Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro size showdown
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Jan 15th 2008 4:41PM
posted Jan 15th 2008 4:41PM
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http://mbp12.com
http://bulman.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/re-the-macbook-air/
It keeps making me think of a silver Foleo.
Very impressive though.
MACBOOK AIR DOESN'T LOOK GOOD WITH FAT AMERICANS.
Macbook Pro: "fat, old, slow, nasty brethren?"
Ooooh. Ouch.
I wouldn't say that. Especially considering everything the MBP has that the MBA doesn't have, for virtually the same price. (We don't need to list them again do we?)
If anything, the introduction of the MBA has made me more inclined to pick up the prestigious, fully-equipped MBP.
"Especially considering everything the MBP has that the MBA doesn't have, for virtually the same price"
Agreed. I'll stick with the MacBook Pro.
Yeah, or even the Macbook has more features. Plus is 2 lbs really worth the cost and lack of power/functionality?
My MBP surely runs loops around any MBA without an SSD.
Interesting.. the point-pad is bigger.. I guess for multitouch-goodness.. but.. Question: Is it two-button finally?
Why do you want two buttons?
He wants two buttons because if you Bootcamp XP on a mac there isn't an easy right-click solution.
I'd want it just for for layer clicking in Photoshop.
Two buttons would be nice. Or does it have virtual buttons, where if you touch the left side for left click and the right side for right click? I'm not going to use two hands to get a right click in Photoshop or some other program that I'm use to using a PC for with two buttons.
As for this Air laptop. I would rather have the basic MacBook with a SSD in it. Even 32GB would be enough. It would still be less money.
The MBA, just as any other MacBook, allows you to right click simply by using two fingers on the trackpad instead of one.
Just as ignacio said, and TO ALL OTHERS WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO RIGHT-CLICK ON A MAC:
Turn on the two-finger tap in the Mouse options in System Preferences, then two-finger-tap away!
SIMPLY TAKE TWO FINGERS AND GENTLY TAP THE TRACKPAD (Just like one-finger tapping the trackpad to left-click, only with TWO FINGERS!)
Slow? the air is a bloody 1.6 GHZ tortoise. what is engadget smoking.
Seriously, woohoo! It's a quarter of an inch thinner, and all you have to give up for that is speed, non replaceable ram, non replaceable battery and no internal dvd reader, all at only double the cost of a machine that's practically the same damned size.
Get over it.
SLOW? Did you just say the MBP is slower than the MBA?
Dude, I would take my MBP over that piece of crap any day, just because it's slimmer doesn't mean its better!
Why in the world is the Air being compared to the MBP?
The specs, form, etc. are ALL so much closer to the Macbook. The only thing that is similar to the MBP over the Macbook is the aluminum color. Otherwise this is literally a Macbook Slim or w/e you want to call it. I seriously want to see a comparison to the Macbook.
Slow? Pfft. A Macbook Pro would kick it's arse any day. Smaller, lighter, blah, yes, the Macbook Air wins.
But SLOW?
BEHOLD the Engadget marketing machine! 1.6 Ghz is now magically faster than 2.2 Ghz. Upgradeable memory is now worse than non-upgradeable!
Also, it will blend!
This room might be suffering from an impaired grasp of sarcasm.
Veiled sarcasm on a gadget review site...
Is that...
Journalism?
what? you cant upgrade your memory?
Mine is 2.6
Am i the only one that think the MacBook Air isn't that great?
Prepare to have your post deleted! Buy now or have your forum account deleted! Buy buy buy!
No, I think we are the majority.
Oh I can't wait to see the I'm a Mac ads for this. I can imagine an anorexic Mac guys in the corner looking at the overweight PC. Its like the jokes just write themselves.
How many mba's did they slip to engadget for such a remark.
Seeing all the negative vibes this thing has generated, it was smart of Palm to can Foleo.
It may be thin, but the look suggests it's not one of Apple's better industrial designs. The name is suspect as well. Disapointing.
Seeing all the negative vibes this thing has generated, it was smart of Palm to can Foleo.
