High-quality photos and notes on Apple's new MacBook Air - Page 3

I think the laptop is actually pretty good design. There are a few things here or there.
I think it would work perfect for my senario and if they release that iMac like docking stations from those patents that would the holy grail for myself.

That aside, my point is simply.

1. There will be someone out there that will for some reason want to upgrade the memory and will soon find out that it is not upgradeable and in-fact it is soldiered on the mother board. So there response will be file a class-action (any body can file a suit for any reason now weather it will be tossed is another story).

2. My battery is failing after just a year and half or something like that and I cant replace it. I am suing because I have to take it to apple and I have to leave it and I don't have my computer and they want to charge me for a loner (Heard that one before) Whaaaaaaaaaaa.

I personally think it is stupid and will never win however the suing will come.

Hell apple gets sued on a monthly basis it seems like now.

An external battery exists which works perfect with current MacBooks and MacBook Pros. See http://www.batterygeek.net for details. (I have no business interest here, but I'm using one of their batteries and are very satisfied.) Of course the battery weighs more than the MacBook Air, but on long flights you drop the battery in the seat pocket and enjoy 10++ hours of juice.

But one thing is stunning me: Given that the MacBook Air is aimed at travelers, does it really miss a Kensington Lock slot? I couldn't find one on any photo....

Q-chan

There is a huge border around the screen to help with rigidity. There is practically no space between the aluminum and the backside of the screen. The only place to add stiffness if around the screen. Add to that the new led backlighting. Since the circuitry cannot be added to the back of the screen, you must line up the modules all around it and pipe the light to the back of the LCD.

The cube wasn't a portable. This is.

I can see why the extra cost for miniaturization with the cube didn't fly. I don't see this as the same thing at all.

There are tons of people who travel constantly and mainly use their computers for reading and typing text, and looking at images. Saving space and weight is a huge deal.

The only complaint I have about it is that you can't get it with more than 2 gigs of ram.

Except the MBA has only shrunk in the Z-dimension... not in the dimensions that matter most: the X & Y. Even if it's as thin as a piece of paper, if it has a 13.3" diagonal, it still will be too big for a lot of people.

That was the problem with the Cube. It cut the wrong fat. This will be the MBA's undoing.

If 13.3" was too big before, the MBA didn't change that.

-Clive

Why is the X & Y the most important? What if the size issue really was mostly the Z? Or the weight? Or the ability to stuff more papers in the briefcase? X & Y won't affect the number of papers you can stuff.

Anyone been able to try the keyboard? I heard someone (who I don't think had used it) complain about the "chicklet" keyboard. That's BS, right? I wonder how it compares to the other current Apple offerings.

Dear Clive, I am sorry to sound like your dad but as a daily 12" powerbook user I can only tell you that anything smaller than 13,3" is way too small to have a pleasant workflow (despite spaces). It's like wearing tight underpants all day long, it's sexy but doesn't feel like

I finally looked at the pictures (which aren't bad BTW; quit your whining you DoF perfectionists), and I noticed that it looks like the case may be exceptionally easy to open. I've had to open my 12" PB maybe a half dozen times to diagnose and swap out a failing hard drive and it was a pain in the ass. The MBA on the other hand has 8 or 10 exposed screws around the outside of the bottom of the case. I'm hoping that means eliminating the ugly pop-off-the-keyboard steps to get inside.

More importantly, it's possible that the battery and hard drive are basically 8 or 10 screws away from access. So a year from now when cheap higher-volumes drives are available it might not cost an arm and a leg (or nerves of steel) to upgrade.

Argh!
Did you really have to o that?! Now I'm getting all giddy about the nest MBP, too: this would be one sweet machine, even without the SSD and second HD options.

However, the MBA is rather tempting too... a nicely beefy Mac Pro with an MBA as mobile Ersatz computer... yum!

In that case, your anti-whining is whining too.

It's not about doing a perfect job, I'm don't think that the technique used is anything but misapplied and way overdone, as in doing DOF for its own sake rather than to good artistic effect.

I second this notion.

Once a device is too big to fit into your pocket, where do you put it? Seems like the vast majority of people put it in carry-on luggage, a backpack, or a briefcase.

For these types of toating, weight and the z dimension are indeed the most critical. How may briefcases, backpacks, and carry-ons have I seen that are incapable of fitting the MBA's x and y? None that I can recall.

Well, the ridiculously tiny fold-down trays you encounter on many planes, trains, and buses, for starters.

