Apple MacBook Air Announced at MacWorld '08

[someguy00]

Yup, I want what I am writing my thesis paper on to be unpractical. Computers are supposed to be practical!

Try writing your thesis on a TZ... I don't think that I could (I'm writing my thesis too).

[lewdvig]

I was hoping to throw some money Apple's way. I like their stuff and of the dozens of Apple products I have owned over the years I think I have only been burned twice: TiBook (hinges, fragile chassis) and iBook (battery and mobo problem).

But the way I look at it:
MacBook $1100 and up. I can get a Dell XPS1530 with much better specs for the same price (double ram, HDD and Geforce 8600M GT) even though it is slightly larger.

MacBook Pro $2000 and up. There is not shortage of machines at this price that have similar specs and quality. Lenovo T61P notebooks can be had at this price.

MacBook Air $1800 and up. At a time when sub-notebooks are coming down in price and getting mainstream traction, Apple decides to take the concept upscale. An uber iPod Touch with a 7" screen and most of the functionality of an EEE or Cloudbook is doable in the $600 range and I think it would sell better than the Air.

So I just keep waiting I guess.

[arch983]

Yeah... The MBA ultraportable.... Like hell it is.

i agree with that in a way. but you got to understand that the mbp is so much smaller to begin with. it doesnt even look like a 15.4". put the macbook air next to the inspiron 1520 or something then you will see a huge difference.

but none the less it is no ultra portable, but definitely small

[Sub-D]

Try writing your thesis on a TZ... I don't think that I could (I'm writing my thesis too).

All my writing is done on my Q35 which has a great keyboard with only a few minor keys not being full sized and I can still happily fit this laptop into my bag something I don't think I'd be able to do with the Air due to its footprint. I agree that the TZ has a slightly too small keyboard but it does fulfill its purpose of being an ultraportable that can still function as a full computer on its own. Something the MBA cannot do.

[Sub-D]

i agree with that in a way. but you got to understand that the mbp is so much smaller to begin with. it doesnt even look like a 15.4". put the macbook air next to the inspiron 1520 or something then you will see a huge difference.

but none the less it is no ultra portable, but definitely small

Its not small! Small would be something along the lines of the Samsung Q45 which I would say is just above being ultraportable.

[Sub-D]

An uber iPod Touch with a 7" screen and most of the functionality of an EEE or Cloudbook is doable in the $600 range and I think it would sell better than the Air.

So I just keep waiting I guess.

I'm waiting along with you. I really was hoping for something similar to what you described to come out of MacWorld so I could blow some of my scholarship on it. Guess I'm going to get a cheap Vostro for playing WoW instead.

[sdelano]

I know a lot about computers. I've built all of my previous desktops, spent countless hours tinkering and playing around with my computers. I've even managed to fit a tualatin celeron into a BX motherboard via a bit of soldering (that system is still working perfectly even though the motherboard is 10+ years old).

The thing is that I'm now at the point where I just want things to work. I think that I would enjoy this laptop a lot.

I completely agree with you! Sure, for some users they may want a super customizable notebook, but in reality if you need more than 2GB of ram then you may want to look at the MBP, as this processor is probably too slow for you anyways.

I am getting this notebook, and I am getting it to supplement my desktop computer. The lure of OSX, for me as a computer engineering student, is huge! Not only do I have a beautiful and stable UNIX environment that "just works", I can use boot camp to install windows on a separate partition for when I need those Windows specific apps.

Not only am I going to buy this laptop, I am going to slightly upgrade my desktop to C2D w/ NVIDIA video so that I can run OSX86 better (almost natively).

I think that what many of you are forgetting is that the "just works" part of computers can be extremely alluring to many people. Personally, I love tinkering with my computers and having the freedom to do what I want, but at times I wish that I wouldn't have to and could just use my computer and enjoy it. This laptop will allow me to do so.

I personally don't like the large size of the MBP's and am not a huge fan of the MacBook because it just looks/feels cheap-ish. This perfectly fills the void. If Apple hadn't released this today, I would have most likely purchased a used 12" Powerbook.

Just my 2 cents

[Ch28Kid]

Wow, this topic have so many post.

Anyways this is my thought about Macbook Air

It's nice to see Apple step into the Ultra Portable Market, another competition means other big firms need to price their future Ultra Portable Notebook lower.

The specification does not reflect the price tho, I think it is somewhat expensive considering you are playing for close to 2k for 1.8Ghz.

And no removable battery? Nice Design apple but thats like taking 1 step forwards and 2 steps backwards. 5 hours of battery life does sound nice, but you know what specification sheet are always wrong when it comes to battery life.

On the bright side. When you ship it to Apple for a battery replacement you can use an envelope!

[G-X]

hopefully this laptop will be a simple cleancut laptop, , it doesnt look like it would have anything inside that would over heat or break..unless you dropped it...
looks like a lucky break for apple fans

wait, wheres the optical drive? :P

- i know its not there

[someguy00]

All my writing is done on my Q35 which has a great keyboard with only a few minor keys not being full sized and I can still happily fit this laptop into my bag something I don't think I'd be able to do with the Air due to its footprint. I agree that the TZ has a slightly too small keyboard but it does fulfill its purpose of being an ultraportable that can still function as a full computer on its own. Something the MBA cannot do.

All my thesis writing (which isn't very much...I've been slacking off ) has been on my desktop. I'd really like to have a light notebook that I can easily lug around, but on which I can install some version of Linux. However, I'm getting fed up with a few linux problems, which is why I'd like to give OS X a try. The problem was that both the MacBook and the MacBook Pro are way too heavy.

As for the footprint, I'd have to see it in person to really decide. But based on it's measurements, it's just slightly longer than my lab book so it should be fine.