Wired claims, corroborates last-minute "MacBook Air" details

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  • Reply 101 of 116
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    IMO MacBook Air = CUBE2
  • Reply 102 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by onlooker View Post


    IMO MacBook Air = CUBE2



    Basically, a fashion flop.



    The only things that have peaked my interest are the Mac Pro and Time Capsule. The rest of the crap doesn't do a damn thing for me. AppleTV doesn't do a damn thing for me.



    80Gig 4200 RPM PATA drive? No thanks.
  • Reply 103 of 116
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Oops!



    I was doing something with this post, and managed to eliminate it altogether.



    Here is a modified version.



    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.



  • Reply 104 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Now everyone can shut up about this market segment. I'd never buy one. It's too damn thin for my tastes. Great for another niche market and chicks.[j/k. maybe.]



    Just because you don't want one doesn't mean it's a niche market. Obviously, Apple is gouging consumers on the flash model: I'm guessing they're making as much as 100% profit margin on that, perhaps even more. That will have to come down in price. As for the 1.8" HD, I bet it's no slower than the 2.5" disk in my old, 1GHz TiBook, which is fine. No one is going to be using photoshop on these.
  • Reply 105 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Just because you don't want one doesn't mean it's a niche market. Obviously, Apple is gouging consumers on the flash model: I'm guessing they're making as much as 100% profit margin on that, perhaps even more. That will have to come down in price. As for the 1.8" HD, I bet it's no slower than the 2.5" disk in my old, 1GHz TiBook, which is fine. No one is going to be using photoshop on these.



    If you never upgrade your old TiBook, great. I've upgraded my iBook G4 1Ghz with a 120Gig 5400 RPM drive six months ago. Before that it was an 80Gig drive.



    The ultraportable market is a niche market. It can have 100% of that market and make Apple a hefty profit. It's volumes won't compare to the rest of the market.
  • Reply 106 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    This is, after all, what an ultralight is. Thin, and lightweight. Is this something you just realized?



    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.



    No optical drive. Pretty obvious for an ultrlight. But, one IS oprional 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, multitouch pad, etc.



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



    The all-built-in stamping of the motherboard with the wifi, bluetooth and more makes it cheaper to manufacture. It increases their profit margin.



    It reduces their footprint. It makes sense that stuff like Wifi and bluetooth be built-in. The Mac Pro not having Airport Extreme is a means of making some extra dough for Apple. Good for them.



    The removal of the SuperDrive is the single biggest reason to have a reduced footprint.



    A $99 external price add-on to match the MacBook Air look n' feel is another Apple design aesthetic they expect many folks to buy into.



    I'm sure for $69 this LiteOn will satisfy most people's needs:



    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106097



    As for the slot loading SuperDrive, they could have added a FW800 port on it and people with other systems would want to buy it as well.



    Of course they can buy it with the USB 2.0 port. Yet we already know how anal people are regarding sustainable transfer rates.
  • Reply 107 of 116
    Clearly, Wall Street wasn't overly impressed as it tanked at the end of the Keynote.



    Now hovering at $166/share.
  • Reply 108 of 116
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Obviously, Apple is gouging consumers on the flash model:



    The comparable TZ is $600 more so I dunno about gouging.
  • Reply 109 of 116
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    The all-built-in stamping of the motherboard with the wifi, bluetooth and more makes it cheaper to manufacture. It increases their profit margin.



    It reduces their footprint. It makes sense that stuff like Wifi and bluetooth be built-in. The Mac Pro not having Airport Extreme is a means of making some extra dough for Apple. Good for them.



    The removal of the SuperDrive is the single biggest reason to have a reduced footprint.



    A $99 external price add-on to match the MacBook Air look n' feel is another Apple design aesthetic they expect many folks to buy into.



    I'm sure for $69 this LiteOn will satisfy most people's needs:



    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106097



    As for the slot loading SuperDrive, they could have added a FW800 port on it and people with other systems would want to buy it as well.



    Of course they can buy it with the USB 2.0 port. Yet we already know how anal people are regarding sustainable transfer rates.



    It's still more expensive to make.



    $99 is reasonable. I would never want that Lite-on. I think most people would agree. The difference is a paltry $30. Not enough to make it worth considering.



