Apple unveils new, instant-on MacBook Air: 'MacBook meets iPad' - Page 4

Don't you think they would, with their now very successful experience with the A4, design their own SoC with intel Nvidia guts for these babies?
Isn't that the logical thing to do to really get these guys to blaze while sipping electrons? That's how they'll really differentiate themselves from the also rans (and increase their profit margins.)

Am I the only one that isn't that impressed?

Same processor, same cache, same bus speed, same memory, same graphics memory, same size, same weight, and only 8GB more disk space.

This isn't an upgrade. If you currently own an Air there is no reason to buy the new model at all. Even if it's a bit faster in practice because of the IO or more durable because of the lack of a hard drive or whatever, it's certainly not a no-brainer. You'd have to seriously compare both models side by side to even know whether this thing is worth buying.

Also, I'm not sure why they made the 11" one at all. It has even crappier specs than the current MacBook Air, and isn't really much smaller so it doesn't gain any of the advantages of a true netbook.

Not quite. The Core2Duo CPUs are significantly faster than the Atom CPUs found in netbooks, the GPU also, the amount of RAM, and having Flash storage instead of the typical 160GB HD in netbooks. The smallest screen is 11.6 instead of the ~10 of netbooks, not to mention the full size keyboards. Oh, and the Air is still significantly thinner than any netbook I've seen.

Apple still offers the USB superdrive.

Processor upgrade only available on the 11" 128Gb and the 13" 256Gb

It's an ultra portable, I wouldn't have expected Apple to include optical drive. Personally, I have a MBP and since purchasing it in 2009. I've used my optical drive once. Doesn't Mac OS allow optical drive sharing?

Why are so many referring to the Airs as netbooks??? Just because they are small and light???

Dude, these MBA's are not intended to be you primary computer. If you want 1TB storage, get the Time Capsule and sync via MobileMe or Dropbox. This is purely a companion device.

yes, you can order 4 gigs of ram as a $100 upgrade

I think a main reason Apple stuck with C2D is the fact that Intel REQUIRES that Apple buy the whole chipset from them to get into the new i series of chips (ie: including the Intel integrated GPU) which they do not want to use since it #1: Sucks and #2: Takes up more space. Sticking with C2D lets them sidestep this issue and use the better Nvidia GPU without compromising the design.

Intel went to court with nvidia and won the right to prevent anyone from building their own in board video card. In other words, you can use the i3 with intels integrated graphics or a discreet card, no 3rd party integrated graphics. Since apple has found the core 2 duo plus the 340m out performs the i3 by itself, this is where we're stuck for now.

I'm wondering if it can run Starcraft II and future Diablo III. Steve Jobs didn't mention Blizzard as a partner in the event show. If the graphic card can make Starcraft II run smoothly, I may consider to buy one even though I have owned a newest macbook pro already...

4 Gig of ram upgrade is one reason. SD slot is nice now that its in the air. Much upgraded resolution, so I guess those are the main reasons I hit the bid and ordered a 13 inch for my work/travel laptop, to replace a 12 inch iBook G4.

I am too surprised that more people aren't griping about his. Why not at least offer it as an option like the iPad. I really like the A-la-Carte 3G setup for that. At least make it an upgrade???

This is a bit of a tangent, but I was almost expecting Apple to unveil A4 powered MBAs today. They already have a good bit of the Mac OS X code ported to ARM. Developers could leverage the same technique they are familiar with (universal Power & Intel binaries) to deliver triple-universal binaries (Power, Intel & ARM).

That would take battery life to the next level! I suppose reclaiming space due to miniaturization of components was the low hanging fruit in this case. I would not be surprised to see ARM chips in the MBA at some point, especially if 'Back to the Mac' is going to be an ongoing campaign!

Yeah, except the original MBA was hyped as the ODD killer as well. and 2 years (and at least 8 MBP revisions) later they still have them.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/design.html then scroll down.

The ram is the 8 ICs in the middle right above the middle two battery modules and looks very soldered to me. The storage (on the left) appears to be upgradable with a screw on the left and a socket on the right. Also the graphic Jobs used in the presentation (1:18) shows a removable storage module. It doesn't look like a standard connection so it might be awhile before there is a third party option if ever.

Also, on the specs page for the MBA the ram is described as "onboard," a distinction that Apple does not make for the MB or MBP.

In short RAM is not upgradable and storage is possibly upgradeable. We'll have to wait for ifixit.com to take things apart.