Now try sticking it next to a MacBook. The footprint doesn't change at all.
please do the Mac Book Air and Mac Book size showdown not the Mac Book Pro!
Worst Macworld keynote ever amirite? =) Seriously though, I would wait for multi-touch to hit the MBP cause this "Air" thing is crippled to the point of uselessness. I was really wishing they would announce a multi-touch tablet.
I was about to buy a MacBook Pro the other day until I heard they may be releasing a new macbook. The reason I would like to buy one now, being a pc guy, is the option of boot camp and being able to run both operating systems. Do we know yet if the new MacBook Air will be bootcamp compatible? Thoughts anyone?
bootcamp is software doesnt need any specific hardware - well except an intel chip I believe ? and it has one? I might be wrong :)
i dont see why not.
1. it has intel inside
2. it runs 10.5
It probably will be, but 80gb is mighty small to have two operating systems. Even with a 120GB in my MBP, I still feel the pinch. IF anything, wait until they offer a 160GB option (like they should have today) on the MBA.
I have a 15" MBP, and I really like its design. It's definitely a sleek, slim machine.
However, it seems downright TUBBY in these pictures.
Whether you like the new MBA or not, you have to admit it's one tiny machine.
Might not be a problem running 2 os's at first. but someday you will want more then 2 gig of ram. not an option with the MBA. which makes it dated the day it comes out. its only a matter of time before you will need to upgrade something and wont be able to. for 200 more the entry mbp is a powerhouse that is 100% upgradeable. and the macbook becomes the deal of the century having alot of the mbp's options for 500 less then an MBA and 700 less then a MBP.
idk... but the MBA has got that retro appeal - slower processor and thicker bezel.
My coworker said the same thing to me about his 2002 Dell portable music player.
"Dude, it's retro. It's got retro style! Plus, if my car were going down a hill and my brakes failed, I could jam this thing in the steering wheel and it would hold. The wheel would just snap your iPod Touch in half!"
thin = fragile = more likely for the screen to break
Yea I know, that aluminum they use in the case is like glass.
I was waiting for an ultraportable. 13,3" is NOT an ultraportable. This thing is HUGE.
I've always thought that width and length are more important than thickness. Which stops you from putting it in a bag?
Sony X505 is not thinner.... it is thicker at the back, where it joins the display.
The new Air is deceptively thin. That is, because of the beveled edges, you're deceived into thinking it's even thinner than it is. Hold it at the right angle when open and it looks like it's paper-thin and floating in the ari.
"How does Apple's new wonder of the world"
SERIOUSLY Engadget ? a WONDER ? ...
Steve Jobs leveraged his reality distortion field again this time. MacBook Air is no way to be the slimmest notebook ever. Toshiba Portege 2000 is even smaller.
Toshiba Portege 2000: 11.4*9*0.73
Apple Macbook Air: 12.8*9*0.76
I was hoping for this thing to compete with the EEE(although I knew it woudlnt pricewise). This is just a small laptop. 13" is too big to be called an ultraportable in my opinion
I thought it said "prize showdown" and got really excited...you disappoint me Engadget. (hint hint...that'd make a great contest.)
I'll just wait until they slap a multi-touch trackpad on the MacBook Pro before my credit card comes out.
i understand why there is so much hate towards this computer, generally because you get more for less with the macbook, but for me and others like myself this computer totally rocks! I have a macbook, and I love the screen and keyboard etc, it seems like a great computer, but the problem is the thickness. I understand the macbook is very thin for the amount of power they packed into it, but a macbook thinner would be the perfect size. 1.8ghz is by no means slow, plus 2gb ram isn't bad either. The air seems like the perfect school computer, thinner than all my books, and around the same width/ height. I think its amazing, plus I hardly use the ports on my macbook, never touched the firewire or ethernet, only thing missing is a second usb port.
This comp seems like the logical next step to the macbook in my opinion, led backlit, bigger trackpad, aluminum body, and what, its only 300 more than the black. I could sacrifice some power for portability. PEOPLE PAID 200 MORE FOR BLACK.
