDER $7.00 BEFORE the split

I HAVE been a Mac fan a long time.

Skip

PS Heck I was the founder and past President of what was Maine's largest Mac group (LA MUG) years ago, which is when I bought the stock. The group isn't going so strong now … but the stock is doing fine

Hey maybe I should see if the Mac group in CA wants to buy the URL (www.lamug.com)

[bucci]

I'm a bit dissapointed. While I think it looks really nice, the price doesn't justify the specs. I'm sure there will be some people who drop $1799 (minimum) for the cool factor, however.

Anyone think there will ever be a 2nd revision?

[melgross]

[QUOTE=riversky;1198255]

Originally Posted by melgross

I'm going to crosspost part of another post I made on another, older, thread, because I think it fits here as well.





I wouldn't at all say this is a pro machine. No internal optical drive (production people need to burn on demand), small screen and no independent GPU chip.

I'm not calling it a pro machine. But, with the aluminum case, and the pricing, it does fit into the Pro line, even though, as I said, it doesn't carry the name.

Besides, Pro is a funny designation. I know pro's who use MacBooks, and non pro's who use MBP's.

My feeling on this has always been that a pro machine, computer, camera, or anything else, is what a pro uses. Pro means professional, and that term means a lot. A doctor is a professional, so is a lawyer, engineer, accountant, etc.

Not all pro's are movie makers, and photographers.