Sexy design, beautiful concept, but too expensive. The early adopter in me wants one just to own it but not for over $1k.

Wait, you want them to design a system on a chip using intel cpus and nvidia gpus? Intel would have to license them the ability to produce those and given how much they've fought against NVIDIA for that, I don't see that happening. The notebook i-series processors (Arrandale) all have GPUs built in, so any Frankenstein Apple developed like you mention would have a chunk of the Intel system chip always doing nothing and just taking up space.

I think it's more likely at this point that Apple leaves the Air alone for another year or so and early next year or by the summer we see what happens between Sandy Bridge and AMD's Fusion chips. If Fusion is able to sip power comparably and produce equivalent numbers (at least in a $/GHz or whatever), then we could see Apple using all AMD. No concern about who you use for graphics w/AMD processors.



320M, but otherwise correct.



http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/20...acbook-air.ars

"Some (but not all) questions from our readers were answered by the Apple PR people standing by. Yes, both Air models come with glossy screens, and you can get them both with either 2GB or 4GB of RAM built in. You cannot upgrade the RAM though—you must order it at the capacity you want it, or else you're out of luck. "

I've said it already, but you miss the point on the 3G issue. I don't need 3G all the time, and society is working such that almost anywhere you go has WiFi, but for those few times that 3G is necessary, it would be nice to have it when you need it, and not on a subscription, but a-la-carte.

Perhaps with the right incentives they'd allow Apple (if not Nvidia) do it?
If not, as the A4 demonstrates, OSX recompiles to other chips quite nicely. Are there some reasonable alternatives to Intel CPU designs for an Apple SoC?

Time and technology have presented a better value proposition for SSDs. I agree with solipsism, its time has come.

Yeah, I'm not saying they aren't better than the old ones. It's just that they are only ever so slightly better than the old ones.

I know several people that bought the original MacBook Air and have suffered through the last two to three years with it, the breakages, (many lost their data several times), the poor performance, and a whole lot of insults from people who thought they were idiots for buying it. It just seems odd that at the end of all that, Apple is offering essentially the same device (admittedly with some fixes for the most egregious design flaws.) It makes you feel like you were just some kind of test dummy for Apple to have to go through all that, and that at the end of it all there is no reward.

I also find it kind of amusing how Apple can have a lack-lustre event like this and yet everyone is still admiring them as if they were gods, when in fact what they have delivered is rather mild and not that interesting.

Anyone notice how iDVD is still in iLife, iWeb has *not* been updated, and the mysterious "new app" didn't materialise? They basically missed the deadline I suppose, but no one ever criticises them for it. Presumably there will be blog posts about it tomorrow or next week when everyone runs out of wonderful gushy things to say about the new Air.

As "nice" as it would be, it would add $ to the cost and even if you made it an "option" it would require space that would presumeably come at the expense of battery space. In other words, they'd have to make the MBA fatter than it is to accommodate the option. And then they'd have to replace some bit of aluminum with plastic like they did with the iPad ... meaning they would have to change the body of the MBA for everybody just to offer the option to a few.

I don't disagree, I was making the point that we've seen/heard this all before, without seeing any change. Apple is one of the few companies that offer SSD for laptops. On a side note, i'm really surprised that DVD's haven't been replaced with chips yet. Blu-ray won out because the players are backwards compatible, but now that SSD chips are getting significantly cheaper, we will see this transition in the next 5 years. Which suck for me because I finally converted to BD's.

I'll take fatter if it was an option. The MBA is already ridiculously thin as it is. Yes, it would effect battery life, and it would affect weight (by a dozen or so grams), but I'd rather that on an a-la-carte (iPad style) over the alternative.

Completely agree - totally underwhelmed. Core 2 cpu's.... Core 2 will be two generations behind from early 2011

USB 2? Where's USB 3 support given the need for external storage on these things. I mean 64GB?! Next year USB 3 devices will be flooding the market...

For what, exactly? You're not gonna be running AutoCAD or Final Cut Pro. If that's your intention, then you're a masochist. If you're gonna be writing or editing or doing basic design/illustration work, then .5 Ghz won't make that much of a difference.

Engineering is about the economics of physics. It's about calculating compromises. If you want something compact and ultralight, then you're gonna have to sacrifice some performance. If you want performance, then you're gonna have to compromise on compactness.