A pretty terrible platform to work on if your laptop's footprint is too big.


.

I had flown one round trip last year, in economy class, and that wasn't a problem.

What kind of bag would someone have that wouldn't fit something 9 by 13 inches? I can't imagine a backpack or briefcase that would be too small for this. Do you really think people want a laptop that fits in a purse? Especially when doing that means a smaller screen? I would think that out of all possible sacrifices, giving up a decent size screen would be the wrong "fat" to cut, it's a major usability issue.


Isn't that the exact same keyboard as the macbook?

I might just be adding fire to the flame here, but, I've been reading a lot, and thinking a lot, and these are my two cents.

Everyone has this preconceived notion that an ultraportable is a computer that is really just as tiny as possible, 11 or even 10 inches with a small keyboard and not much visual space. For some reason, everyone fell in to the belief that this was the only way to handle a ultraportable. The way that I look at it, this is one way to look at an ultraportable, the macbook air is another. You can carry this computer around as if it were just another pad of paper. It has a full keyboard, a bright screen so you don't have to strain your eyes, or worry about making mistakes like some of us do with small fingers. Apple got rid of all the things that you don't need on the move, and sure they "replaced" them with things that you are going to have to buy through them, but there is still a legit replacement.

Apple took the idea of an ultraportable and took it in a new direction, this thing really is barebones... but it isn't barebones in the factor of convenience. Think about what this computer will be used for: taking notes, surfing the web, watching an occasional show or movie that you can keep on the harddrive, ichatting, video chatting, possible editing. You can do all of those on the move now, and if you want you can keep that and plenty of other things in your bag because of how light it is and how well it fits with everything else. The way I see it is though, is that now you can do it comfortably. Apple has started to offer some of the best keyboards around, and the fact that they are putting it in to now one of the smallest computers just shows how much they think about both form factor and convenience.

I'm not sold on this computer at all yet, I will have to see it in the store for myself and see if it is worth the purchase, but something this tiny, and it is truly tiny, is exactly what I was looking for. And seeing that it has a monitor as bright and as skinny as that gives an advantage in my eyes, being one that values screen space.

Long story short, looking at what ultraportables have done before the macbook air, Apple is not trying to compete against the market, yet pushing it in a whole new direction, and I for one like it.

Other than the Air has a backlit screen, MB doesn't, it does look the same.

Well, that's you. Other folks' mileage can, and does, vary.

The funny thing? I bet ya that if the MBA had a true subnotebook footprint, everyone would be going on and on about how wonderful that is, instead of insisting that the current not-so-small footprint 'isn't an issue'.

Apologists, unite!!!

The MBA is nice, and I like it, but it doesn't seem to be a true subnotebook.


.

But even if it is wider than the tray, how is it really a problem? The tray is flat with maybe a tiny lip on the edge, the notebook is flat, even if it extends over the sides of the tray, I don't see how it's a big deal. I can see it being a big deal if it's wider than the seat, but it's not nearly that wide. The height and depth of the MBAir is smaller than the notebook that I used too.

Well, for one thing, if its significantly wider than the tray, then the rubber feet you find on most laptops don't get a chance to engage, so the thing slippy-slides all around while the plain/train/bus is moving and/or cornering. It also just feels less secure.

Additionally, there may not be enough room on some trays for a medium or large footprint notebook to be open with the screen set at an angle for optimum viewing (the seatback of the seat ahead of you may be too close). So you sometimes end up with the laptop in, well, your lap, as you hunch over for hours on end like a troll. Not so great for the neck and back.

Seriously Jeff, it isn't really news that some travellers prefer small-footprint notebooks. There are sound reasons for it. It really depends on what your traveling accommodations are like.

.

Basically you're saying it's bad because it's not like every other True Subnotebook you've seen.

So what?

It's really small and light, which is a good thing. Would it really be that much better if it had a smaller (harder to read) screen and worse keyboard?

Here's a question I haven't seen asked anywhere so far...so how HOT does the thing run? Since it's super light, if it ran fairly cool it might be comfortable to actually have in your lap.

i dont know about you guys over in america but in australia the MBA will definantly fit on airline table thingies. I completely agree that the footprint is by far not the most important thing when it comes to sub-notebooks. weight in my oppinion is for more of an issue. Also I bet my left nut that if this thing had a 11" display you would all be complaining that you couldnt read it.

With every product ever created there is going to be people that hate it, its just how things work. IF YOU THINK THAT ITS ONE INCH TO WIDE DONT BUY IT. IT DOSNT MEAN THAT IT IS USELESS!!

