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.
Most pundits thought the iPod nano was overpriced and would be a flop because a full iPod cost just a little more. Time will tell!
The Air is designed for ONE THING: To fit in the folder fold of a briefcase! For wall street and other business men, that would be very attractive.
For the right people, this will be the right machine. Glad you iCal’d her…
and where’s the floppy!!! Can’t Apple get it right!
too crippled to fit into my briefcase!!
Who cares if it’s any good. We’re Apple Fanboys. We don’t care about functionality. What’s important is that it is gorgeous, elegant, and sexy – and we’ll gladly pay whatever Steve is asking, no questions asked…
This laptop was designed for a very specific market. Whether or not the market is large enough to sustain its development remains to be seen.
Either way, the technology used here is sure to make it into other Apple products, so it’s time well spent whether or not the Air is a success.
Sometimes Steve gives us what he wants us to have instead of what we want.
Cube 2.0? I hope not.
This is for road warriors. This is for people who hop on a plane, fly to Tokyo, ride a subway, walk several blocks, give a presentation, spend the night and do work using the hotels wifi as well as accessing files and data from work and home computers. This is for a person who is carrying their work on their shoulders for several hours while they are traveling. It is not like everyone just throws a laptop in a car and carries it in. Every pound matters when you are (actually traveling).
Awesome design.
I demand ADB ports, serial, PS2 and SCSI goddammit!
Oh, and a modem port and a fake pussy port. It’s just too sexy not to have one, the tease.
For what it’s worth, I’ve heard lots of chatter, from Mac & non-Mac user alike that they are considering this device. As for myself, I admit I like it, and will consider it. So I sincerely doubt it will be a flop. I’d consider it a “must have” once it gets built-in 3G broadband at a reasonable monthly subscription price.
Barring 3G wireless service in a laptop, I wish they’d released an iPhone-like internet tablet with a 10″ screen running a full Mac OS.
I think i’d rather spend my moolah on an 8-core mac pro desktop, but, admittedly, they’re harder to squeeze into a manila envelope…
only 1 usb port is pretty lame.
You think these guys would have learned by now not to underestimate Steve Jobs. As if all the blood on the iPod’s click wheel was not enough, and Apple’s stunning growth in 2007 was a fluke, these morons continue to pronounce Apple a blind slave to fashion. I wonder if they’ve even noticed all the iTunes Store wannabes that have gone out of business?
Thanks MDN, for iCal-ing this obviously short-sighted, but not unexpected, article from cNet. I will enjoy the schadenfreude when this buffoon is proven wrong.
I’m not sure I’m representative of the general population, but the Macbook Air caused me to buy two Macs. I had been using a current model Macbook Pro. But I decided to buy a Macbook Air to use as a portable e-mail and web tool and to get an aluminum iMac for my home office. They’ll be networked seamlessly with my new Time Capsule (when it arrives). The relatively smaller 80GB won’t matter to me because my iPhoto and iTunes libraries will now be on my desktop. These pundits fail to see the Macbook Air for what it is: a niche-product that will enhance adoption of other product lines.
Many companies are not allowing personal files to be placed on work computers and vice versa. They are finding it to be too big of a risk. They are starting to ask to keep work and play on seperate machines as they don’t want you to infect the company with what ever internet VD someone picked up off of the net. This is a work machine that has plenty of Disk space for what ever job you are going to do. You can return to the office or home and pick up what ever files from an external HD for the next mission.
This is exactly what I though when I saw the MacBook Air.
Great design, ahead of its time, but you just don’t get enough bang for the buck to make it a mainstream success.
I do think it will spawn into more products in the future, the same way we see the cube in AppleTV and the new Time Machine back up.
The Macbook Air is now the bestseller on the Belgian Apple Store: What a failure. tsssss…
They forgot that you can add an ethernet through a dongle if needed. I think we are going to look back on the MacBook Air as the dawning of a new era. This will be the era of the fully wireless computer. Disks days are numbered. In the future, software will be installed through a USB thumb drive or over a wireless network. Optical drives won’t be necessary because wireless sharing of disks are now possible. Insert a disk in one machine and all machines can download from it.
I’m surprised Leopard wasn’t shipped on a USB thumb drive.
I agree that hard drive space could be improved, but I don’t think the MacBook Air’s market is concerned about hard drive space. They aren’t going to be editing video all that much.
Yeah I agree, I won’t be shelling out for one, but it is a cool glimpse into what’s to come in future Macs.
People’s personal opinions about how it fits or does not fit into their own lives is generally of zero value.
Apple is targeting a niche comprised of users in a number of use-case categories. They have done their homework, but it is difficult to measure a niche that has never been served by a ground breaking product.
Air could fail or succeed. The writer could be right in his analogy to the Cube. The point is that the writer is writing about the wrong things, as most tech writers today (especially Ars Technica) are clueless dumbasses.
A 12″ Powerbook G4 1.5GHz currently sells on eBay for close to A$1,000. Since the release of the Air, the price of these old machines has gone up, not down.
The notebook market is very important to Apple – and they need a better range. The Air is still too big for those of us looking for a compact notebook for travelling. My 17″ G4 is too big and too slow to be practical for any use now – I spend my time staring at spinning beachballs and, most of the time, I cannot even load the pages on this site in Safari (Firefox seems more tolerant but it is still super-slow). The Macbook is too big and too heavy, ditto for the Pros…
I have to replace the 17″ G4 – perhaps I will end up with a Lenovo thinkpad and XP – or a 12″ G4 Powerbook if I really can’t stomach a Windows machine…
What I really want is a 12″ Macbook Pro.
