“The MacBook Air is a new class of laptop, even though it has a similar design as its MacBook Pro brethrens. What makes this ultraportable unique from the MacBook Pros and everything else in the industry is its thickness, or rather, lack thereof. It measures 0.76 inches deep at the back, tapering down to 0.16 inches as you move toward the front bezel. That’s simply unheard of on a 13-inch ultraportable. The MacBook Air weighs in at 3 pounds and includes features that the rumor sites have long been predicting, including a 13-inch LED screen and an optional SSD drive. It lacks an internal optical drive, and the (very) limited number of connectivity ports will raise eyebrows, but the $1,799 starting price, standard voltage processing parts, and a full size keyboard make up for its few limitations,” Cisco Cheng writes for PC Magazine.
“It goes without saying that the MacBook Air’s design is absolutely gorgeous. The system is basically the length and width of the MacBook 13-inch, except it’s more than 25% thinner in the back and almost 90% thinner near the front bezel,” Cheng writes.
“Going with a 13-inch screen easily allows Apple to integrate a full-size keyboard, which is nearly identical to the one found in the MacBook 13-inch. The only differences are the illuminated keyboard brought over from the MacBook Pros and the fact that it’s black,” Cheng writes.
“The touchpad on the MacBook Air is the largest I’ve seen on any ultraportable. The single mouse button is narrower than the ones on the MacBook Pros, but responsive. The touchpad adds another unique feature in that it’s gesture-based. In addition to two-finger scrolling, the same two fingers can now rotate photos, pan through photo thumbnails, pinch and enlarge Cover Flow images, and play with font sizes, just to name a few functions. Applying three fingers will let you browse backward and forward in a Web browser, though this only works in Safari,” Cheng writes.
“But what’s up with the single USB port? Since the ultraportable doesn’t have an Express Card slot or a card reader, the only way to use a WWAN card or grab images off of your SD card is through an external USB device,” Cheng writes.
MacDailyNews Note: PC Mag and their ilk love card readers more than they loved floppy drives, if that’s even possible. An over 2 year old Nikon CoolPix P1 (that we sometimes use when we need a flash) transfers via Wi-Fi (we use iPhone’s camera much more often nowadays – it’s just too convenient). Welcome to the future, 2005 style! It also comes with a USB cable if you prefer old-fashioned methods. We haven’t touched an SD card (or a card reader) since we dropped a 1GB’er into the Nikon over two years ago. Maybe we should get a MacBook Air to go with it?
Cheng continues, “The Wi-Fi connection comes in handy, given the system’s lack of an optical drive. The company also launched Remote Disc, a software upgrade that allows you to access an optical drive from any PC or Mac on your network. You simply go to the Finder search field and locate the Remote Disc icon. Clicking on the icon will give you a list of computers on your network where you can then perform a function like installing software from a networked PC. You can grab content off of the optical drive as long as it’s not copy protected.”
“Apple is claiming 5 hours on a rather small, 37Whr battery, which sounds great on paper. On the other, it’s a non-user upgradeable battery, similar to those on the iPods. Apple does say that down the line, if the battery fails, a replacement can be purchased for $129 and installation is free; but Apple will have to perform the surgery,” Cheng reports.
Cheng reports, “Without a doubt, the Apple MacBook Air is expected to sell like hotcakes. For one, the laptop debuts at $1,799, a compelling price point when compared to the $2,000 price tags on the Sony TZ150N, the Panasonic W4, and the Toshiba R500.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, you mean those big thick things that can’t run Mac OS X, iLife, iWork and all the rest while also being able to run Linux and slum it with Windows if necessary? How much extra is that worth?
Cheng continues, “Though Apple sacrificed an optical drive and certain connectivity options, it did so to make its profile significantly thinner than that of the competition. It also accomplished feats like adding a huge 13-inch display, a full size keyboard, and fast processing parts—all on a 3-pound chassis. I’d say these are respectable compromises. That’s not to say that there isn’t room for improvement, because there is. But for now, the MacBook Air will captivate millions based on looks alone.”
Read the full article here.
