Oh really? Do you think the slate can compare with the MBA? Where is the keyboard? And I said as fast ... the slate WILL be a slug!
The HP Slate comes with a 1.86GHz CPU and the 11? MBA only comes with a 1.4GHZ CPU? and cost more money. Plus, the virtual keyboard on the HP Slate is backlit, which you can?t say for MBA?s keyboard.
Oh really? Do you think the slate can compare with the MBA? Where is the keyboard? And I said as fast ... the slate WILL be a slug!
I was under the impression you were looking for something "as small, light, fast, and capable [as the iPad], and has all the inputs and outputs everyone is talking about".
That's why I answered as I did. I didn't think you were talking about netbooks. Obviously, netbooks have a keyboard, and best the iPad in pretty much every respect.
Yup. That basically reflects my experience. Also reflects my disappointment that "blacks" are not as black as they should be. The screen bezel is blacker than the on-screen black, which has often resulted in me color-correcting images incorrectly to make them too black.
My 17" PowerBook G4 had true blacks.
While I definitely like the brightness of the MacBook screen, it seems that Apple merely shifted the brightness to a higher level, rather than actually increasing the dynamic range (color gamut?? ?not very well-versed in the right lingo).
That's a product that is not yet widely shipping, tested nor reviewed.
Speaking of thought-to-be-dead tablets, Notion Ink?s Adam Tablet looks like it could be a competitor to the iPad on price and capabilities. Well, the closest I?ve seen from a competitor.
I was on my way to buy a 13 and learned that they'd dropped the backlighting, which is a dealbreaker for me. I'm sure there's a reason, but I depend on it in low-lighting. If the market is the mobile crowd, it doesn't make sense; I've lost count of the number of times I've been stuck on an overnighter in cattle class and didn't want to disturb a seat mate dozing fitfully two inches from my elbow by turning on my reading light. The only thing to hope for is that a 15" MBA is in the works that will start at 256 Mb, have 4 Gb of memory, a faster chip AND a backlit keyboard
I don't understand what's so important about backlit keyboards. Until something like 8 years ago, nobody even knew backlit keyboards. Plus, if you're typing black on white background, the screen is plenty bright enough to let you see the keys too, if you absolutely need to see them. I applaud Apple for shaving off more thickness instead of adding the illuminated keyboard on top. I don't miss it at all.
I don't understand what's so important about backlit keyboards. Until something like 8 years ago, nobody even knew backlit keyboards. Plus, if you're typing black on white background, the screen is plenty bright enough to let you see the keys too, if you absolutely need to see them. I applaud Apple for shaving off more thickness instead of adding the illuminated keyboard on top. I don't miss it at all.
I do miss the backlit keyboard. Okay, I just have a unibody MB, not an MBA, but still, it has no backlit keyboard. My 17" PBG4 had one, and it was really convenient for working at night. Not critical, but convenient.
I don't understand what's so important about backlit keyboards. Until something like 8 years ago, nobody even knew backlit keyboards. Plus, if you're typing black on white background, the screen is plenty bright enough to let you see the keys too, if you absolutely need to see them. I applaud Apple for shaving off more thickness instead of adding the illuminated keyboard on top. I don't miss it at all.
There's going to be a limit to how practical it will be to make a notebook any thinner without seriously sacrificing power and battery life. That being said, the previous MBA had the backlit keyboard -- some are upset that Apple ditched it in order to trivially shave off a few mm on thickness to the 13" model.
It's not that hard to understand, so I don't know why people are complaining to the complainers about a feature that was included on the old MBA and all other MacBook Pros but dropped this go around.
If Apple had kept the feature, no one would be bitching. But since they did remove it, you have people like me who are upset and those who will defend every Apple decision to the death.
Nice review. I love my new 13" Air. It performs very well and has incredible battery life. More storage is a matter of time. as flash RAM prices go down.
I think Apple will thin out some of its notebook offerings around the $1000 price point, or differentiate them a bit more. I also think Apple will boost the screen resolution of the future 13" MBP. The plastic MacBook will either disappear or drop in price.