Come on Apple…
One doesn’t race in a winnebago and one doesn’t have all of their home conveniences in a civic coupe. Every vehicle and computer suits a different need. Pick the one that is for you and stop complaining about the one that fits someone elses needs.
I think it is Cube 2.0 also. The cube actually made a lot more sense, but didn’t seem to work for people, either. I actually really wanted a cube, but never bought one before they were discontinued. I do not want a MacBook Air at all, though.
I’m still running my 12″ PB from ’04… but… the MB Air is the perfect product for writers, bloggers, traveling photographers, etc…. I use my optical drive minimally and usually just need wireless to get online and a machine to type on…. the air fits MANY people’s needs.
If it fits in my briefcase it will cut my carry-on luggage in half. In some airports now you can only have one item. This is huge — for me at least.
Besides, I think my MacBook Air will look great next to my Cube.
I still use my G4 Cube at home and it’s a wonderful computer; no regrets here on not only a beautifully designed machine, but a quiet and fast one at that. Apple should have more “flops” like the Cube.
Why try to predict ?
I personally do not know anybody using or even wanting a “sub notebook” and I know i’m not qualified to judge the MacBook Air’s features.
Still the gut feeling isn’t there for this latest laptop as I felt it for the iPhone, iPod Touch and even Apple TV. I don’t know what’s missing (or what i’m missing) but there seems to be a lack of “Eureka!” with this product like there was one with the first incarnation of apple TV.
Has Apple taken a new trial & error tactic for product development (somewhat akin to M$) ? Is this a sign that steve needs new market feedback to “guess” what people want ? None of these are bad things if done right mind you.
In any case the macbook air will either succeed or fail and something good will come out of it either way, even if it’s just lessons learned by apple for the next incarnation of it or of a new product category.
why doesn’t anyone realize what the MBA is really for….
1) it will be a major factor in increasing sales in Japan where the sub notebook market is huge
2) it also will protect Apple’s image as a state of the art design/manufacturer even if the sales numbers are modest
imagine the negative effect an MBA-like machine from someone like Dell would have had on Apple’s status as THE notebook to buy
Alright, complaining that there isn’t an ethernet port is like complaining that there isn’t a serial port. It is a laptop, why do people buy laptops, so they don’t have to be plugged in. It is rapidly becoming a wireless world. I could understand how the lack of a optical drive could be scary to some. However, if the software that comes with it works then why bother, chances are you have another computer in your house that does have an optical drive, and if not, get a companion one for 100 bucks, no big deal. I personally find myself downloading most of my software off the internet these days anyways. I mean how often are you downloading huge apps that require an optical drive, and how many music CD’s do you burn a day? Do you even listen to CD’s anymore? I can understand your hits on the processor power and HDD size and speed (since it is only at 4200). Understand this though, the Air was not ment to be your mobile media warehouse. This is a general-use, business type computer that is meant to be easily transported. You don’t need all that power, what is the point if you more than likely are going to use it for things like web surfing (wirelessly I might add), word processing, or e-mailing. And yeah, maybe listening to some tunes while doing it, but hey, this computer isn’t equiped with a 486, you’ll be just fine, don’t worry your little head. If it can handle what you want to use it for, and you can use it anywhere with a signal easily then why not make it look hot and shave off some pounds.
Does that make a “Macbook Air killer” a Cube 3.0?
To be honest, the cost is too much for me and I know I’m not the target market, but personally, if I could buy a regular Macbook with the same “stripped down” features of the Air but the same thickness but cheaper then I’d love it. I realise the size and weight is a premium and I have no problem with that.
I think we have to keep in mind that this is Apple’s subnotebook. How viable is the whole subnotebook market? I noticed on Cnet reviews last week that there are a lot of subnotebooks with the features of the MBA with a smaller screen and slower processor selling in the $1500 to 2000 range. And butt ugly too.
MDN constructive critism is necessary … especially when its warranted. An 80g hard drive is a joke – especially in a machine w/o an optical drive … i.e. it implies the owner would carry every thing he needs on the laptop itself. At the very least Apple could have included an Flash memory port.
I also wish they’d come out with a $700 laptop.
If Apple is not interested in making a range of laptops or desktops to fit everyone’s needs it should really just go ahead and license the OS to Lenovo, Toshiba and HP … we’ll never get above 10% market share at this rate!
The MBA is going to be attractive to a very narrow audience. If someone wants performance then they can save money and get a better model from the Mac Books. I just think that for it has, or does not have, it is way too expensive..especially heading into a recession. My guess is price cut in the summer.
According to everymacdotcom, the Cube was introduced on July 19, 2000 at a price of $1799. On the very same day, Apple introduced a PowerMac G4 that was only $1599. The Cube was a flop because out of these two DESKTOP systems, the PowerMac gave much more bang for the buck. All the Cube had to offer was silence and style.
Fast forward to the present, a MacBookPro starts at $1999, but is bigger and heavier than the MBAir. So the MBA is not like the Cube in that it is cheaper and it weighs less than it’s nearest sibling. (I’m not counting the MacBook in this comparison due to it’s consumer-grade nature and lack of Aluminum body)
I’m looking to buy a new laptop, but as a former Cube owner, I’m afraid I think he’s right – the Air has far too few features built in (other than light weight) to really appeal to people.