As others have mentioned, the lack of a FireWire port for troubleshooting and using it in FireWire Target Disk Mode is a big minus. With FireWire, this would be a great consulting machine.
And a glossy screen, too. Did anyone mention THAT abomination? EGAD!
Oh well, it ain’t for me, I guess.
I can’t wait to see one in the flesh, though.
I can’t wait for multi-touch to make it to the MacBook Pro line.
MDN must have search for a long time to find an article that said “will captivate millions”. All the articles I’ve read say it’s impressive but it’s a niche product.
Backlit keys are a good idea but hardly reason to buy one. They seemed to forgotten the old adage: more cushion for the pushin’
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
Seriously, to me its more of a gimmick that anything earth shattering. So its thin….big deal. Guess superficial model types obsessed with minimalism might desire it. But I look at functionality and work arounds I’m going to have to use to get the things I want done, done.
It’s almost as if they took a leaf from microsh*t’s play book: ooh, big conference, we need something cool, hey wait nothing THAT cool is good to go. Ok, lets just show this and maybe the masses will buy that as innovation.
Sorry. It isn’t that innovative. I think it might turn out to be a bit of a loser. Who actually needs this thing? Sure, I’ll go cap in hand to the IT guy at work and say, can I have a new Macbook air. And he’ll say, why? What’s so special about it. And I’ll go, well it’s thin! And then he’ll laugh and tell me to try again and wake up to myself.
I think smaller dimensionally say, as the demand is, for a sub 10″ notebook would have been a better idea than this. Hate to say it but I think it’s a white elephant for real users. Pure ‘arm candy’ for people who don’t know better probably isn’t going to cut it.
I think it’ll stuggle for a while (like I posted elsewhere-> the wow lasts about 5 seconds and then reality bites, especially when you’re forking out 1700 bucks for it) and then it and the macbook will merge later. Or maybe we can just view it as the prototype for the next model macbook?? Either way, its pretty average if that’s the best Apple can do this year.
Possibly, like the new iMacs, you can get to built-in diagnostics by booting with ‘D’, and any shop will need the USB DVD for this. (Apple, please make that available for anyone!)
I use an iMac on my desk, and the MacBook Air is a perfect complement to it. Just sync up the stuff I wanna take along with me into a light, sleek little laptop. Along with a 1 TB Time Capsule, I’d be in geek-boy heaven.
I’m probably gonna wait ’til Rev 1 tho, cuz that’s just the way I am. Let the new hardware get shaken down for a while. But I really like this thing and I want one.
“the only way to use a WWAN card “
Huh?
Why would you feel the need to use a Wireless WAN card? The computer is called the MacBook Air for a reason. It does Wireless straight from the factory – N-class (and A, B, and G-class).
What … you think this is an H-P with a card that will die three seconds after the warranty runs out?
$1,799 is a bargain??? As a computer it can barely compete with a $1,100 MacBook … ignoring the lighter weight thing. OK, the lack of weight is THE Thing about the Air, and the effective “competition” does significantly cost more. But, seriously … <i>”…a compelling price point…”<i>?
Dave
What’s this hang-up with people wanting more ports. I’ve had an iBook for 3 or 4 years and I’ve only plugged two things into it: the power cord and my digital camera. Everything else is done through wireless.
If people need more ports I suggest they bend over and stick a firewire up their keister.
“Too bad they don’t get a base macbook under $1000. That psychological spending barrier we read about.”
We dont have that problem, we can get MacBook by 999€
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />
It isn’t fair to compare the price to the MB. You need to compare the price to all of the other 3 lb. laptops with comparable performance. Viewed in that light the price is certainly competitive.
That having been said, the MB makes more sense for more people.
What a stupid MDN note! Only a very small number of cameras do WiFi. Also, 802.11g is horribly slow compared to USB2. And how does Apple expect me to connect my phone, iPod, printer, Logic dongle, headset etc.?? By limiting to a single USB port Apple isn’t welcoming anyone to the future, they’re just forcing them to use an external USB hub. Not practical at all !!
84 macguy said all I wanted said. Cool.
