I can only speak for myself, something most people here don't do... they speak for others...
anyway For me the Air is just perfect. I have a big workstation and always had a smaller portable mac to email/surf web.. open some docs... nothing fancy... The Air does this just beautifully... and is also small and light and has a backlit keyboard. Just perfect.
So did you buy a netbook instead of a MBA? Obviously Some people don't think the keyboard is a problem.
I will be getting an MSI Wind before I travel early next year, if something else doesn't come out that will run OS X. I will be backpacking so ultra-portable (not just ultralight) will help for shoving it in my ruck sack. But I also don't want a super expensive machine that I'll be throwing around, will need to put into a Ziplock bag, and will being doing very little typing. Different machine for different needs.
Quote:
Also you can't get 8 hours out of the MBA.
I didn't say 8 hours on one charge, I said it's only one you can comfortably use in an 8 hour work day. How many people are going to travel to satellite office and use a handheld or cramped mini-keyboard for an 8 hour work day. The fact that you took '8-hour work day" to mean a single battery charge shows that you aren't looking at it objectively. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
Quote:
Originally Posted by YTV
Ok, then you can't really believe that the HUGE market that wants an ultra-portable laptop, really ever viewed the macbook air as a viable option.
You et al. are the ones saying that the HUGE market for a cheap ultra-portable is the same market for the MBA. Just likes Macs to cheap PC, Apple doesn't have to sell nearly as many to make a profit. This is why others are following Apple almost in prefect step to create their own ultra-lightweight notebook with a 13" display and full size keyboard.
Quote:
Sure a ton of us went out and bought it as we love macs, and we wanted something smaller than the macbook. Heck I bought one, but never sold my Lenovo X61 as it was just smaller and easier to carry around. I would use my macbook air while "couch-surfing" but thats about it. It just falls short in so many areas, the main one being small. That is what the ultraportable market wants. A SMALL laptop
You bought it because you love Macs, not because it fit your needs. Check out AnandTechs reviews of the MBA. Anand has had more ultra-portable computers than any other reviewer I've read so you can get a basic idea as to the market these things are for.
[/QUOTE]My macbook air is gone so now is my Lenovo X61.[/QUOTE]
That is anecdotal. "It didn't fit your needs, so it can't possibly fit anyone else's" is not a good argument for business.
Quote:
You can mark my words, the macbook air will be dead completely in 1 year if Apple continues it in its current form. I am so confident I will give anyone 5 to 1 odds, with a $1,000 minimum on my end.
Define "current form". The Mac Mini has been complained about since day one. It's not easily upgradable, has no expansion for a desktop, it uses the more expensive mobile technology in a desktop machine, and hasn't been updated in a year. But it's still around, so why do you think that a machine that was besting more powerful, less expensive machines on Apple and Amazon's sites is going to be defunct in a year?
The deal-breaker for me? Hard disk space. 80 GB is simply *way too small*. I ran out of space on an 80 GB drive long ago, I require at least a 160 GB drive. Heck, my iTunes library is 60 GB alone.
I heard way back at the MBA's introduction that a larger hard drive would have had to have a 3 millimeter thicker case to accommodate the 160 that the iPod was using. I'd gladly have lugged around a 3 mm thicker MBA for some decent disk space.
You're in luck, the update will bring a 120GB HDD standard, and within 6 months you'll see a 160GB SSD for an estimated $1000 more.
The main deal breaker for me is the low yield battery combined with the lack of a removable battery. I don't mind the fixed battery, but I better get at least 8 hour if you are going to do that. Now there are other options that will run OS X when I'm away so the MBA isn't even in a consideration anymore.
I completely disagree. In fact these new netbooks are so small, not only are they competing with the macbook air, they are competing with the iphone/ipod touch.
Great, I can't wait to put one in my arm band, and go jogging.
Really the next thing you will see is the resale price on used AIR's dropping like a rock. The gullible have already been taken those looking for a functional mini laptop will go else where. Between the reliability problems that have become evident and the less than well thought out selection of I/O ports could one expect anything less than collapsing sales?
Don't get me wrong the AIR is a nice idea that was very poorly executed. Apple could pull it back to respectability with an update but honestly they would be better off reworking the MacBook line up to take over the segment that is interested in AIR.