I know people will say that there are optical drives and other perepherals available for it if you need them, but if you have to go to the trouble of carrying them with you in your laptop bag, then doesn’t that just make it up to the weight of a normal, fully featured MacBook?
I’m just waiting for the MacBook Pro to be upgraded with it’s rumoured faster processor and multi-touch track-pad and I’ll get one of those (if it’s got all it’s normal features left in place…)
Wood is very often right about a lot of things, and that’s all I’ll say about that. (She is notoriously anti-Apple too though, I’ve listened to her podcasts for years)
I agree w/ Mac_Atty. Not sure who they were trying to please here. Sort of an ego design if you ask me. Just wanted to show that they could make the lightest (NOT the smallest) laptop. Really, where is the poll or market research that says a 3lb laptop is a huge niche that needed filling? A 3.5 pounder with small footprint would be great. That’s what “spaces” was made for. The Air still has a huge footprint, which makes it that much more vulnerable to damage in your backpack or case. They SHOULD redo a cube 2.0. My cube is still running and holds all my family junk in the house on an external drive. I was hoping to replace my 12″ powerbook, but it looks I have to wait longer…. (sigh).
I’m sure there is a niche market for the MacBook Air, the question is how big is that niche? I think thats what people should be discussing. If I was a globe trotting rich guy who was more concerned about size than performance or price, I may be in the market. I am however none of those things.
Also, I’m sick of people saying “theres a dongle for that”. Having anything dangling off my wafer thin laptop is highly inconvenient, especially one thats main feature is convenience. There is merit in the argument that many of the missing features are outdated and not required, but there is also merit to the argument that they are not there. Dongles are a messy, almost un-Apple like, solution.
The MacBook Air is what it is. Will it sell nearly as well as a MacBook? I doubt it. But Apple probably already knows that.
Part of the reason MacBook Air may fair poorly in comparison to the other MacBook models is that they are targeted at Apple’s “traditional” market – home users who are heavy on digital media – while the MBA seems to target business users more (perhaps its initials are not an accident?)
That said, the MacBook Air might be more attractive if it had a built-in cellular card that could use your iPhone data plan (with a small monthly upgrade of, say, $5 – $10 if AT&T;insists) – only problem there is lock-in to one carrier.
We are starting to get Dell laptops here at work that will take an internal cell card, either EVDO (Verizon/Sprint) or GSM/EDGE (AT&T;/TMobile) + a SIM card, and the road-warrior execs are really taking a liking this ability.
Are you all kidding me? the Air is *the* perfect writing machine. Palm / Visor tried to do this 8 years ago with keyboards for the handhelds… This machine is a writers dream! Anywhere and on ready to go… 80gb.. no, I’d get the SSD.. even so 64gb holds a lot of text or even .doc files!!!!
Oh and the microDVI will be unpopular with business users, at least until network-enabled projectors (which would allow you to connect via WiFi) become more common.
Currently the MacBook Air is the 3 best selling portable on Amazon.
“Molly Wood” and CNET, says it all.
Macs are bad and she has Wood for brains. NUFF said. LOL
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PS, If she is anti- Apple, then we know she has been wrong about it many times. Just look at what she initially said (I have not so am taking a chance by saying this, but I think a small chance
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> ) about the iPod, iPhone, iTunes, Apple stores, etc. Most anti-Apple people just like finding pretend fault with anything that Apple does. And when Apple goes crazy with the product, “Well, they say, you can’t be right all the time.” But they seldom are.
Also, anti-Apple people usually play up the dull dross from places like Microsoft, HP, Dell, etc.
JMHO
en
MDN = view , as in JMH view.
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I agree that 1 USB port is pretty lame, and it should have a FW port or two perhaps… At least until everyone gets happy and comfortable with WIFI for everything.
Comparing it to the Cube is a mistake. As it was, the Cube was far more upgradeable. It had FW, USB, 3 RAM slots, a video card slot, even the processor is upgradable. All this by the end user.
The iMac, Mac Mini, and most of the new macbooks don’t offer any thing in terms of serious upgrade options. You have to get a mac pro for that.
All that being said, my 2 year old iMac Core Duo is doing just fine, thank you. As is my recently aquired Cube
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I’ve got a deposition Thursday in some hick area where the closest airport is three hours away.
One of the things I need to go over with the witness is frame-by-frame photos (each stored as separate jpgs) on a CD. I’ve already done what I normally do in those situations–copy the CD to disk, and then copy that back to a thumb drive as needed. The CD itself isn’t used other than the original copying to computer.
If I had a MacBook Air I’d be able to just stick the machine in my file in the briefcase, and toss the power adapter in the bottom of my suit bag.
The hotel advertises itself as having internet, but not wireless. The only thing I can count on is an ethernet plug. So the lack of a jack on the Air wouldn’t really matter–either I’m go to bring along an airport express, or an ethernet cable. Bringing a USB dongle at the end of the cable I have to bring anyway wouldn’t trouble me much.
If I had a MacBook Air I’d be able to just stick the machine in my file in the briefcase, and toss the power adapter and ethernet cable in the bottom of my suit bag. The MacBook is too heavy for that, so that means another bag. There isn’t anything I need for this trip, or any other trip I’ve taken, that the Air doesn’t have or that the plain MacBook provides for me other than some extra weight and bulk.