And no, I don't miss the backlit keyboard or the lack of ambient light sensors. I'm not even sure the MacBook Air has accelerometers like the Pro. Those things, while nice to have, are less important than the portability and long battery life.
Nice review. I love my new 13" Air. It performs very well and has incredible battery life. More storage is a matter of time. as flash RAM prices go down.
I think Apple will thin out some of its notebook offerings around the $1000 price point, or differentiate them a bit more. I also think Apple will boost the screen resolution of the future 13" MBP. The plastic MacBook will either disappear or drop in price.
And no, I don't miss the backlit keyboard or the lack of ambient light sensors. I'm not even sure the MacBook Air has accelerometers like the Pro. Those things, while nice to have, are less important than the portability and long battery life.
You don't need an accelerometer in a notebook if it has an SSD, right?
Well, I can understand its use for something like an iPad or an iPhone, but I'm still puzzled how an accelerometer/SMS would be useful in an notebook with an SSD. Since the only other moving part in the system would be the system fan, and OS X doesn't support motion sensing for the U.I. (as far as I know), then it wouldn't be of any benefit.
That was the point of my post -- the loss of the accelerometer in the MacBook Air doesn't seem like something anyone would complain about anyway. And to that end, the MacBook Air never even had GbE or Firewire, so the lack of those features on the new model shouldn't come as a surprise.
Well, I can understand its use for something like an iPad or an iPhone, but I'm still puzzled how an accelerometer/SMS would be useful in an notebook with an SSD. Since the only other moving part in the system would be the system fan, and OS X doesn't support motion sensing for the U.I. (as far as I know), then it wouldn't be of any benefit.
That was the point of my post -- the loss of the accelerometer in the MacBook Air doesn't seem like something anyone would complain about anyway. And to that end, the MacBook Air never even had GbE or Firewire, so the lack of those features on the new model shouldn't come as a surprise.
I didn’t read that it was removed from these new MBAs… or I forgot, since it’s a non-issue. You’re right, there are no parts that would require the SMS to stay, but there are some apps that can use it to interact with the environment/user. I guess there could be some users that would be upset to find out that the SMS is removed, but I don’t that number would be high enough to make Apple care.
I didn?t read that it was removed from these new MBAs? or I forgot, since it?s a non-issue. You?re right, there are parts that would require the SMS to stay, but there are some apps that can use it to interact with the environment/user. I guess there could be some users that would be upset to find out that the SMS is removed, but I don?t that number would be high enough to make Apple care.
Yeah, I agree. The care factor would be low.
That being said, even with all of my bitching, I'm still going to get a 13" MacBook Air I'm just waiting for MacMall to come back in stock with them. After the additional Apple Insider 3% discount, you can get the 128GB, 4GB model for $1,309 -- so you're basically getting the 4GB upgrade for $9. You can't pass that up.
And then I'm gonna turn around and sell my 13" MacBook Pro with its upgraded 160GB X25-M SSD and 4GB of RAM.
If Apple had kept the feature, no one would be bitching. But since they did remove it, you have people like me who are upset and those who will defend every Apple decision to the death.
There's always someone who complains. If they had left the backlit keyboard in, people would be complain about it now having gotten any smaller or having poor battery life when they type a letter on it in a perfectly dark room, using the one finger at a time method. Or they'd complain about the keyboard reflecting on the glossy screen or something else.
What elephant? Are you referring to your own personal experience? My 2+ year old MBA has been flawless, and to my knowledge, all my colleagues and friends that own MBA's have reported the same solid performance as well since I see them quite often.
You're implying that there is an inherent flaw in the MBA, and I'm here to tell you that in my experience and of those of my other MBA owning friends, that is simply not true and you should not be making such a blanket statement without actual proof to back it up.
No product from any manufacturer has a perfect 100% performance record. No one. Are you simply a recipient of bad luck, or do you treat your notebooks in a harsher way? Do explain.