    Oh, I had forgotten to mention the LED backlight. That costs more as well, and is something almost everyone here has been demanding.
  • Reply 110 of 116
    Hello,



    Well, finaly it turned out that my analysis was quite right



    Remember : if advertising is a scientific progress, teasing is an art.

    My professional background tells me that every banner Apple unveils contains the answer.

    I might post something about that later this week if you want.



    Have a VERY nice day,



    Wang PI
  • Reply 111 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    It's still more expensive to make.



    $99 is reasonable. I would never want that Lite-on. I think most people would agree. The difference is a paltry $30. Not enough to make it worth considering.



    Oh, I had forgotten to mention the LED backlight. That costs more as well, and is something almost everyone here has been demanding.



    The difference is 30%.



    As you implied you are betting on aesthetic appeals trumping all else.



    Guess what? If that were the case, Apple would have the majority of the PC market.



    The slot loading SuperDrive external is a very nice looking product. I don't spend time staring at my DVD drive. I stick it underneath my desk.



    This drive would have been a nicer product with a FW400/800 configuration. What Apple banked on with the USB only port is that more third party product add-ons are USB than FW.



    Of course they do realize this eliminates Pros and they are counting on Pros to not use this product.



    They are counting on it to fit a certain niche. It will.
  • Reply 112 of 116
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    The difference is 30%.



    As you implied you are betting on aesthetic appeals trumping all else.



    Guess what? If that were the case, Apple would have the majority of the PC market.



    The slot loading SuperDrive external is a very nice looking product. I don't spend time staring at my DVD drive. I stick it underneath my desk.



    This drive would have been a nicer product with a FW400/800 configuration. What Apple banked on with the USB only port is that more third party product add-ons are USB than FW.



    Of course they do realize this eliminates Pros and they are counting on Pros to not use this product.



    They are counting on it to fit a certain niche. It will.



    It's $30. When you're talking about something that cheap, most people don't do a percentage analysis. They go, "Oh, it's only $30, I'd rather buy Apple's."



    You'll find PC buyers doing the same thing.



    Visdo, photo pro's. Big deal. They're only a small segment of the market.



    Students, and other business professionals are a vastly bigger market.
  • Reply 113 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    If you never upgrade your old TiBook, great. I've upgraded my iBook G4 1Ghz with a 120Gig 5400 RPM drive six months ago. Before that it was an 80Gig drive.



    The ultraportable market is a niche market. It can have 100% of that market and make Apple a hefty profit. It's volumes won't compare to the rest of the market.



    1. It's bigger than a niche, easily. A lot of traveling business-people have ultra-portables. Considering that the iPhone originally cost over $2000 (for two years) and is a huge success, there's certainly potential for this product to be a great success as well.



    2. The fact that you have upgraded your old TiBook is irrelevant. The fact that I haven't, however, is very relevant. It means that I have found those 4+ year old specs to be adequate for doing a lot of things. The Air has better specs.









    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Clearly, Wall Street wasn't overly impressed as it tanked at the end of the Keynote.



    Now hovering at $166/share.



    1. The market is not doing well today, period. Everyone has been panicking ever since 2008 began.



    2. Apple stock always goes down on the expo. Fact. Anything short of a 3G iPhone announcement wouldn't have kept it up.
  • Reply 114 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBaggins View Post


    Isn't 'Aero' the GUI in Windows Vista?



    If so, I don't think Apple would want to touch that word with a ten-foot pole.



    .



    Air completely opens the door for Apple to come out with high-fashion versions of all of their already style-first designs. I can think of numerous variations on Air for iPod, speakers and limited edition versions of their desktop monitors.
  • Reply 115 of 116
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    Air completely opens the door for Apple to come out with high-fashion versions of all of their already style-first designs. I can think of numerous variations on Air for iPod, speakers and limited edition versions of their desktop monitors.



    Well, I wish they would do SOMETHING with their monitors, and soon! The idea of waiting another two months for NAB is more than annoying.
  • Reply 116 of 116
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by melgross View Post


    Well, I wish they would do SOMETHING with their monitors, and soon! The idea of waiting another two months for NAB is more than annoying.



    LOL!
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