Buy a $3000 MacBook Air and a $800 Mac Mini.
Problem solved.
NeoVoyager —
That’s the thing – Molly Woods is NOT correct about a lot of things. And yes, she has always been anti-Apple.
My friends: these “articles” are hit-trolling at their worst.
Just. Don’t. Read.
PS: Why is CNET a target for takeover?
So, in summary from the comments above, the MBA is perfect for:
1) Writers
2) Bloggers
3) Photographers
4) Business people
5) College/University Students
6) People that give a lot of presentations
7) Traveling sales people
8) Road Warriors
9) People who want simplicity to surf the net and check emails, iPhoto and iTunes (all you need is a wireless router)
10) Trainers (that travel to offices and give training sessions)
11) PC switchers based on style and elegance
12) Second computer in addition to a desktop for better portability, heading over to friend’s, family or couch-surfing
13) Second computer to another laptop for those with a 17″ that want something light that they can take on the fly
14) A compliment to people’s iPhones where they have an ultra-light that is very portable but they have their iPhone’s incase they find themselves without their MBA
15) People that travel on pleasure a lot
Yeah, all these people cover a niche market. Right. Basically, anyone that moves around a lot that wants to have their laptop right with them, but not lug around a boat anchor, this is for you. This includes everyone from students, traveling salespeople, flight attendants, business people, teachers/professors, bloggers/writers that travel, to casual users. Not everyone may like it or want it, but there will still be broad appeal.
Because it isn’t right for you doesn’t mean it doesn’t appeal to a bunch of other people out there.
Apple always looks to the future. If 802.11 wireless keeps popping up and many areas get free coverage, no dongle needed. Just open the laptop and connect.
Why do you think wifi was included in the iPhone. Every month more and more places for FREE to connect. So EDGE and Ethernet is used less and less.
It’s not the Cube 2.0. The cube is a great machine. I still have one. It works great. What killed the Cube was the lack of Firewire accessories. If you think back to when it was release, there was not a lot of firewire accessories. Now, they are common place. Same with USB 2 accessories.
We now are in a different era. USB/Firewire accessories are out there, and work great. Audio interfaces, etc, etc. The original cube was just too cutting edge. If they had released it a year later, it might have had a little bit better chance…………
From what I can see after a quick Google search, the Lenovo X300 is still a rumor or, at best, a leaked set of specs. Should be interesting though to see how the MacBook Air stacks up against it and other forthcoming portables.
And BTW, it’s not “IBM’s” – IBM sold their entire PC business to Lenovo, which is based in China I believe.
the iPod nano is also way too small! No one wants to watch movies or look at pictures on that tiny screen! for just a little more dough you can get a full size iPod with much more capacity plus more functionality and blah blah blah
millions of iPods, Nanos and shuffles later…
Some people want an iPod classic to keep their entire music collection on, some want the Touch for the added functionality, some want a nano because of it’s incredible portability and still other just want a shuffle for jogging or working out because its so small.
Some people (me), need a MBP for the power. Most need a MB for just about everything. SOME may need something that is super-light, low-profile, go-ANYWHERE.
Not everyone is going to rush out and buy one. I think MBA is really cool, and an incredible design. While it would be fun to have one, I couldn’t use it because I do video production and it isn’t quite fast enough, have “enough” storage and has only 1 USB port. (I realize there are work-arounds) But, someone who is a writer or a photographer or a big-time traveller would definitely use it.
It’s not dead, and it’s just the beginning of the next era of computing. (GUI, mouse etc…)
Steve skates not to where the puck is, but to where the puck is going…
To bad Molly Wood wasn’t around when the wheel was invented. I would have enjoyed her review complaining the square wheel was a “commercial flop” and “I think the round one won’t be any better”.
Pick it up, touch it, handle it – then make a comment!
If anyone really needs to see where Apple knew this would sell then l suggest you visit the Apple Japan Store!
4 of the top 10 products are or have to do with the MBA… I guess Apple will finally gain market share in Japan!!
I agree the MBA is the Cube 2.0, but for different reasons to the author:
The Cube was an excellent and desirable machine that fit the needs of many people, but was just priced too high. The Cube didn’t fail because of what it was missing, nor does the MBA.
The MBA should have been Apple’s answer to the OLPC. Instead it is aimed at the enterprise road warrior/salesman which exists on the Windows platform, but not on the Mac.
Like the Cube, if the MBA was dropped in price it would be well accepted. Get rid of the LED screen and SSD, then price it LESS than the MB and rename it the MacBook Mini.
Apart from the LED screen the MBA must be cheaper to make than the MacBook.
I’m not sure on this but I believe the ultra portable laptop market is fairly small. So based on that, I doubt Apple will sell very many, especially since even the Macbook Pros are slimmer than many “thin” laptops.
But that’s okay, Apple doesn’t need to sell a ton of Macbook Airs. Their accomplishment at Macworld was to demonstrate their design team is still as slick and polished as they ever were, even if they didn’t introduce a game changer like the iPhone. So while the profits from this venture may be small, it shows Apple will be ready to unveil the next big thing when the rest of the world is ready.
It’s great for me on the road, though I agree a bigger HD would be most attractive.
I’ll await an upgrade in late 08 and see.
Meantime my chunky MBP does the biz so no worries.
“Oh and the microDVI will be unpopular with business users, at least until network-enabled projectors (which would allow you to connect via WiFi) become more common.”