I will be getting an MSI Wind before I travel early next year, if something else doesn't come out that will run OS X. I will be backpacking so ultra-portable (not just ultralight) will help for shoving it in my ruck sack. But I also don't want a super expensive machine that I'll be throwing around, will need to put into a Ziplock bag, and will being doing very little typing. Different machine for different needs.
I didn't say 8 hours on one charge, I said it's only one you can comfortably use in an 8 hour work day. How many people are going to travel to satellite office and use a handheld or cramped mini-keyboard for an 8 hour work day. The fact that you took '8-hour work day" to mean a single battery charge shows that you aren't looking at it objectively. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
You et al. are the ones saying that the HUGE market for a cheap ultra-portable is the same market for the MBA. Just likes Macs to cheap PC, Apple doesn't have to sell nearly as many to make a profit. This is why others are following Apple almost in prefect step to create their own ultra-lightweight notebook with a 13" display and full size keyboard.
You bought it because you love Macs, not because it fit your needs. Check out AnandTechs reviews of the MBA. Anand has had more ultra-portable computers than any other reviewer I've read so you can get a basic idea as to the market these things are for.
I don't get it - where do you stand on the MBA? I think smaller is everything. So do you since you're buying a smaller machine. Price is neither here nor there - stiff shit if you can't afford it in my book. Value is a different question. The MBA is overpriced but that is par for the course for Apple, they like to err on the high side because it's worse to raise your prices than lower.
The question how what will do for a full day's work is really very subjective and depends on your job, but portability is much easier to call: smaller is better.
I'm not sure how you go from me thinking you meant battery power to not being objective. That's a pretty large leap of logic. But I can say you sound pretty defensive. Why do you feel the need to attack, why don't you argue the point instead of getting all ad hominem?
I think Apple will make something smaller. There is a gap between the Air and your average netbook. Apple would be wise to make something a little larger than a netbook put with more power than a netbook, something between them and an Air. They could claim the higher ground on performance and usability while stretching the smallness factor (probably will involve tapering).
You can't really beleive that the same people who need a full size keyboard and decent size screen for work are going to be able to any real work on MID or shruken netbook.
Only one of these is usable for an 8 hour work day.
Well at least one of the gadget's has a nice looking attachment.
Really the next thing you will see is the resale price on used AIR's dropping like a rock. The gullible have already been taken those looking for a functional mini laptop will go else where. Between the reliability problems that have become evident and the less than well thought out selection of I/O ports could one expect anything less than collapsing sales?
Don't get me wrong the AIR is a nice idea that was very poorly executed. Apple could pull it back to respectability with an update but honestly they would be better off reworking the MacBook line up to take over the segment that is interested in AIR.
Dave
I think you should wait until there is something more than analyst speculation before you claim victory. Also Apple doesn't drop prices "like a rock" they just cancel the product.
I don't get it - where do you stand on the MBA? I think smaller is everything. So do you since you're buying a smaller machine. Price is neither here nor there - stiff shit if you can't afford it in my book. Value is a different question. The MBA is overpriced but that is par for the course for Apple, they like to err on the high side because it's worse to raise your prices than lower....
If smaller is everything then you aren't being objective. A smaller keyboard is harder to type on. A smaller screen displays less info. A smaller HDD holds less data. A smaller battery dues faster. How can one size fit all?
I don't know how you don't know where I stand as I've stated it many times. Not being the market for a device does not mean the market doesn't exist. The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB. CPU issues in the MBA aside, because that is a separate issue that goes against Apple and/or Intel's HW or SW design, you can't compare $300 netbook to the MBA and say it's overpriced. That isn't objective in any way shape or form. A netbook with a newly released Atom running at 1.6GHz cost $29 while a C2D SFF Monetvina/Penryn running at 1.6GHz will cost $284. The processor alone costs almost as much as an Eec PC.
If smaller is everything then you aren't being objective. A smaller keyboard is harder to type on. A smaller screen displays less info. A smaller HDD holds less data. A smaller battery dues faster. How can one size fit all?
I don't know how you don't know where I stand as I've stated it many times. Not being the market for a device does not mean the market doesn't exist. The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB. CPU issues in the MBA aside, because that is a separate issue that goes against Apple and/or Intel's HW or SW design, you can't compare $300 netbook to the MBA and say it's overpriced. That isn't objective in any way shape or form. A netbook with a newly released Atom running at 1.6GHz cost $29 while a C2D SFF Monetvina/Penryn running at 1.6GHz will cost $284. The processor alone costs almost as much as an Eec PC.