Your completely wrong here.
I am basing my opinion on using and working with many, many, MacBook Airs over a long period of time. I work as a tech and have to service and repair them (or attempt to) sometimes.
MacBook Airs are delicate (the old model is anyway). Everyone knows this. Every one I've seen who has one has had it replaced or repaired at some point in it's career. There are so many broken MacBook Airs going through where I work (and not that many people order it), that I made my own working model out of the leftover broken bits I found lying around.
The main failure points are the hinge, the little door, and the hard drive. Also a lot of them just have random failure (as in just stopping dead one day), which is usually down to the hard drive but not always.
The new model eliminates the little door, and replaces the hard drive with a solid state model as well as reducing the amount of heat overall. For that reason there is every likelyhood that this means the new one is more durable, but it's definitely something worth talking about, and something worth mentioning in a MacBook Air review. It's a well-known thing that should have been mentioned is all I meant by my remarks.
Gigabit Ethernet is NOT important for web surfing, downloading and email almost anywhere. Where do you find internet access faster than 100Mbit? I have a theoretical max of 24Mbit at home (I only get 11Mbit), my internal network is a mix of 1Gbit 100Mbit 802.11N and 802.11G, the 1GBit is certainly very very good for large file transfers but for general surfing bloomin' 802.11G is fast enough.
So: modern WiFi is enough, USB Ethernet dongle at 100Mbit is enough. Yes, it is annoying to carry the dongle, but we all carry loads of other USB devices anyway. I see people at the local Borders Cafe with laptops at every table most with things plugged in (phones, mice, cameras) and some even pulling out a power board so they can plug multiple devices into power outlets! Quit y'r complainin' and harden up.
Oh: I don't really put huge files onto my 2009 Air, not enough space! :-)
Has anyone held up an ethernet cable to the side of an Air to see if there is enough space for it? (I have not)
Would you give up a USB port for one? (to be honest: I would)
A sim card slot would be nice but then I would have 3 mobile bills: iPhone, iPad and an Air! Tethering is fine and enough for general surfing - heck, recently I downloaded Eclipse (Java IDE, 160+MB) while 2009 MBA was tethered to my iPhone 4, it took a while, but it didn't take sooooo long that it upset me.
Comments
Are you willing to accept the reduction in screen height?
Not as my primary machine.
Oh really? Do you think the slate can compare with the MBA? Where is the keyboard? And I said as fast ... the slate WILL be a slug!
The HP Slate comes with a 1.86GHz CPU and the 11? MBA only comes with a 1.4GHZ CPU? and cost more money. Plus, the virtual keyboard on the HP Slate is backlit, which you can?t say for MBA?s keyboard.
(I really hope you don?t take my post seriously)
Oh really? Do you think the slate can compare with the MBA? Where is the keyboard? And I said as fast ... the slate WILL be a slug!
I was under the impression you were looking for something "as small, light, fast, and capable [as the iPad], and has all the inputs and outputs everyone is talking about".
That's why I answered as I did. I didn't think you were talking about netbooks. Obviously, netbooks have a keyboard, and best the iPad in pretty much every respect.
Here is one recent set of benchmarks comparing many notebook displays.
Yup. That basically reflects my experience. Also reflects my disappointment that "blacks" are not as black as they should be. The screen bezel is blacker than the on-screen black, which has often resulted in me color-correcting images incorrectly to make them too black.
My 17" PowerBook G4 had true blacks.
While I definitely like the brightness of the MacBook screen, it seems that Apple merely shifted the brightness to a higher level, rather than actually increasing the dynamic range (color gamut?? ?not very well-versed in the right lingo).
...Netbooks have a keyboard, and best the iPad in pretty much every respect.
I think that the HP Slate 500 is what you have in mind.
Speaking of thought-to-be-dead tablets, Notion Ink?s Adam Tablet looks like it could be a competitor to the iPad on price and capabilities. Well, the closest I?ve seen from a competitor.