I understand this computer cost more than the macbook, but the thinness is unreal to me, I thought the macbook was thin but WOW.
If this computer is as durable as they say it is, then I would have to buy it :D
A computer is an investment, if it lasts long then there's no problem for me because it pays off overtime. Non-removable battery is nothing like the ipods, because this is the same price as getting a battery and swapping it yourself. And I never had to replace batteries on my computer before, and if there's the need, a trip to the apple store once every two years isn't that bad. People just exaggerate, I understand a minority of people that cannot risk not having their computer for hours, but the rest there's no need.
And please, it's as if apple would let EVERY person with a functional air give it up for a battery swap for three weeks, if they do, omgg.
If the Macbook Air doesn't have soldered ram to the motherboard then i'm pretty sure it would support 4gb. I understand that only the authorized retailers can open up the MBA and not void the warranty, so then why wouldn't they throw more ram while they're at it.
I wonder what Steve Ballmer's got to say about this...
It looks like a clamshell iBook.
I miss the clamshell iBooks. =\
I think I speak for many people when I say "what the heck joshua, I resent that." The macbook pro, even compared to the macbook air, is still a very sleek and fast machine. It's apple's flagship notebook for a reason. It's only 5.4 pounds, and has every wired and wireless option available. And it's one inch thin, with a superdrive
and, as far as I can see, the MBA will not drive a 30" cinema display whereas the MBP will. Am I wrong?
Honestly folks, for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would pay over $500.00 more for a less powerful MacBook with less features. I'm comparing this to the $1299.00 MacBook. I could see paying a premium for being an early adopter (first iPhone users come to mind). Also for getting the GQ version of laptops. But really why? I could live without an included optical drive if it were a 10" laptop or smaller but on a 13"? No. User replaceable battery? No, sorry. I would think the beauty of an Ultra portable laptop would be that it could be used while one is away like on a long flight or away from a wall outlet. Sorry Apple. That's a big no-no. Then there's the number of expandability ports which are, from what I can see, two USB ports. Where's the firewire? Where's the PC Express slot (or whatever it's called)? Hell, where's the NIC card slot? So if I don't have a wireless router then I'm down to one USB slot. Wow! Same resolution as the MacBook too 1280x800. Finally, and many of you will disagree with me on this but it's too thin and delicate. I don't like this because it would probably warp or break too easily. And they want my $1799.00 for this? Sorry Mr. Jobs. I'll keep my MacBook for now. It may be bulky (if anyone can really call it that) but at least I won't be afraid of luggin' it around with me. At least it has expandability and connectivity options. At least I can easily swap out the HDD and memory. At least it has a built in optical drive. It's a lot cheaper and more powerful than this Metro-Sexual laptop.
What they should have announced yesterday was a 3G iPhone and/or a 12" MBP. There. Call my comments controversial or whatever but I'm sure they make sense to many people here. As for me ever buying this MacBook Air I say to Apple (as the Soup Nazi once said) "NO SOUP FOR YOU"!
Ok, it is THIN, it is LIGHT, and a full sized keyboard is NICE, but really, it is too BIG, FRAGILE, Limited Hardware and it only connects to the internet in one way, over wi-fi. Any busy traveling person will likely have a cell modem to guarantee a connection almost anywhere. The usb ethernet dongle is definitely a boobie prize! Seriously REAL Steve, who exactly was in those focus groups and exactly who determined what is Insanely Great? I am ready to buy, but most disappointed and still keeping my 12"PB in the stable. Maybe, there will be a version of fusion to run OS X on a small Sony in the near future!
This is lame! Check Sony's VAIO SZ: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665288203
Apple is ripping people off, as usual.
Has anyone seen the power button on the Air..?
a smaller laptop... NOT genius, some would buy, most I doubt it!
for market value think of this:
1. MacBook air should be a tablet (attracts laptop users, and comercial and business use)
2. MacPro should have the new touch mouse and BluRay. (attracts businees, profesionals and artists)
... now those are products that would satisfy MOST audiences!!!