I'm not saying one size fits all, I'm saying that something that is smaller is more portable. Everything is a trade off and some people will find smaller keyboard acceptable, but the point of a laptop is portability.
You need to study the concept of objectivity. The statement "The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB." is full of value judgements and cannot be objective. Saying something is more portable if it is smaller is a statement of logical fact as is saying that a laptop is designed to be portable.
I didn't say the MBA was overpriced relative to a netbook I said it was overpriced for what it was, that it was poor value.
I'm not saying one size fits all, I'm saying that something that is smaller is more portable. Everything is a trade off and some people will find smaller keyboard acceptable, but the point of a laptop is portability.
You are arguing that a smaller footprint on the MBA would still mean it could be as useful even with a small screen and keyboard. You might be willing to sacrifice full size keys because you have small hands or don't type much or some other reason, but there are plenty of people who type all day and don't want a half size keys and an 8" display to do important work on. To change that aspect would change the market it's aimed for. Netbooks have their purpose, but they are not designed for that.
The comparisons between the netbook and the air seem to miss a few things. The current netbooks have about 1/4th the processing power as the Air and some models have about as much storage as I have on my camcorder's SDHC cards. The Atom processors do not have anywhere near the performance as the chip that's in the Air, which is a lower power consuming version of the standard notebook chip, not a chip that's pretending to be a competitor to ARM.
I'm not getting either kind of as I do like to watch DVDs.
The comparisons between the netbook and the air seem to miss a few things. The current netbooks have about 1/4th the processing power as the Air and some models have about as much storage as I have on my camcorder's SDHC cards. The Atom processors do not have anywhere near the performance as the chip that's in the Air, which is a lower power consuming version of the standard notebook chip, not a chip that's pretending to be a competitor to ARM.
I'm not getting either kind of as I do like to watch DVDs.
I'm *exactly* the market the MBA was aimed at, yet as it currently is, I can't use it.
I'm in airplanes, customer sites and hotel rooms 200+ days per year. The form factor of the MBA is great - smaller is better when it comes to going through an airport security line. I could care less about what kind of processor it has because all I need to do is e-mail, PowerPoint, surf the web, play some music out of iTunes and save a few photos. Price is no problem for me because the company buys my equipment. The deal-breaker for me? Hard disk space. 80 GB is simply *way too small*. I ran out of space on an 80 GB drive long ago, I require at least a 160 GB drive. Heck, my iTunes library is 60 GB alone.
I heard way back at the MBA's introduction that a larger hard drive would have had to have a 3 millimeter thicker case to accommodate the 160 that the iPod was using. I'd gladly have lugged around a 3 mm thicker MBA for some decent disk space.
The thing a lot of people don't get when comparing the MBA to those other manufacturer's machines - it's a Mac, there really is no comparison. The only competition the MBA has (as far as I'm concerned) is the 15" MBP. And the MBP has all this crud that I don't need - optical drive, ports o' plenty, etc. Just give me some more freakin' disk space, Apple, OK!
There, I feel much better. Thanks for putting up with me.
Joe
I fly quite a bit too. Here is the problem with the MacBook Air or should I say what Apple should have built. The MBA foot print is too big.
A sub-notebook form (footprint must be small!), thin, removable battery or a very long battery life of 16+ hours of use with the screen one notch above no backlight. I would sacrifice speed and gpu power to obtain those goals. Do that, and you have a winner no matter what it comes with or doesn't come with.
You are arguing that a smaller footprint on the MBA would still mean it could be as useful even with a small screen and keyboard. You might be willing to sacrifice full size keys because you have small hands or don't type much or some other reason, but there are plenty of people who type all day and don't want a half size keys and an 8" display to do important work on. To change that aspect would change the market it's aimed for. Netbooks have their purpose, but they are not designed for that.
Look at the MBA. The trackpad is as big as the screen. I agree as I stated above, A smaller footprint and they have plenty of places to take it from starting with that football field below the keyboard.
