MacBook Air - You want one?

[Fergus]

I think what Apple has created is definitely something that caters more to the fashion market than the power-user - we know that sales of Macs are up 44 per cent for the latest quarter (compared to the quarter a year ago) and I suspect that this product is aimed at grabbing even more new users. Users that may have previously dismissed their products. It's Apple's first real move into the sub-notebook market, and that alone will capture fresh buyers.

From a personal perspective, my MBP sits on my desk most of the time. Something like the MBA should be ideal for moving from place to place, but I have to wonder actually how much the weight and size aspects really impact on mobility. Thickness isn't really an issue, but the MBP is merely an inch thick, and the MBA is only just over 1kg lighter than the Pro. And for £100 more than the basic Air you can have the basic Pro. So all in all, for me at least, the extra power and flexibility of the Macbook Pro make it a much more enticing deal. Of course, I haven't even mentioned the Macbook yet...

[Mr. Mayor]

I'm with you Fergus. The MBA was definately designed to capture and tap into a new market. Those of us that are more 'hardcore' will stick to our macbook pros and mac pros.. The Air might be a more attractive buy to those that had dismissed Apple's current offerings.

Will be interesting to see more sales figures as they come in... AND, am still curious as to if there are any more product launches coming in the near future. So many rumors were buzzing around, and many of them came true...But there's got to be more on the horizon.

[mabsey]

When I played with one at the Macworld Expo I wasn't impressed. The slow hard drive hurts the machine.

[Mr. Mayor]

Exactly how slow was it? Were you constantly waiting? What was the demo experience like?

[mabsey]

Steve didn't really demo the unit. When I opened up apps such as Pages they were not quick to launch and then when I started typing there was a slight delay in response. Same happened when opening Finder.

Macworld's review today mentions that the machine is not that fast but for day-to-day operations, it isn't that noticeable. I think this really is a niche machine for those that don't want an extra 2lbs of weight in their bag. I'd rather suffer the additional weight and have a more versatile (and faster) machine such as the Macbook.

[Mr. Mayor]

Agreed. I hate it when my MBP gets bogged down... any hang-ups or delays really get to me! Especially when typing...

[mabsey]

Ars Technica did an excellent review of the MacBook Air. Summary:

The Good
Form factor is indisputably thin and light. Photos don't do it justice
Sturdy despite its looks
Works great as a full-size portable Internet device

The Bad
Migration Assistant is incredibly annoying to use without FireWire
Most of your USB devices won't fit into the tiny port door—stock up on your extension cables
Performance isn't exactly the Air's strong point compared to other Macs

The Ugly
4200rpm drive causes major machine slowdowns when there's lots of disk activity
Battery life is disappointing—only half of advertised life on lowest screen brightness

[inferno1321]

As a laptop I don't want it, but it is a big step foreward for Apple. I talk about it in one of my blog posts:

The MacBook Air has been getting a lot of press lately so I decided I should talk bout it. The main issue that keeps coming up is that some people just don’t want it. Why get a much slower MacBook Air for $3,000 when you can get a blazing fast MacBook Pro for the same price? This question has taken a toll on the many reviews that have been published for this laptop. The thing is though, that Apple built this product with a certain customer in mind. I see this product as a big step forward for Apple. The MacBook and MacBook Pro are great all around laptops, and form a solid base for the MacBook line. They key is though, you have to get those customers looking for the more specific products. This is key for Apple in order for them to “stay in the game”. Apple has remained very limited in their hardware lines up until the past year.

With the release of the iPhone, the new iPods, Apple TV, and the MacBook Air they are finally starting to broaden their range from a small computer company into large multimedia powerhouse. The fact that the MacBook Air is the thinnest notebook available, with Intel Core 2 Duo and flash memory are (somewhat) irrelevant. The most important thing is that Apple is taking a huge step forward in releasing this sub-notebook. The MacBook Air is more than just a laptop.

[madmacmat]

Hummm, You are making some strong points there, inferno- but the iPod itself demonstrated what can really make a company big: something groundbreaking that is affordable as well and REASONABLY priced- reason in this case includes quality, if You ask me...

Looking into the history of the company broadening the spectrum of choice almost destroyed the company once! when his Jobness returned the first thing he did was putting the line of products on a diet- now in spite of this not being the right strategy right now since everything apple touches turns into solid gold, but the awareness of nonsustainable broadening for the sake of it is mandatory.

the question is: does this already include the Macbook Air?