The MB and MB Pro have always used an adapter of projectors as most use VGA input. The little dongle stays in my briefcase at all times. No big deal, and certainly no deal breaker if one is considering a MacBook at all.
One last thing in regards to comparisons with other PC Sub notebooks: THEY DON”T RUN OS X!!!!
Apple is going to sell a lot of MBA the first 3 months then it is going to collect dust on store shelves. It just too pricey and has too few features for most road warriers. I believe that this introduction was a mistake and don’t understand that in a lot of people’s opinion, including this website, Apple can never do any wrong? The issue continues to remain that Apple has set the bar very high for new products and everyone, especially the press and investors, want to have their hair pieces knocked off. The truth is that it’s hard to keep that level of innovation..yes even if you’re Apple.
I am extremely concerned that Apple is losing focus on it’s core market. Leopard was late due to resource contraints and the new chips should have been announced for the iMac’s. And by the way whatever happened to the “top secret” feature in Leopard.
Dilbert’s a genius. Couldn’t have said it better myself. Let’s all revisit this page in 4 months and see how we all stand. I have a feeling Dilbert wins the Nostradamus award.
What is she doing out of the kitchen? why isn’t she writting about cooking?
In the words of a girl from work: “It’s absolutely gorgeous! I want one!!”
I think the Macbook Air will be a huge hit with chicks.
Common misconception: the Cube sucked. It didn’t it was and still is (for me and many other) a great machine.
The issue was the market/pricing. Has nothing to do with the quality of the product.
He’s right…except that the Cube had a lot going for it!
Wood-head needs to have someone at Cnet explain the word wireless to her. Apparently Cnet job requirements for senior editor are inversely proportional to the applicants I.Q.
I rarely burn CDs. I don’t watch DVDs on my laptop. I have an iMac with an optical drive, on which I will add Remote Disk. I travel.
I will buy a MacBook Air.
the target market issue is over looked.
yes, many people think it is a bad idea. my wife lusts after it, and when i told her the price said “really? is that all?”
and she can afford it too. they will sell a lot of these. just not to the people who are complaining about it. because they don’t understand it. they are not the market.
the mini is not a gamer machine, but it sells. the pro is not a portable student machine. but it sells. not everyone values what you want. get used to it.
me, i still want an 8 inch cross between the iPhone and the MBA, but hey, it will come…..
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The Lenovo X300 is reportedly thicker than the MBA; nothing to do with screen resolution, but everything to do with ports, optical drive, etc.
“So, in summary from the comments above, the MBA is perfect for:
1) Writers
2) Bloggers
3) Photographers…. (more)”
number 3 is the one for me. the idea that for only 3 pounds i can get editing right in my camera bag that small is very tempting.
I have to agree the 80GB HD is small considering there is no DVD. Is the 160GB HD from the iPod that much slower – why no BTO offer ?
I really was expecting a 3G or even Edge embedded device. Wireless anywhere can’t rely on open wifi hotspots. It needs a phone and why have t use bluetooth to connect. ( Not to mention not being able to do that even if you have an iPhone)
I don’t see the MBA as a limited machine. There are many usb 2.0 micro hubs that are no bigger than a pack of jelly or 3 bags of sugar at a diner. A tiny dongle is all that is needed to plug in your ethernet if wireless is not available. The micro dvi is a little annoying but that has more to do with the video cables than anything else.
And as for the hard drive, I’m sure that there will be an eager group of technicians that will be happy to replace the 80gb ipod drive and replace it with a 120gb one.
I’m not looking to cut an episode of Heroes on a macbook air, for my business travel needs… it should work out just right.
The MBA is really appealing.
I actually want one, even though I don’t really need it.
I’ll take a look, once it hits the stores here.
Molly Wood never misses an opportunity to take a swipe at Apple (every phone introduced in the past year she labels an “iPhone KILLER”) but on this point I can’t help but agree. The Cube was stunning but overpriced. So is the Air.
The Cube was too big to be put on top of a desk. It still had to be put on the floor or tucked away somewhere. Therefore, it’s being smaller wasn’t ENOUGH of an advantage over the PowerMac G4s at that time. It was a lot of money for no significant reason.
The MacBook Air is a portable computer. It’s being so small is extremely significant! The MacBook Pro is a nice system if you need a portable to do some serious work — video editing, photoshop, etc. The MacBook is the best valued laptop Apple makes.
Both laptops are great if you need to take your computer back and forth from home and work. However, both are a pain to use DURING travel. They are a bit too big for comfortable use in airplanes or on trains/buses. They both carry significant weight with them. As a student, I find them a bit cumbersome to take to class with me. If you’ve ever used a 3 lb computer, you’d understand just how many more places you can take and use it.
I think it’ll get off to a slow start, and then Apple will add an option for a 160 GB hard-drive, firewire port, and knock the price back $100. I wish they shipped the Air superdrive standard. This is the perfect laptop for a student who needs it to record lectures, type up papers and notes, and listen to music and watch DVDs back in their dorm.
I think Apple will market this computer more and more as the ultimate travel device.
Sure, an iPhone is great to check your email or a website, or listen to some music. However, you cannot yet do serious work on it — like even type up a paper.
Hold the Air in one or, if you choose, both hands BEFORE you
write a poop article about it. It is not for everyone, but is setting the stage for the next generation of devices that will be for everyone. Every student is going to want one come August.