That said, Wu still recommends that investors buy shares of the Cupertino-based electronics maker. He's, however, reduced his 12-month ceiling on the company's share price to $205 from $220, which represents 31.5 multiple of his calendar year 2009 earnings estimate of $6.52 per share.
Shaw Wu's estimates are priced for perfection, 31.5 times the amount of calendar year 2009 earnings estimate. Can anything go wrong? Sure! To name just a few:
1) An economic slowdown with fewer jobs, higher interest rates, higher gas and heating costs, falling value of mortgaged homes, and credit restrictions for home buyers in a declining market;
2) Macs are $300 to $500 too expensive when compared with Windows and Ubuntu Linux computers;
3) iPhones come with a prohibitively expensive cell phone service contract, thanks to rumored royalty payments to Apple;
4) Steve Jobs' health is not improving. He looks like my 69 year old father 2 months before his death from cancer. And neither Steve Jobs, nor Apple, nor any member of the Apple board of directors will come on record with a public statement on Steve Jobs' health and cancer survival prospects, the reason being that they don't want to be sued for damages should Steve Jobs die from cancer in the coming year.
It's sad to say, but Steve Jobs seems to have decided that he would die on the job.
Is this a serious post? Since when do smaller, more advanced electronics cost less than larger ones?
Look at the component make up of AIR and convince me there is anything advanced in that machine beyond the processor packaging. The pricing on AIR is a massive joke.
Macs are $300 to $500 too expensive when compared with Windows and Ubuntu Linux computers;
Again with this BS. You find me one Windows or Ubuntu Linux computer that is $300 cheaper than the an equivalent Mac.
Quote:
iPhones come with a prohibitively expensive cell phone service contract, thanks to rumored royalty payments to Apple
Starting a rumour doesn't make it true. The iPhone is no more expensive than any other smartphone on AT&T plan, and the data package is on par with other US carriers.
Quote:
Steve Jobs' health is not improving. He looks like my 69 year old father 2 months before his death from cancer. And neither Steve Jobs, nor Apple, nor any member of the Apple board of directors will come on record with a public statement on Steve Jobs' health and cancer survival prospects, the reason being that they don't want to be sued for damages should Steve Jobs die from cancer in the coming year.
The US has a 72yo running for President of the US and you're biggest concern is with a 53yo CEO of a company. You act as if he's an old man who can't run the company and assume that no one else has been groomed to take over as CEO.
Comments
anyway For me the Air is just perfect. I have a big workstation and always had a smaller portable mac to email/surf web.. open some docs... nothing fancy... The Air does this just beautifully... and is also small and light and has a backlit keyboard. Just perfect.
So did you buy a netbook instead of a MBA? Obviously Some people don't think the keyboard is a problem.
I will be getting an MSI Wind before I travel early next year, if something else doesn't come out that will run OS X. I will be backpacking so ultra-portable (not just ultralight) will help for shoving it in my ruck sack. But I also don't want a super expensive machine that I'll be throwing around, will need to put into a Ziplock bag, and will being doing very little typing. Different machine for different needs.
Also you can't get 8 hours out of the MBA.
I didn't say 8 hours on one charge, I said it's only one you can comfortably use in an 8 hour work day. How many people are going to travel to satellite office and use a handheld or cramped mini-keyboard for an 8 hour work day. The fact that you took '8-hour work day" to mean a single battery charge shows that you aren't looking at it objectively. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
Ok, then you can't really believe that the HUGE market that wants an ultra-portable laptop, really ever viewed the macbook air as a viable option.
You et al. are the ones saying that the HUGE market for a cheap ultra-portable is the same market for the MBA. Just likes Macs to cheap PC, Apple doesn't have to sell nearly as many to make a profit. This is why others are following Apple almost in prefect step to create their own ultra-lightweight notebook with a 13" display and full size keyboard.
Sure a ton of us went out and bought it as we love macs, and we wanted something smaller than the macbook. Heck I bought one, but never sold my Lenovo X61 as it was just smaller and easier to carry around. I would use my macbook air while "couch-surfing" but thats about it. It just falls short in so many areas, the main one being small. That is what the ultraportable market wants. A SMALL laptop
You bought it because you love Macs, not because it fit your needs. Check out AnandTechs reviews of the MBA. Anand has had more ultra-portable computers than any other reviewer I've read so you can get a basic idea as to the market these things are for.