Wow. How do you get that I'm saying it's "bad" from:






That makes about as much sense as the following:





.

I don't think anyone "hates" it, and frankly I'm appalled if that's all your pulling out of what I've said.

Nor is anyone saying its "useless". It's just that its not really a true subnotebook... more like a really cool, really light MacBook. What's wrong with that?

Must be something in the water today. Yeesh.

.

Where's my 12'' Macbook Pro!? sh*t...

This is what PC Authority had to say about the Air


MacBook Air: really the worlds best laptop?
By William Maher, PC Authority 16 January 2008 03:03PM Email to a friend Print this story





Theres a lot to a lot to like about Air before you even get to the jaw-droppingly thin design.

Above all, the killer reason this notebook should be on your shopping list (when it arrives here in February) is the value for money. Quality 13.3inch notebooks this thin, with features like 2GB RAM, Core 2 Duo and backlit LED screens normally dont come for $2,499 (bar the Dell XPS M1330, which we'll discuss below).

Heres what else we like about the Air, in addition to the design:

Its light
At 1.36Kg the Air isnt the lightest kid on the block. In fact its beaten by a number of subnotes including a few under 1Kg such as Toshibas Portege R500, Fujitsus LifeBook Q2010, and Sonys Vaio VGNTZ18GNZ.

What you need to remember is these notebooks all have smaller, more cramped screens at 12inches or less. Take into account the larger screen and 1.36Kg weight, and this puts the Air into the category of a true portable. In fact its lighter than the stunning Dell XPS M1330, which is a 13.3inch machine but has a starting weight of 1.79Kg.



Price is competitive
Sub 2Kg machines are expensive, its the annoying drawback of going small (except for ASUS tiny EeePC which is a slower Linux device with more limited appeal). For example: Toshibas R500, often cited for its amazing combination of sub 1KG weight and ultra-thin screen, comes in at $3,025 and goes up to $4,125 depending on configuration. Whats more the R500 has a low voltage CPU and the entry level config has 1GB RAM, so its likely to slower than the Air. Compare the Air which gives you 2GB RAM and Intel Core 2 Duo for $2,499.

The Air also stacks up well to other brands in the subnote category. ASUS 13.3inch rival is the W7S, which is cheaper at $1,999, but is fatter and weighs 1.95Kg. Sonys Vaio VGNTZ18GNZ amazes with long battery life, but comes in at over $4,000 with a low voltage CPU.

The only exception to this rule is Dells XPS M1330, which comes in at a stunning $2,199 with a faster CPU, 3GB RAM and with a slot loading optical drive. We admit the Dell is unbeatable value.

CPU has grunt, unlike some
In my mind, the biggest mistake Apple could have made would be to go for a low-voltage CPU. Ive tested a lot of subnotes and theres a clear split between tiny sub 1Kg machine with ultra low voltage and ultra slow CPUs, and their Core 2 Duo cousins. The combination of a 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM means the Air will walk all over its smaller rivals .

Battery solid, on paper at least
Apples official estimate of 5 hours battery life with wireless on is very, very good. Most notebooks (bar the 12-cell models) struggle to crack the 3 hour mark under load. The best weve seen are the solid state Toshiba R500 and the Sony Vaio VGNTZ18, which can both go longer than five hours with wireless on. If Apples claims are to be believed (and were taking them with a few lumps of salt), then the Air is a great choice if you need wireless on the road.

Solid State
One of the top items on our pre-Macworld wishlist was a solid state MacBook, and Apple has delivered. Solid State notebooks arent setting the world on fire, but they beat regular hard drives for read speed, they arguably stand up better to knocks and rough treatment, and theyre a must have for long lasting battery life (see the earlier mentioned R500 and Vaio). Wed like to see larger capacities than 64GB, but for now it will have to do. Pack yourself a USB drive for those big downloads.

Multi-touch
Weve always hated trackpads. Theyre not ergonomic, and in some badly designed laptops youre always accidentally rubbing your palm or thumb against them, causing havoc in Word and other apps. Enoughs been said on multi-touch that it doesnt need repeating here - if it translates well to the trackpad itll be big news, not least because well finally be able to do away with our external mice, which were always misplacing (not to mentioned tripping over the cord).

It's great that they like it, though I've never ever heard of PC Authority.

Btw, why do they say that the MB Air is $2,499 in the article?

Edit- Ohhh. They're Australian.


.