Poor Molly. Sounds like she needs to change her name to “Anita”…
She couldn’t be more wrong. Cube 2.0? More like Cube 237.0. Apple hasn’t had a successful or profitable product since the Apple IIe, and that was just dumb luck.
What does Apple have against ports? Gotta admit I’m a little surprised they dropped both the the external floppy and SCSI ports after all these years. A lot of road warriors travel with their
” rel=”nofollow”>ImageWriters. What will they do now? One thing is for sure, Dell and Microsoft wouldn’t treat their customers so poorly.
Your potential. Our passion.™
The MBA is crippled and over priced.
It has two year old tech specs, lacks ports and upgradability. Are you telling me Apple couldn’t even add another USB (or FW) and ethernet on the opposite side?
The screen is still too big, plus there’s a heap of space around the edges. I can only imagine they were trying to keep the keyboard a reasonable size??
Go look at one – it’s actually quite big. It’s no 12″ PowerBook, that’s for sure. The only thing the MBA has going for it is that it’s thin and light weight. It’s otherwise just an expensive MacBook.
[As an aside, it’s also b.s. when Apple says they took a look at customer’s needs. What a crock. If they did that, there’d be a desktop machine which didn’t include a screen, sitting between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro.]
No, the MBA is designed to be upgraded after only a short while and probably aimed at people who also like Brookstone and SkyMall i.e. too much money and don’t know what else to buy.
I’ve used Apple gear since 1990, and I think the MBA is the most disappointing machine I’ve ever seen them release, at least priced as high as it currently is.
If you replace MacBook Air with Cube and MacBook and MacBook pro with iMac and power Mac MDNs comments make perfect sense too
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MacBook Air is the new, thin Macintosh LC “pizza box” – it will sell like, well… pizzas!
MBA is a fashion statement. Some people have suits that cost more than a MBA. I want one!!!
The one thing that strikes me about this whole issue on MBA viability is what makes it “revolutionary”. Last year, the iPhone was introduced and it was a a device that was truly revolutionary. Everyone wanted one. In terms of sales, I think it’s done friggin’ great.
But the MBA is more “Evolutionary” than revolutionary. It’s really nothing more than an improvement on current technology. Yeah, the “world’s thinnest notebook” moniker is cool but really, you could buy a MacBook for much less, much more power and more ports, and really how much heavier is it than the MBA? Not THAT much. One USB port, no internal optical drive, small HD – yeah, it’s a subnotebook, but is this what customers really want from Apple?
Time will tell if this thing takes off, but I wouldn’t stake my ass on it right now. And although Molly Wood is a turd-eating Mac hater, she may be right. I like the MBA, it’s cool and all, but I’m not a believer in this particular Apple offering.
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MBA is a fashion statement. I want one.
You know that MBA is a loser when Jobs won´t announce sales numbers of this light-weight (in more ways than one) notebook computer.
Jobs is always quick to trumpert the sales numbers of winners – iPod and iPhone, but watch how we won´t hear a word about sales with MBA. JUst like with Macmini…and version 1 of AppleTV…or Cube…
The day the MBA was released I wrote the same thing. On this site and others.
MBA is the 2008 version of the Cube. It is going to bomb big time. But keep Apple stock. It will recover.
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Molly Wood is an idiot as she has proven time and again with her past Apple bashing rants. ala iphone, ipod, etc. Does anybody listen to her? Obviously not given their sales numbers.
MBA is a niche product and is not a macbook or macbook pro replacement. There is no reason to do a feature for feature comparison of the MBA against every other laptop on the market. The MBA wasn’t designed to directly compete against them. The simple answer is: Buy the product that fits your profile.
What bunch of crap! It’s a fully functioning laptop in a very small thin package for those that travel a lot it takes the weight and bulk out of the equation. You can order the optional optical drive if you need one all of the time. Most people load there presentations on there laptop, not store them on a CD or DVD. I really don’t think people get it or something. Then to blurt out something as stupid as it is another cube is quite and exaggeration to the extreme, but that’s CNET for you. Very theatrical with no facts to back it up. People aren’t buying it anymore CNET.
The Cube lost weight, as well as price, and became the very successful Mac Mini. In order to truly succeed, the MacBook Air will have to do the same. It should be sold for about $999 for all the *features* it offers (or doesn’t offer). Nobody would be questioning the apparent lack of outputs/hardware if the price was much lower.
I am a writer and head up a publishing firm. I use a black macbook now for all my computing needs, but will migrate to a mac pro and an air later this year when version 2 comes out on the air in September (my guess).
Carrying my black macbook home every night is still too heavy, and it’s dreadfully heavy when I must travel for work.
I’ve been pining for another “duo” for a long time, ever since mine went kaput.
I wonder what those who have been calling for a mid-range desktop model to slot between the Mini and the Pro would say if Apple repackaged the next generation iMac internals (with Penryn and a Blu-Ray Superdrive, thanks) into a updated Cube.
Of course, I’ll be wanting a BT combination keyboard/multi-touch trackpad with that.
The MBA will do just fine. Like always, they ship version 1.0 with a range of upgrades/updates already in the works, ready to be brought out as dipping sales require, or just to get a new round of press coverage. No compelling reason to drop the faster chips with the 45nm processors in until it is needed. Give the SSHD market a chance to to establish itself so that the price can come down as the speed and capacities go up. An external battery with the angled MagSafe connection that matches the external SuperDrive in size and design would also be a winner.