[/QUOTE]My macbook air is gone so now is my Lenovo X61.[/QUOTE]
That is anecdotal. "It didn't fit your needs, so it can't possibly fit anyone else's" is not a good argument for business.
You can mark my words, the macbook air will be dead completely in 1 year if Apple continues it in its current form. I am so confident I will give anyone 5 to 1 odds, with a $1,000 minimum on my end.
Define "current form". The Mac Mini has been complained about since day one. It's not easily upgradable, has no expansion for a desktop, it uses the more expensive mobile technology in a desktop machine, and hasn't been updated in a year. But it's still around, so why do you think that a machine that was besting more powerful, less expensive machines on Apple and Amazon's sites is going to be defunct in a year?
More nuggets of wisdom from Wu... funny, those nuggets taste like chicken.
Wu is poo.
The deal-breaker for me? Hard disk space. 80 GB is simply *way too small*. I ran out of space on an 80 GB drive long ago, I require at least a 160 GB drive. Heck, my iTunes library is 60 GB alone.
I heard way back at the MBA's introduction that a larger hard drive would have had to have a 3 millimeter thicker case to accommodate the 160 that the iPod was using. I'd gladly have lugged around a 3 mm thicker MBA for some decent disk space.
You're in luck, the update will bring a 120GB HDD standard, and within 6 months you'll see a 160GB SSD for an estimated $1000 more.
The main deal breaker for me is the low yield battery combined with the lack of a removable battery. I don't mind the fixed battery, but I better get at least 8 hour if you are going to do that. Now there are other options that will run OS X when I'm away so the MBA isn't even in a consideration anymore.
I completely disagree. In fact these new netbooks are so small, not only are they competing with the macbook air, they are competing with the iphone/ipod touch.
Great, I can't wait to put one in my arm band, and go jogging.
Don't get me wrong the AIR is a nice idea that was very poorly executed. Apple could pull it back to respectability with an update but honestly they would be better off reworking the MacBook line up to take over the segment that is interested in AIR.
Dave
Great, I can't wait to put one in my arm band, and go jogging.
I will be getting an MSI Wind before I travel early next year, if something else doesn't come out that will run OS X. I will be backpacking so ultra-portable (not just ultralight) will help for shoving it in my ruck sack. But I also don't want a super expensive machine that I'll be throwing around, will need to put into a Ziplock bag, and will being doing very little typing. Different machine for different needs.
I didn't say 8 hours on one charge, I said it's only one you can comfortably use in an 8 hour work day. How many people are going to travel to satellite office and use a handheld or cramped mini-keyboard for an 8 hour work day. The fact that you took '8-hour work day" to mean a single battery charge shows that you aren't looking at it objectively. ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!
You et al. are the ones saying that the HUGE market for a cheap ultra-portable is the same market for the MBA. Just likes Macs to cheap PC, Apple doesn't have to sell nearly as many to make a profit. This is why others are following Apple almost in prefect step to create their own ultra-lightweight notebook with a 13" display and full size keyboard.
You bought it because you love Macs, not because it fit your needs. Check out AnandTechs reviews of the MBA. Anand has had more ultra-portable computers than any other reviewer I've read so you can get a basic idea as to the market these things are for.
I don't get it - where do you stand on the MBA? I think smaller is everything. So do you since you're buying a smaller machine. Price is neither here nor there - stiff shit if you can't afford it in my book. Value is a different question. The MBA is overpriced but that is par for the course for Apple, they like to err on the high side because it's worse to raise your prices than lower.
The question how what will do for a full day's work is really very subjective and depends on your job, but portability is much easier to call: smaller is better.
I'm not sure how you go from me thinking you meant battery power to not being objective. That's a pretty large leap of logic. But I can say you sound pretty defensive. Why do you feel the need to attack, why don't you argue the point instead of getting all ad hominem?
I think Apple will make something smaller. There is a gap between the Air and your average netbook. Apple would be wise to make something a little larger than a netbook put with more power than a netbook, something between them and an Air. They could claim the higher ground on performance and usability while stretching the smallness factor (probably will involve tapering).
You can't really beleive that the same people who need a full size keyboard and decent size screen for work are going to be able to any real work on MID or shruken netbook.
Only one of these is usable for an 8 hour work day.
