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

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  • Reply 101 of 111
    tbagginstbaggins Posts: 2,306member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prometheus View Post


    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!!





    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.



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  • Reply 102 of 111
    Where's my 12'' Macbook Pro!? sh*t...
  • Reply 103 of 111
    This is what PC Authority had to say about the Air





    MacBook Air: really the world?s best laptop?

    By William Maher, PC Authority 16 January 2008 03:03PM Email to a friend Print this story











    There?s 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 don?t come for $2,499 (bar the Dell XPS M1330, which we'll discuss below).



    Here?s what else we like about the Air, in addition to the design:



    It?s light

    At 1.36Kg the Air isn?t the lightest kid on the block. In fact it?s beaten by a number of subnotes including a few under 1Kg such as Toshiba?s Portege R500, Fujitsu?s LifeBook Q2010, and Sony?s 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 it?s 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, it?s the annoying drawback of going small (except for ASUS? tiny EeePC which is a slower Linux device with more limited appeal). For example: Toshiba?s R500, often cited for it?s amazing combination of sub 1KG weight and ultra-thin screen, comes in at $3,025 and goes up to $4,125 depending on configuration. What?s more the R500 has a low voltage CPU and the entry level config has 1GB RAM, so it?s 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. Sony?s 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 Dell?s 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. I?ve tested a lot of subnotes and there?s 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 it?s smaller rivals .



    Battery solid, on paper at least

    Apple?s 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 we?ve seen are the solid state Toshiba R500 and the Sony Vaio VGNTZ18, which can both go longer than five hours with wireless on. If Apple?s claims are to be believed (and we?re 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 aren?t 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 they?re a must have for long lasting battery life (see the earlier mentioned R500 and Vaio). We?d 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

    We?ve always hated trackpads. They?re not ergonomic, and in some badly designed laptops you?re always accidentally rubbing your palm or thumb against them, causing havoc in Word and other apps. Enough?s been said on multi-touch that it doesn?t need repeating here - if it translates well to the trackpad it?ll be big news, not least because we?ll finally be able to do away with our external mice, which we?re always misplacing (not to mentioned tripping over the cord).
  • Reply 104 of 111
    tbagginstbaggins Posts: 2,306member
    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.





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  • Reply 105 of 111
    jimurban said:
    No removable/replaceable battery?
    jimurban said:
    No removable/replaceable battery?
    Just getting in touch from the future to let you know how ridiculous this comment seems in hindsight.
    applepieguy
  • Reply 106 of 111
    jimble4599 said:
    Just getting in touch from the future to let you know how ridiculous this comment seems in hindsight.
    I don’t know about that. Embedded batteries set a death date for a portable device, after all. When we get a true battery revolution, then I’ll agree with you.
  • Reply 107 of 111
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    What about a battery that can only be replaced by a service tech "sets a death date"?

    It's not like they're not replaceable.
  • Reply 108 of 111
    spheric said:
    What about a battery that can only be replaced by a service tech “sets a death date”? It's not like they're not replaceable.
    1) That the user can’t (“can’t”) replace them and

    2) That after seven years that service tech won’t replace them anymore.
  • Reply 109 of 111
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    1) it is irrelevant to the longevity of a device *who* can replace the battery, as long as it *can* be replaced. 

    2) If third parties made replacement batteries for the older removable models, I don't see what's stopping them from making them for the newer models. In fact, you can buy them here:
    http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer+Technology/BAP15MBU78N/
    edited December 2015
  • Reply 110 of 111
    jimble4599 said:
    Just getting in touch from the future to let you know how ridiculous this comment seems in hindsight.
    I don’t know about that. Embedded batteries set a death date for a portable device, after all. When we get a true battery revolution, then I’ll agree with you.
    Haha, I've no idea how you even saw my comment. 

    I don't fully disagree with you on that but my point was more centred around how almost ever laptop nowadays has a sealed in battery, so it's undeniably clear that Apple made the right decision, just as it did with flash, cd rom drives, etc. 



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