Come on. This “Air” Jordan-style is NOT the ultraportable everyone was waiting for. Just for Wallstreet boys, please come back to reality.
My first impression of the MBA is that it is a very useful, clean, portable and to-the-point device. It’s meant to be your coffee-house emailing, web browsing, blogger machine. It’s strictly a networking machine. Whether Apple is marketing it that way or not that’s what it is.
Along with all of that, it really has a sense of indecisiveness about it, it’s like a partial commitment to wanting to be a handheld computer – It feels like a market test of sorts. Some readers here may not like this POV, but technically, Apple has not committed to giving us a full fledged, as-marketed hand-held computer. Even in light of the iPhone and iTouch Apple is staying just shy of marketing these excellent products as handheld computers or even fully functional PDA’s. The iTouch, for instance, is everything I would want Apple to do for a handheld device – almost. It was released without email, a mysterious move by any account for a wi-fi handheld device, and still no electronic document reader standardized for it – as far as I know. There’s also no mechanism by which a keyboard can be connected (wirelessly or otherwise), further disabling it as a full fledged handheld computer/PDA. These are things I can get, and in fact have on my ancient Palm device. And these aren’t the only things missing either.
So it’s kind of like Apple is pinging the parameters on the small side of hand-held and the small side of notebook, looking for where and how to provide a fully qualified hand held computer. If this is the case then everything will come out alright because Apple has an uncanny ability to do exactly this, figure what to make, when and for whom. So the MBA is a very cool/useful device, but for me it’s clearly a market test, or at least an interim step in Apple’s ongoing adaptation of a full blown notebook computer into the same thing [a full blown computer], except that it will eventually fit into your palm, and you’ll be to use it with or without a full size keyboard, it’ll have useful voice command, and etc. and etc. and etc.
If you can afford to spend that much on the MBA then you go girl/boy, but I’m going to have to put that money into a notebook upgrade/iTouch acquisition.
I’ve been thinking Cube ever since the MBA came out.
I’ve been an Apple only user since 1981, own a buttload of stock, and always “selling” the Mac… but have to shake my head when they set Cube-like price points.
The MBA is a great machine, but should be about half the price for what features it offers. Size just isn’t worth that premium to enough people. They wouldn’t be able to make them fast enough if the price reflected a similar difference as with the MacPro and Mac mini.
Pricing killed the Cube. Pricing will hurt the MBA. Not only in initial sales, but customer dissatisfaction when they discover what they can’t do, or have to pay extra to do.
Molly Wood is just another unimaginative, narrow minded twit.
All of these jerks were ragging on Apple to make a lightweight ‘book, and when they do, they whine even more. They expect all the features of a Dell desktop replacement, weighing two pounds and with the price of something made by eMachines.
I highly doubt that Steve Jobs thinks the MacBook Air is going to be their highest selling model. It’s just another choice in the laptop line. Why not wait and see.
No matter how well it sells, my bet is that this smaller form factor will be the footprint for the future…and that the Air won’t go away for that reason alone. As technology improves, they’ll be able to make the Air rival MacBooks and then MBPs (HD and processor-wise). Let’s face it, it’s where we all want to see laptops go. And I still can’t wait to see one in person. I’ll have to make sure to hide my credit card that day.
Who cares what that fat cow says anyway? Throw her another feedbag!
Molly Wood is the female version of Enderle or Ou.
The comparison with the Cube is appropriate. MacBook Air is ahead of its time and very expensive, especially with the 64 GB memory drive. I would love to own one and be proven wrong.
I LOVE MY CUBE! My cube was my first Mac, after many years of PCs. It won me over. Now, it’s one of 3 family Macs. It runs Tiger. It’s networked by ethernet cable. It lives on!
Lenovo X300? You mean the ugly black thing with an antenna that sticks out the display like my cheaply priced kid’s RC car he got for Christmas?
You need the DVD drive in that thing for the number of times you’ll be reloading Vista after Spyware Dr. eats up the OS.
The lack of a firewire port is puzzling. It has been a Mac standard for years, for my purposes a necessity. Seems a new crop of Mac users are the intended market for the MBA.
The Cube led to the sunflower iMac, the flat iMacs, the Mac Mini, and AppleTV. It even made a little money on its own and made some fans of small-and-quiet very happy. I wish I had one myself.
I hope the Air is that much of a success. If not, I’ll still be loving mine!
Doesn’t everyone realize that the MacBook Air was designed for one person. Steve Jobs. He wanted it. They designed it. Whether anyone else wants it remains to be seen.
I call the MBA Steve Jobs hobby for 2008.
Molly Wood,
BRING IT!!!!!
Without fail, Apple fanbois resort to insults and slander whenever someone or anyone with a contrary opinion dares to post or thread their perspectives. This proves once again that Apple fanbois are nothing less than unintelligent, unimaginative, and completely insecure buffoons.
You know who you are.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Even if Apple sell 12 of these machines (and they will sell many more than that) what we are looking at here is a prototype of many technologies that will appear in future machines. The ultra thin battery, the screen, webcam, and “mac on a circuit board” are all vital for the machines we will all be using in two years time.
And without fail, certain MicroSoft adulators will come here to tout their self imagined superiority. They denounce others for insulting them, by insulting them. That’s really twisted logic.
Unfortunately, they don’t seem to know who they are.