Well at least one of the gadget's has a nice looking attachment.
Wonder if it thinks smaller is better?
Really the next thing you will see is the resale price on used AIR's dropping like a rock. The gullible have already been taken those looking for a functional mini laptop will go else where. Between the reliability problems that have become evident and the less than well thought out selection of I/O ports could one expect anything less than collapsing sales?
Don't get me wrong the AIR is a nice idea that was very poorly executed. Apple could pull it back to respectability with an update but honestly they would be better off reworking the MacBook line up to take over the segment that is interested in AIR.
Dave
I think you should wait until there is something more than analyst speculation before you claim victory. Also Apple doesn't drop prices "like a rock" they just cancel the product.
I don't get it - where do you stand on the MBA? I think smaller is everything. So do you since you're buying a smaller machine. Price is neither here nor there - stiff shit if you can't afford it in my book. Value is a different question. The MBA is overpriced but that is par for the course for Apple, they like to err on the high side because it's worse to raise your prices than lower....
If smaller is everything then you aren't being objective. A smaller keyboard is harder to type on. A smaller screen displays less info. A smaller HDD holds less data. A smaller battery dues faster. How can one size fit all?
I don't know how you don't know where I stand as I've stated it many times. Not being the market for a device does not mean the market doesn't exist. The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB. CPU issues in the MBA aside, because that is a separate issue that goes against Apple and/or Intel's HW or SW design, you can't compare $300 netbook to the MBA and say it's overpriced. That isn't objective in any way shape or form. A netbook with a newly released Atom running at 1.6GHz cost $29 while a C2D SFF Monetvina/Penryn running at 1.6GHz will cost $284. The processor alone costs almost as much as an Eec PC.
If smaller is everything then you aren't being objective. A smaller keyboard is harder to type on. A smaller screen displays less info. A smaller HDD holds less data. A smaller battery dues faster. How can one size fit all?
I don't know how you don't know where I stand as I've stated it many times. Not being the market for a device does not mean the market doesn't exist. The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB. CPU issues in the MBA aside, because that is a separate issue that goes against Apple and/or Intel's HW or SW design, you can't compare $300 netbook to the MBA and say it's overpriced. That isn't objective in any way shape or form. A netbook with a newly released Atom running at 1.6GHz cost $29 while a C2D SFF Monetvina/Penryn running at 1.6GHz will cost $284. The processor alone costs almost as much as an Eec PC.
I'm not saying one size fits all, I'm saying that something that is smaller is more portable. Everything is a trade off and some people will find smaller keyboard acceptable, but the point of a laptop is portability.
You need to study the concept of objectivity. The statement "The MBA is designed as a hybrid being a fully-functional business-class notebook and being very portable yet performs as well as a yet old MB." is full of value judgements and cannot be objective. Saying something is more portable if it is smaller is a statement of logical fact as is saying that a laptop is designed to be portable.
I didn't say the MBA was overpriced relative to a netbook I said it was overpriced for what it was, that it was poor value.
I'm not saying one size fits all, I'm saying that something that is smaller is more portable. Everything is a trade off and some people will find smaller keyboard acceptable, but the point of a laptop is portability.
You are arguing that a smaller footprint on the MBA would still mean it could be as useful even with a small screen and keyboard. You might be willing to sacrifice full size keys because you have small hands or don't type much or some other reason, but there are plenty of people who type all day and don't want a half size keys and an 8" display to do important work on. To change that aspect would change the market it's aimed for. Netbooks have their purpose, but they are not designed for that.
I'm not getting either kind of as I do like to watch DVDs.
The comparisons between the netbook and the air seem to miss a few things. The current netbooks have about 1/4th the processing power as the Air and some models have about as much storage as I have on my camcorder's SDHC cards. The Atom processors do not have anywhere near the performance as the chip that's in the Air, which is a lower power consuming version of the standard notebook chip, not a chip that's pretending to be a competitor to ARM.
I'm not getting either kind of as I do like to watch DVDs.
you can get an external superdrive for that
I'm *exactly* the market the MBA was aimed at, yet as it currently is, I can't use it.
