MacBook Air hits Apple Store Fifth Avenue (with video)

31 Comments

Apple’s new ultra-thin MacBook Air has hit the company’s flagship Apple Store Fifth Avenue in New York City.

YouTuber “MusikInk” has posted video of Apple Store Fifth Avenue vistors trying out Apple’s latest portable:

Direct link via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKqQtkLQlmA

[Attribution: Macsimum News. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Gavin” for the heads up.]

31 Comments

  8. When I was shopping for a MB Pro a few years ago I made the mistake of picking one up in the Apple Store to check the weight. I set off a piercing alarm that had everyone staring at me and Apple employees scurrying under the display table to shut it off.

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  9. I MIGHT offer you one and then tell you I was kidding and that you’ve done anything to deserve it. You stopped writing. You left those Loretta Lynn 8 tracks on the roof again. You don’t call and I will NEVER again drive you to that abandoned farmhouse with sacks of quicklime and those heavy, smelly bags in my trunk.

    Reply

  12. After a spate of early adopters (gadget freaks), this think will remain in great supply on Apple Retail Store shelves across the country.

    I would gladly pay what this drive-challenged, slowest Mac in the line up is worth but no where close to what is on the price tag.

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  13. Everyone was pretty amazed at how thin the macbook air was. If I were to get a laptop, I would still get the regular macbook though. The macbook air represents what laptops will look like in the future though (ultra thin, SSD instead of HDD, and no optical drive because physical media will be dead). Seriously the only thing that bothers me about the macbook air is that the ram is soldered on to keep it as thin as possible. The battery can be removed using a screw driver, so I don’t see why people are complaining about the battery. But the fact that I can’t upgrade the ram puts me off a little…

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  15. Ain’t Going to Happen said –
    “After a spate of early adopters (gadget freaks), this think will remain in great supply on Apple Retail Store shelves across the country.”

    I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I was upstairs doing homework, when I heard the theme from the Macbook air commercial on the tv my parents were watching downstairs. My mom said, “Oh wow, is it really that thin?” loud enough for me to hear upstairs. The thing is, my mom hates computers and electronics in general. She never gets excited about stuff like this, and is a total luddite.

    Personally, I think it would be nice if the macbook air had a smaller footprint (around ten inches), but for some reason really small laptops are only popular in Asia. If it weren’t for the fact that I love OS X soo much, I would have gotten an 8 inch fujitsu lifebook and installed Ubuntu on it.

    Reply

  19. Wow, no kidding about the camera work.
    He was probably adjusting his “tripod”…

    Remember folks, this is Rev.A. Rev. C should get it right, with more RAM, bigger hard drive and maybe a FireWire port (pleeeeease).

    This should be a good seller for Apple. It hits a lot of sweet spots for some people as a second Mac. Others will need a more feature filled machine, like a MacBook Pro, or just don’t get it.

    My GF inherited my old Titanium PowerBook, with a dead optical drive and QuickerTek N wireless PC Card. She can float around the apartment, connect to our network and the internet. If I need to install updates, she can grab them online or transfer them from my MBP. So, right now, it’s essentially an MB Air… though 2.5lbs. heavier.

    Reply

  21. 1. Yes, but will it blend?
    2. Have you EVER replaced a battery on your laptop or cell phone? I thought so. I haven’t replaced on either. Ever. So shaddup on that already.
    2. Frickin’ pundits. They can just bite me. They can’t see the future, and that’s what they’re paid to do, the frigtards. Say what you might about any compromises this might force you to make (ports or lack thereof, RAM, ad nauseum), there’s a simple reason for leaving things out: the MacBook Air was NOT designed to be an all purpose laptop. It’s for road warrior executives who fly all over the world and an audience that male pundits simply don’t understand: WOMEN. The fairer half of the world’s population want something that is fashionable, svelte and above all, LIGHT.

    I don’t know about you, but I just flew cross country from a business trip. I had to lug around a fat-ass Dull PC laptop (don’t laugh – it’s not my choice) an a bulging laptop bag with the Dull fat-ass power brick, marsupial device and a sheath of files and note pad. The damned thing weighs nearly 30 lbs., and walking through DFW about tore my shoulder apart. So if you told me that I could buy a Mac that runs reasonably fast, is super slim and doesn’t weigh anything and works very well with WiFi, I would have one question: where can I buy it?

    On the matter of Ethernet: when was the last time you went on a business trip and stayed in a hotel that DIDN’T have wireless throughout the building? So long as the Ethernet/USB adapter doesn’t mean you lose speed in the hand-off, big deal. I’ll pay the freight to make the connection. But increasingly, wireless is commonplace.

    The point is this: Steve Jobs has cajones. Big ones. If not for him, we’d still be using 5 1/2″ floppies. He’s not afraid of forcing change when it benefits everyone. That takes ton of vision, cajones and a wee bit of well-placed arrogance. In a few years, we’ll look back and wonder what the fuss was about.

    Reply

  23. Needs more RAM? What are you going to be doing with this travel laptop that needs more than 2 Gigs of RAM? Firewire? I don’t see that happening in rev 2 or 3 either. Why? Connect a video camera I guess?

    Too expensive? Appleinsider had a great article recently comparing the MBA with other thin-and-lights. Guess what? with comparable specs the MBA was tied for the least expensive. This kind of laptop doesn’t come cheap.

    I’ve been to hotel rooms recently that didn’t have wireless but did have ethernet (in Asia mostly). The dongle solves that.

    I guess everyone has a gripe about the MBA and why it sucks or just isn’t right for them. Me included. I’m on the fence about getting one. I travel a lot so the light weight would be great. But it will be my main computer (my wife has a PC) and I’m not sure I can live with the compromises. It is a cool looking thing though, you can’t deny that.

    Reply

  25. @bildad

    It doesn’t stop people from using iphones and blackberrys though. I got a chance to type on an Asus EEEpc and didn’t have any difficulty (I’m 6’3” so I don’t exactly have small hands). Seriously, my ideal computer would be something the size of an iphone with a core2duo inside and a docking port for my pheriphals. I would get one of those small fold up keyboards for typing notes in class, and carry the device in my pocket. As is, I don’t type notes on my laptop, because carrying it around is too much of a fuss (weight and I would be afraid of breaking it). I understand the Macbook air is lighter than even the old 12 inch powerbook G4. It would still be nice though if it had a smaller footprint.

    Apple doesn’t need to release a ten inch notebook, but it would probably be popular in countries like Japan. Personally, I’m waiting for apple to do something exciting with the new Silverthorne architecture coming out.

    Reply

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