I don't understand what's so important about backlit keyboards. Until something like 8 years ago, nobody even knew backlit keyboards. Plus, if you're typing black on white background, the screen is plenty bright enough to let you see the keys too, if you absolutely need to see them. I applaud Apple for shaving off more thickness instead of adding the illuminated keyboard on top. I don't miss it at all.
I do miss the backlit keyboard. Okay, I just have a unibody MB, not an MBA, but still, it has no backlit keyboard. My 17" PBG4 had one, and it was really convenient for working at night. Not critical, but convenient.
I don't understand what's so important about backlit keyboards. Until something like 8 years ago, nobody even knew backlit keyboards. Plus, if you're typing black on white background, the screen is plenty bright enough to let you see the keys too, if you absolutely need to see them. I applaud Apple for shaving off more thickness instead of adding the illuminated keyboard on top. I don't miss it at all.
There's going to be a limit to how practical it will be to make a notebook any thinner without seriously sacrificing power and battery life. That being said, the previous MBA had the backlit keyboard -- some are upset that Apple ditched it in order to trivially shave off a few mm on thickness to the 13" model.
It's not that hard to understand, so I don't know why people are complaining to the complainers about a feature that was included on the old MBA and all other MacBook Pros but dropped this go around.
If Apple had kept the feature, no one would be bitching. But since they did remove it, you have people like me who are upset and those who will defend every Apple decision to the death.
I think Apple will thin out some of its notebook offerings around the $1000 price point, or differentiate them a bit more. I also think Apple will boost the screen resolution of the future 13" MBP. The plastic MacBook will either disappear or drop in price.
And no, I don't miss the backlit keyboard or the lack of ambient light sensors. I'm not even sure the MacBook Air has accelerometers like the Pro. Those things, while nice to have, are less important than the portability and long battery life.
Nice review. I love my new 13" Air. It performs very well and has incredible battery life. More storage is a matter of time. as flash RAM prices go down.
I think Apple will thin out some of its notebook offerings around the $1000 price point, or differentiate them a bit more. I also think Apple will boost the screen resolution of the future 13" MBP. The plastic MacBook will either disappear or drop in price.
And no, I don't miss the backlit keyboard or the lack of ambient light sensors. I'm not even sure the MacBook Air has accelerometers like the Pro. Those things, while nice to have, are less important than the portability and long battery life.
You don't need an accelerometer in a notebook if it has an SSD, right?
You don't need an accelerometer in a notebook if it has an SSD, right?
The original use is to attempt to protect HDD data, but there are now other uses for the SMS.
The original use is to attempt to protect HDD data, but there are now other uses for the SMS.
Well, I can understand its use for something like an iPad or an iPhone, but I'm still puzzled how an accelerometer/SMS would be useful in an notebook with an SSD. Since the only other moving part in the system would be the system fan, and OS X doesn't support motion sensing for the U.I. (as far as I know), then it wouldn't be of any benefit.
That was the point of my post -- the loss of the accelerometer in the MacBook Air doesn't seem like something anyone would complain about anyway. And to that end, the MacBook Air never even had GbE or Firewire, so the lack of those features on the new model shouldn't come as a surprise.
Well, I can understand its use for something like an iPad or an iPhone, but I'm still puzzled how an accelerometer/SMS would be useful in an notebook with an SSD. Since the only other moving part in the system would be the system fan, and OS X doesn't support motion sensing for the U.I. (as far as I know), then it wouldn't be of any benefit.
That was the point of my post -- the loss of the accelerometer in the MacBook Air doesn't seem like something anyone would complain about anyway. And to that end, the MacBook Air never even had GbE or Firewire, so the lack of those features on the new model shouldn't come as a surprise.
I didn’t read that it was removed from these new MBAs… or I forgot, since it’s a non-issue. You’re right, there are no parts that would require the SMS to stay, but there are some apps that can use it to interact with the environment/user. I guess there could be some users that would be upset to find out that the SMS is removed, but I don’t that number would be high enough to make Apple care.