Expect more peripherals to have built in WiFi or Bluetooth in the future. Looks like a Apple created a new class for gadgets again. This makes me think how to suck video out from my Canon HV20 videocam for quick edit (and back to tape). Firewire to WiFi converter anyone?
Not according to these people.
It’s underpowered, crippled by lack of ports, has a astronomical price. It really is the new G4 cube all over again..
When Apple releases a product that pushes people’s current expectations (as did the iMac with no floppy drive for example), this always happens… people cry “but it doesn’t have … but but but…”. In a couple years you are all going to sound silly. Sure, this isn’t for everyone _today_, but in five years do you think we’re all still going to be using cables and card readers? Ha! Unlikely! I for one welcome the wireless future, and it can’t get here quickly enough!
I won’t buy this right now, because it doesn’t suit my needs right now… but it’s yet another vision of the future from Apple — today.
This is the perfect new notebook for me. Right now I am traveling and using my 12″ PowerBook wirelessly. I’m also a 40-something grad student that uses a scooter to get around town. So at home and when traveling lighter weight and a smaller profile are very important features to me — worth the price of admission.
When at home I use my 20″ iMac but for class and travel the new MBA is perfect.
This might be just what I need. I don’t carry a laptop when I fly to EU because it would take me over the weight limit. I’m at 37kg without a laptop, while the weight limit is 25 + 5 kg (yes it helps to have big pockets for powerpacks and transformers).
Surprisingly the AirBook is starting to make sense, wireless Ethernet is fast enough for almost anything. I’m already using a MacPro in the other room as a mini-CD reader (which iMac can’t handle) and the 7 x USB hub can bring all the AV+MIDI+controller, HD, etc. stuff in. I’m set, just need to find a slave computer with Firewire on some rare occasions.
“Cheng reports, “Without a doubt, the Apple MacBook Air is expected to sell like hotcakes. For one, the laptop debuts at $1,799, a compelling price point when compared to the $2,000 price tags on the Sony TZ150N, the Panasonic W4, and the Toshiba R500.”
the handful of people with more than 3 brain cells have been posting this kind of information for a while now.
yes, we know the pro is faster and only a little more, but look at the MBAs competition….
the MBA is faster, less $, and looks thousands of times better. these are going to sell like little aluminum hot cakes. very thin aluminum hot cakes.
“SJ said they went through nearly 100 prototypes before choosing this one, and then hoped the engineers could make it work. After that much effort, who else beside me thinks this is the design type of the MB and MBP for the next 3 to 5 years?”
bingo.
the iPhone/touch will get a 3rd sibling, a bit larger 5 inch screen?) and the macbook/pro will change to designs similar to the air, slimming down but not as much and with slightly different features.
the 3 notebooks will be entry, pro, and portable, while the touch screens will be phone, entry/iPod, and a less portable tablet. when the number crunching power is easy enough on the battery but powerful enough to be a full fledged computer, the imac will have to become the dockstation that we saw rumors of. it will be the end of the desktop. we will have workstations, portables, and ultra-portables.
…i give it about 3 years till they round out the new product line.
“Nice looking, but the lack of a removable battery is definitely a deal breaker for me.”
Right, because you always operate your computer with the battery removed.
@MumboJumbo…
You post your opinion, you take your responses. If you don’t like it, don’t post.
Don’t take this stuff so darned seriously.
Oh, and thanks for your response. I do appreciate it.
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />
This will have a VERY limited user base.
With no swappable battery, ultra slow HDD, no integrated WWAN capability, and very limited connectivity options only the style/fashion centric users will find this computer acceptable.
Apple have created a great deal of, yes, Air!
We’ve just got the
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” /> It’s probably just a matter of time before the other laptop manufacturers in the PC market start removing optical drives too, although security issues will possibly arise from purely wireless installations. But the thing that has us really excited about the MacBook Air is the shift towards solid state hard drives; providing you can shield them from unwarranted EM, they should be emerging soon across many more products. It’s really more than just a thinner MacBook – it’s a risky and admirable step where no laptop has gone before.
I think the key issue is weight, everyone travels, and why would we want to lug around extra pounds?,, the style and light weight will outweigh all other negatives………..