Apple’s new MacBook Air is “the Cube 2.0,” according to CNET executive editor Molly Wood.

Wood writes, “The Air has no Ethernet port (!), no optical drive, no removable battery, and requires a micro-DVI connector for output to an external monitor.” In addition Wood bemoans the MacBook Air’s 80GB drive, which she calls, “hilariously, half the capacity of the largest iPod Classic.”

MacDailyNews Note: The so-called battery issue is way overblown by MacBook Air naysayers and the fact that users have to use the included Micro-DVI to DVI adapter or Micro-DVI to VGA adapter for an external monitor is a total non-issue. Also, for US$29, the MacBook Air has an Ethernet port. Shocker. For US$99, the MacBook Air has a physical optical drive, a SuperDrive, in fact. Or for no extra cost, the MacBook Air can use the optical drive of a nearby Mac or PC via the included Remote Disc software. Double shocker. If the MacBook Air’s internal drive sizes are an issue for you, then you either don’t understand the intended use of the MacBook Air or you need to carry along some additional storage (for example, an iPod in Disk Mode) or the MacBook Air isn’t for you (please see take below).

Wood writes, “I think in the future, I’ll be able to update this post with one more important comparison: the Cube, although a stunning piece of industrial design, was a commercial flop, and I think the MacBook Air will be, too.”

Wood writes, “The top-of-the-line black MacBook offers the same sized screen as the MacBook Air, a more powerful processor, twice the hard-drive capacity, and with 2GB of RAM to match the Air’s, still costs $150 less. And your tradeoff is what, 2 pounds and a little bit of baby fat?”

“So that leaves you in Cube-land again: with a very small and well-heeled potential audience willing to spend $1,800 or more (or just over $3,000 if they opt for the 64GB solid-state drive for maximum tech-forwardness) simply to bask in the glow of outstanding design,” Wood writes.

“Let’s hope they’re not cranking out MacBook Airs by the hundred-thousand, because I just don’t think they’re going to need them,” Wood writes.

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Okey Dokey. Wood has been iCal’ed for future use, right or wrong. One thing to remember is that people who are outside of a product’s target market often have difficulty making accurate predictions about that product’s viability. People who see Apple’s MacBook or MacBook Pro as preferable to the MacBook Air are simply not in the MacBook Air’s target market. We’d venture to guess that Apple will be just fine with those people choosing MacBooks or MacBook Pros instead.

Those who critique MacBook Air as if it’s designed to serve the entire portable market are fools.