I didn?t read that it was removed from these new MBAs? or I forgot, since it?s a non-issue. You?re right, there are parts that would require the SMS to stay, but there are some apps that can use it to interact with the environment/user. I guess there could be some users that would be upset to find out that the SMS is removed, but I don?t that number would be high enough to make Apple care.
Yeah, I agree. The care factor would be low.
That being said, even with all of my bitching, I'm still going to get a 13" MacBook Air
And then I'm gonna turn around and sell my 13" MacBook Pro with its upgraded 160GB X25-M SSD and 4GB of RAM.
If Apple had kept the feature, no one would be bitching. But since they did remove it, you have people like me who are upset and those who will defend every Apple decision to the death.
There's always someone who complains. If they had left the backlit keyboard in, people would be complain about it now having gotten any smaller or having poor battery life when they type a letter on it in a perfectly dark room, using the one finger at a time method. Or they'd complain about the keyboard reflecting on the glossy screen or something else.
What elephant? Are you referring to your own personal experience? My 2+ year old MBA has been flawless, and to my knowledge, all my colleagues and friends that own MBA's have reported the same solid performance as well since I see them quite often.
You're implying that there is an inherent flaw in the MBA, and I'm here to tell you that in my experience and of those of my other MBA owning friends, that is simply not true and you should not be making such a blanket statement without actual proof to back it up.
No product from any manufacturer has a perfect 100% performance record. No one. Are you simply a recipient of bad luck, or do you treat your notebooks in a harsher way? Do explain.
Your completely wrong here.
I am basing my opinion on using and working with many, many, MacBook Airs over a long period of time. I work as a tech and have to service and repair them (or attempt to) sometimes.
MacBook Airs are delicate (the old model is anyway). Everyone knows this. Every one I've seen who has one has had it replaced or repaired at some point in it's career. There are so many broken MacBook Airs going through where I work (and not that many people order it), that I made my own working model out of the leftover broken bits I found lying around.
The main failure points are the hinge, the little door, and the hard drive. Also a lot of them just have random failure (as in just stopping dead one day), which is usually down to the hard drive but not always.
The new model eliminates the little door, and replaces the hard drive with a solid state model as well as reducing the amount of heat overall. For that reason there is every likelyhood that this means the new one is more durable, but it's definitely something worth talking about, and something worth mentioning in a MacBook Air review. It's a well-known thing that should have been mentioned is all I meant by my remarks.
Ethernet, Ethernet, Ethernet. Mobile, SIM, Ethernet! GRaaha!
Gigabit Ethernet is NOT important for web surfing, downloading and email almost anywhere. Where do you find internet access faster than 100Mbit? I have a theoretical max of 24Mbit at home (I only get 11Mbit), my internal network is a mix of 1Gbit 100Mbit 802.11N and 802.11G, the 1GBit is certainly very very good for large file transfers but for general surfing bloomin' 802.11G is fast enough.
So: modern WiFi is enough, USB Ethernet dongle at 100Mbit is enough. Yes, it is annoying to carry the dongle, but we all carry loads of other USB devices anyway. I see people at the local Borders Cafe with laptops at every table most with things plugged in (phones, mice, cameras) and some even pulling out a power board so they can plug multiple devices into power outlets! Quit y'r complainin' and harden up.
World internet speeds: http://www.speedtest.net/global.php#0
Oh: I don't really put huge files onto my 2009 Air, not enough space! :-)
Has anyone held up an ethernet cable to the side of an Air to see if there is enough space for it? (I have not)
Would you give up a USB port for one? (to be honest: I would)
A sim card slot would be nice but then I would have 3 mobile bills: iPhone, iPad and an Air! Tethering is fine and enough for general surfing - heck, recently I downloaded Eclipse (Java IDE, 160+MB) while 2009 MBA was tethered to my iPhone 4, it took a while, but it didn't take sooooo long that it upset me.
Anyway, have fun!