Blame Intel for the Core 2 duos and USB 2. Look up the prices of solid state drives before complaining about the size of the SSD.

Anyone see MSNBC posted a link to an article saying Apple Finally announces Verizon Iphone?

It goes to a dead link. I think they anticipated it, but it didnt happen and they forgot to remove the link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3033118/...h_and_gadgets/

Did I miss something? Is there now a Facetime desktop application?

You should be doing movie reviews. Heck that way we could see next years Academy Awards winners before they announce the contenders or even before the movies are released for general viewing.

By the way, perhaps you should let the world know just what the advantages of a true netbook are. Based on sales and their current downward sales trends, it seems that many of us aren't as well informed as you.

Talk about a no-brainer.

I play StarCraft 2 on my aluminum unibody MacBook w/ 256MB vram. To run smoothly, I have to crank down a number of the display settings: i.e. no particle effects, no depth of field, reduced physics, etc. The MBA has 256 MB DDR3 VRAM (same as my machine), so the performance would probably be the same as mine. I think to play StarCraft 2 the way the Blizzard gods intendedwith all the settings maxed outyou'd need a super fast 1 GB video card, which takes any MacBooks out of the running. We're talking 27" iMac or Mac Pro.

Yes. It is available for download.
http://www.apple.com/mac/facetime/

Louis CK has something to say to all the whiners and complainers on this forum.

How old are you? Put your pom-poms down for a second, stop playing dress-up. You'll become aware that some adults aren't as excited as you are about Apple product announcement today.

The exclusion of a component doesnt equal that product being the killer of that component. It could be a forerunner or omen of a potential trend. When did Apple call the MBA the ODD killer?

Even less so they don't tend to innovate. Apple is just a guilty as anybody, as an owner of a 3G iPhone can attest. It is better to mis a dead line or subtract support than to place on the market half baked software.

What I'm saying is that iLife is far better off a working viable product than a bug ridden piece of crap.

As to the people buying AIRs the issue is much the same but here we are talking mechanical instead of the abstract of the software world. Even with the vast improvements to the models released today I'm still rather shocked at the configuration of the two models.

I had really expected Apple to shoot for even better battery life in the 11" model. The way to the wold have been something like AMD's Bobcat based Fusion. The 13" model is pretty much what I expected processor / GPU wise but I'm not thrilled about the regression in performance. However either model is a far better choice than the old models, for people that can accept the performance limitations, which where poorly conceived.

I tend to disagree with the thought that the products aren't interesting. They may not be for me, though I have an internal debate going on about that, but they are a far better choice for many people than the old models. What is interesting though is what they suggest might be coming in the more advanced Mac Book Pros and maybe even the Mini's. An instant on Mini would be just as desirable as an instant on Mac Book Pro.

You can choose not to get excited about today releases, that is up to you, but I for one am hopeful that they are a view into the future of Apple hardware.

Dave

I don't quite understand why anybody would be considering or even comment on a MacBook Air if their primary use was playing video games.

However, having said that the new MacBook Air is purported to be (2X) faster than its predecessor. Which will more than suffice most of its notebook audience.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/performance.html

well, now you have one what you expected? NO. it is ridiculous. they didn't even put core i3. core 2 duo old processor with only SSD? then it costs more than $999. wait. who uses 64GB space for nowadays? do you think that you really take advantage of SSD for what? speed. I think that it is compromised for weight, and fitting the price line. I think it's failed. plus, Apple didn't reinvent netbook. actually, Intel invented netbook. and there is certain definition for netbook. whoever disagrees or not, macbook air is in the category of netbook anyway. don't refuse. this is ridiculous. I bet that macbook air won't be selling as many as other macbook macbook pro do. if I wouldn't correct, then I won't ever use mac again. period. today announcement was lame excepting mac os x 10.7 Lion.

by the way, why do we need mac app store when you already have app store embed into itunes store. something is wrong.

They're idiots. What part of "Back to the Mac" don't they understand? No iDevice was ever going to be released at this event. Ever.


You're obviously right, given that no one has one yet.


No, not really.

First Concept.
Earliest Mentionable Fit To The Category. (HEY, LOOK WHO MADE IT)
Another Early Concept.

Zero mention of Intel.


The MacBook Air is not being marketed within this definition.


FRICKING DUH. It's a niche product.


Absolutely zero of those applications work on your Mac. Please stop making a fool of yourself. Are you five?