The person who writes the counterpoint to these articles often appears as frantic as that kid on YouTube defending Britney Spears!
LEAVE STEVE JOBS ALONE!!!
I own several Apple products, and I love them, but really: clam down.
No 5¾” Disk Drive? Forget it.
mollywood didn’t realise that apple already has the product she wants… it’s called a macbook
“Apple fanbois resort to insults and slander . . . “
. . . and in the very next sentence . . .
” . . . Apple fanbois are nothing less than unintelligent, unimaginative, and completely insecure buffoons.”
Classic! A new standard of hypocrisy has been established.
” . . . and I love them, but really: clam down.”
Do you think they’re being shellfish?
I don’t get the criticism, this isn’t the laptop for everyone and isn’t supposed to be. It’s an ultraportable, light, business device, not a portable workstation.
If you need all that other stuff, get a Macbook or Macbook pro. The Air is a new option to a great line of products.
I scrolled through all the comments just to find ZuneTang’s – thanks for the laughs!
Well, this machine may be a flop, but I ordered it right away, with an overpriced flash drive. Why? Because I have enough weight to carry in my backpack, and it has a full sized screen! I don’t need to carry around a CD rom drive since I don’t watch movies at work and I have no need to carry my TV with me every where I go. If I want to watch TV I’ll go home and watch it on the big screen.
As far as speed, I am willing to bet that my 1.8 ghz Air with at Flash drive will be must faster than most other “faster” machines with a regular drive. Did I pay too much? No. With all lthe things I must carry, two pounds is a major saver on my back!
He may call this machine a flop, but judging from all my co-workers drooling at the machine, I’d say he’s wrong!
Does anyone remember the Floppy?
When Apple stopped building computers with a floppy drive, you would have thought the sun blew a fuse and would no longer shine.
Disks of any sort are rapidly becoming a thing of the past and Apple, once again, is leading the charge.
Go Apple!
Molly Wood is one mean bitch. She hates everything Apple. She is worse than Greenpeace.
Target market. Target market. Target market.
It’s a business decision. It is not a PERSONAL opinion to think up the design, go thru the testing phase, manufacture the product, then sell it to your TARGET market.
All of you anti-Apple MS fanboys and girls who are IT people and have never spent a day in a BUSINESS class wouldn’t understand.
So, shut up.
All good things to those who wait. MacBook Pro 12-inch
http://mbp12.com
Yes, anyone who deigns to criticize the Air is foolish! Comrade Jobs has shown us the way, and we must blindingly follow! The way is low functionality for a high price! Stupid CNET editor, why must you think about such things as cost-benefit ratio, usability or rational thought! This Mac Daily News has pointed out the non-serviceable battery is a non-issue, because he says so, why do you not get it! All bow to Comrade Jobs, and get locked into your hardware, OS, music subscriptions all from the same company! Microsoft is an evil monopoly, even thought they only provide the OS. Apple is showing you peons the way forward, and you must be locked into EVERYTHING from Apple, and unquestionigly yield and pay too much! But they are not an evil monopoly of course.
I’m waiting to see it in person. Provided it seems solid, I plan to get one to replace my 12″ PB. I was initially appalled by the lack of ports, but now I think I can live with it. I absolutely need wired internet, but I can live with the dongle. The only time I need a disk drive is at technical conferences where the proceedings are passed out on CD. I’ll just find someone with an eight pound Dell who can copy them onto a thumb drive. It would have been nice to have two USB ports, for those times when Ethernet is plugged in and I also want to plug in a drive. I’ve decided the internal mic and speakers are good enough for Skype calls while in hotel rooms.
Regarding the disk, I believe this machine was designed in anticipation of less expensive SSDs. Both the 80G hard drive and 64G SSD don’t seem like long term options. Assuming the Air survives, and why wouldn’t it, I expect 128 and 256G SSDs to be the main options. Hopefully there will be a reasonable upgrade path in 2 years to replace the spinning disk with an SSD.
Regarding all the people who think this is Cube 2.0, how many does Apple really have to sell to make this a viable product? They can’t sell all that many 17″ MBPs, but that model isn’t going away any time soon. I expect if Apple can sell even a 200,000 a year, that’ll be enough.
Hmm. Reality check-
The Lenovo is 1. Vaporware. 2. Pricing is not yet even available, 3. the x300 is thicker, and butt ugly, 4. It cannot run OSX. 5. Did I say the thing is FUGLY?
Soon after this x300 thing hits the market, Apple will be adding a 160GB 1.8 HD option in addition to the SSD option, and they’ll be bumping the proc speed. AND I don’t really see any company hitting the $1700- pricepoint either.
I’m still trying to figure out the use of half of the ports on our macbook pro. Point is, most folks don’t need and will never use half the stuff. I do wish it had one of them floppy drives tho.
“This laptop was designed for a very specific market. “
The market of people who don’t want a smaller, lighter more functional machine from windows subnotebook vendors?
2lb notebook? you got it. built in DVD? fine. Ethernet and extra USB ports without carrying a mess of extra cables? Sure. large hard disk. Sure. Ability to use that one key expansion card you need? Sure. External hookup to a standard projector for presentations? Sure.
For everything else, there’s MacBook Air.
I could not care less about the mba. I heard the announcement. saw the picture and read the specs, immediately thought neat but not for me.
Molly Wood and cnet are rabidly anti-Apple, why listen to what either has to say.