I'm in airplanes, customer sites and hotel rooms 200+ days per year. The form factor of the MBA is great - smaller is better when it comes to going through an airport security line. I could care less about what kind of processor it has because all I need to do is e-mail, PowerPoint, surf the web, play some music out of iTunes and save a few photos. Price is no problem for me because the company buys my equipment. The deal-breaker for me? Hard disk space. 80 GB is simply *way too small*. I ran out of space on an 80 GB drive long ago, I require at least a 160 GB drive. Heck, my iTunes library is 60 GB alone.
I heard way back at the MBA's introduction that a larger hard drive would have had to have a 3 millimeter thicker case to accommodate the 160 that the iPod was using. I'd gladly have lugged around a 3 mm thicker MBA for some decent disk space.
The thing a lot of people don't get when comparing the MBA to those other manufacturer's machines - it's a Mac, there really is no comparison. The only competition the MBA has (as far as I'm concerned) is the 15" MBP. And the MBP has all this crud that I don't need - optical drive, ports o' plenty, etc. Just give me some more freakin' disk space, Apple, OK!
There, I feel much better. Thanks for putting up with me.
Joe
I fly quite a bit too. Here is the problem with the MacBook Air or should I say what Apple should have built. The MBA foot print is too big.
A sub-notebook form (footprint must be small!), thin, removable battery or a very long battery life of 16+ hours of use with the screen one notch above no backlight. I would sacrifice speed and gpu power to obtain those goals. Do that, and you have a winner no matter what it comes with or doesn't come with.
You are arguing that a smaller footprint on the MBA would still mean it could be as useful even with a small screen and keyboard. You might be willing to sacrifice full size keys because you have small hands or don't type much or some other reason, but there are plenty of people who type all day and don't want a half size keys and an 8" display to do important work on. To change that aspect would change the market it's aimed for. Netbooks have their purpose, but they are not designed for that.
Look at the MBA. The trackpad is as big as the screen. I agree as I stated above, A smaller footprint and they have plenty of places to take it from starting with that football field below the keyboard.
That said, Wu still recommends that investors buy shares of the Cupertino-based electronics maker. He's, however, reduced his 12-month ceiling on the company's share price to $205 from $220, which represents 31.5 multiple of his calendar year 2009 earnings estimate of $6.52 per share.
Shaw Wu's estimates are priced for perfection, 31.5 times the amount of calendar year 2009 earnings estimate. Can anything go wrong? Sure! To name just a few:
1) An economic slowdown with fewer jobs, higher interest rates, higher gas and heating costs, falling value of mortgaged homes, and credit restrictions for home buyers in a declining market;
2) Macs are $300 to $500 too expensive when compared with Windows and Ubuntu Linux computers;
3) iPhones come with a prohibitively expensive cell phone service contract, thanks to rumored royalty payments to Apple;
4) Steve Jobs' health is not improving. He looks like my 69 year old father 2 months before his death from cancer. And neither Steve Jobs, nor Apple, nor any member of the Apple board of directors will come on record with a public statement on Steve Jobs' health and cancer survival prospects, the reason being that they don't want to be sued for damages should Steve Jobs die from cancer in the coming year.
It's sad to say, but Steve Jobs seems to have decided that he would die on the job.
Is this a serious post? Since when do smaller, more advanced electronics cost less than larger ones?
Look at the component make up of AIR and convince me there is anything advanced in that machine beyond the processor packaging. The pricing on AIR is a massive joke.
Dave
Macs are $300 to $500 too expensive when compared with Windows and Ubuntu Linux computers;
Again with this BS. You find me one Windows or Ubuntu Linux computer that is $300 cheaper than the an equivalent Mac.
iPhones come with a prohibitively expensive cell phone service contract, thanks to rumored royalty payments to Apple
Starting a rumour doesn't make it true. The iPhone is no more expensive than any other smartphone on AT&T plan, and the data package is on par with other US carriers.
Steve Jobs' health is not improving. He looks like my 69 year old father 2 months before his death from cancer. And neither Steve Jobs, nor Apple, nor any member of the Apple board of directors will come on record with a public statement on Steve Jobs' health and cancer survival prospects, the reason being that they don't want to be sued for damages should Steve Jobs die from cancer in the coming year.
The US has a 72yo running for President of the US and you're biggest concern is with a 53yo CEO of a company. You act as if he's an old man who can't run the company and assume that no one else has been groomed to take over as CEO.