MacBook Air

[Moto7451]

This'll definitely be hard to replace the battery or HDD.

Perhaps it's bad form to quote myself, but the issue has apparently been officially clarified. The battery will not be user replaceable, instead it costs $129 and a trip to an Apple service center.

Now, that'll prolly turn out to be similar to the "non-user-replaceable" battery in the iPod, whereby hundreds of blog pages will illustrate how to do it and hundreds of eBay auctions will sell the required batteries, but it's still a pretty lame move on Apple's part, regardless.

Actually it only involves removing a few screws from the bottom. This is the same as servicing a Dell, except that there are fewer screws. This has been covered a few times here and on other sites. The HD and Battery are easily accessible by anyone with a torx screw driver set.

All that and still no tablet functionality.

I still don't understand tablets. Every time one comes out, people go "ooooh" and then "man this sucks." It's just a bad idea until they're as light and reliable as pen and paper. Thats fine and all if all you want is a giant PDA, which is really all a "tablet PC" ends up being used for anyways when it's not being used as an overpriced laptop.

Its the lightest OS X portable, So if thats what you want, you pay up.

The ppl buying it DONT WANT a Dell with windows.

I dont see a problem here.

If Apple wanted to compete with 600$ laptops, they would have made a 600$ laptop. But they dont. So they didnt.

Totally different Target audience.

it is made for a very specific market, if it doesnt appeal to you, it is not for you.

Indeed. If you don't want a Mac, you don't want a Mac. Some people think Audi makes great cars. When I see one I say, "man what an expensive, ugly, piece of junk made by Volkswagen." Does that make them bad cars?

One nice thing over other sub-notebooks in that weight class is that it uses a full CPU and not an ULV processor. Should it have more USB ports? I think so. Version 2 will probably have that. They did this with the original iBook and people flipped out about it too but it never made that machine "unusable" by any means. Some smart company will make a USB hub that matches the computer's lines and basically becomes it's conjoined twin.

I haven't used ethernet on a laptop for years. Also people complaining about the lack of a media drive should just go for a regular MacBook, thats why it's there. Like they said, it's target audience is different. If all you do is take notes all day, work on spreadsheets, etc... anything not needed a DVD drive then you'll probably not have an issue. If your laptop needs to do everything your desktop does, no subnotebook on the face of the Earth will work 100% to your needs. Thats not what that type of computer is for.

Apple's had a lot of success with this formula so they know what they're doing. They did it throughout the 90s with the Powerbook Duo Series and the 2400 (albeit the 2400 had a CD-ROM). It'll probably stay in the lineup for a couple years and then be replaced with a smaller, thinner, lighter MacBook or Macbook Pro (a la the 12" Powerbook) as technology allows. I've told people for years that they'd make something like this again so I got a nice "A-HA!" moment when it came out .

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

The Air is basicallly, to me, for that person who doesnt need acd drive, they have what they need installed, more a buisness man or school student who needs something light to take with them to class, meeting et cetera, doesnt have a million periphals and is good for the basic usage it was meant for,

if you need more USB ports - get a macbook
If you need a media drive - get a macbook
if you need a larger screen - get a macbook....


see where i am going with this?

 

[Moto7451]

Bingo .

 

[asusradeon]

anyone actually got one yet ?

 

[bLack0ut]

anyone actually got one yet ?

My suitemate got one. It has the oo factor for about 2 days, but after that, its just a regular laptop. And its surprisingly heavy .

 

[Tim4rd2000]

Yeah the thinkpad x300 is just as thin.

I don't get it though some sites advertise it as the Lenevo is it? but I thought thinkpads were ibm's bizz?

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

anyone actually got one yet ?

i almost got one when i was selling my macbook, then realized, it wasnt really for me, the lower cpu power and such and after reading up more on it, just wasnt a laptop for me.

 

[Cyrix_2k]

Yeah the thinkpad x300 is just as thin.

I don't get it though some sites advertise it as the Lenevo is it? but I thought thinkpads were ibm's bizz?

IBM sold the Thinkpad line to Lenovo a while back. The T40 was the last IBM Thinkpad produced iirc.

 

[G3F0RC3<>R4D30N]

I think these thin laptops are just too much...

Why pay twice the price for half the specs? And seriously who couldn't carry an inch more in thickness?

 

[Cyrix_2k]

I think these thin laptops are just too much...

Why pay twice the price for half the specs? And seriously who couldn't carry an inch more in thickness?

I would MUCH prefer the X300 over my Latitude D620... a smaller, lighter notebook is a godsend when you carry it over long distances.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

I think these thin laptops are just too much...

Why pay twice the price for half the specs? And seriously who couldn't carry an inch more in thickness?

the smaller laptops get the more they cost, the AIR has custom cpu made by intel, and an LED screen and such, youll notice the smaller the laptop gets the more it usually costs.

 

[acompdude]

I like the Air and according to Apple they are selling like hot cakes but I dont see it happening. Hardly any of my clients bought one and I don't even recommend them often. They just arent right for most people (even the ones that have tons of money to blow). They are pretty and all but they just arent as functional as they should be. If Steve would get over everything being pretty and maybe build a dock with a built in SuperDrive and some more usb ports and FIREWIRE!!! and I would have bought one. Sure I dont need those things when I am on the road but when I am at home all of those things really come in handy. Anyway thats my opinion on the subject. I may be an Apple Consultant but I will say that Apple messed up a little with the Air in my mind.

 

[hafa]

I still don't understand tablets. Every time one comes out, people go "ooooh" and then "man this sucks." It's just a bad idea until they're as light and reliable as pen and paper. Thats fine and all if all you want is a giant PDA, which is really all a "tablet PC" ends up being used for anyways when it's not being used as an overpriced laptop.

To each their own. I love my M400 tablet and use it as such often. It's great for fast note taking, and being able to talk to a client without a screen and keyboard between us is a godsend.

I haven't used ethernet on a laptop for years

Once again, everyone's needs are different. I use ethernet connections 95% of the time. Primary uses for my notebooks include interfacing with AS/400 systems and doing onsite network analysis. Pretty hard to do without ethernet.

IIf your laptop needs to do everything your desktop does, no subnotebook on the face of the Earth will work 100% to your needs. Thats not what that type of computer is for.

My trusty M400 is capable of doing all of the day-to day working tasks my workstation does, just not quite as fast (I don't game, so video performance is a non-issue for me). A typical session would include MSSQL 2005 Server Management Studio, the full Adobe CS3 suite, multiple 5250 emulator sessions, multiple browser sessions and the full office suite. Once everything is up and running, there is very little perceptible lag. The abilities of today's ultraportables are truly outstanding.

The pictures from CNET didn't show very much of the case construction. Hard to tell just how durable these things are likely to be...