I plan on getting a Mac Air. I paid $2000 for a loaded G3 iBook in 2002, I am now using a G4, and this would be a nice upgrade. For those of you who think it's a bad deal compared to an $1100 MB, so what? For those whose needs a MB would do, and for those (like me) who don't really care about a few hundred bucks, especially on something I use 8 hours a day, it's a fantastic deal. figure: ($1800-$500 resale) / (3*365))=barely over a dollar a day, about 15 cents per hour. I spend more than that on diet coke.
Fat, maybe, but old and slow? Nasty, for sure (they kick a$$) But it sounds terribly ignorant to say that ANY of the macbooks, much less the macbook pro is slow!
ALL the current macbooks are faster than the Macbook air. Just look at the speeds. Even the slowest 2.2Ghz white macbook is faster than the fastest 1.8Ghz mbAir.
And lets not get started with the price. It smells like Apple charging that extra $200 for the initial iPhones. But here it's worse --- pay a couple extra THOUSAND dollars for something more expensive than the most expensive macbook PRO, but with far less processing capabilities.
It's easy to see that the macbook air is for rich snobs or idiot celebrities who don't need the processing power but just want something uber cool. Well.. I suppose there would be a premium to pay for having the slimmest notebook in the world eh?
I'm a high school teacher; even my students are already raving about the "new Mac." I'm sitting in front of them right now with my overpowered Toshiba Portege R500-S5004 laptop: 1.72 pounds, fully featured, robust, powerful, and slides into a 2" zipper binder alongside all my papers every day.
And this Toshiba is enormous compared to my previous laptop, the Sharp Actius PC-MM20 (which is still renowned for its tiny size), though it weighs a bit less.
I have to explain to these kids that the "new Mac" laptop sacrifices through all aspects of its feature set to attain that size.
Consumer culture is starting to scare me, big time.
And the fact that people never call Jobs out for misleading them is just vile.
I will not buy it for the same reason I didn't buy new iMac, because I hate all those PC like black parts. Why did they make black keyboard? Looks really ugly.
I was at Macworld yesterday and had a chance to use the new MBA for about 20 minutes. First impression when you pick it up. It's light and feels good in your hand because it is very slim. The round tapered edges are another nice tactile touch. The magnetically closed lid opens up without the need to hold the computer down with the other hand to avoid movement. The screen is immediately lit. I am not a fan of the glossy screens but it is tolerable. A nice touch is the magsafe connector. Well engineered. The 4 rubberfeet give it a sturdy feeling. The powerbrick is smaller than the one from a Macbook but larger than an iPhone charger. They only had the 80GB hardrive on display (noSSD) so I don't know how much faster they would feel. Opening up Garageband took 17 seconds which is pretty good.
I have a 17 inch G4 which I am looking to replace. After weighing all the pro and cons I would take the MBAir over another Macbook or Macbook Pro. I am in the lucky position to have a MacPro with two 23 inch Cinema displays at home. Good for all that heavy video and photo editing. I would use the MBA only for what I believe it is designed for: Traveling Light! I always had to carry my laptop separately from my briefcase, now I can slip it into the briefcase and still have everything I need to run Keynote, Office apps, watch media files or listen to music. It is a niche product but I believe it will be appealing to a large segment of the market. As for the lack of expandability and optical drive. Not a big deal for me personally: I had an Apple Duo and never used the portable floppy drive. I can live with Apple's software solution or could maybe spend 100$ to buy the external optical drive. No replaceable battery. Here is my point. Why would I take an extra battery? The only time I am ever away from a charger in the civilized world is when I fly (although most airlines now have chargers in Business Class). Unless you fly transatlantic or to Asia I could not even think about sitting in front of my computer for more than 2-3 hours. I'd rather read a book or sleep. And replacing the battery. A trip to the Apple Store can take care of that when it is time. Small harddrive? True, but I have an iPod Classic with a 160 GB drive which I also use to sync my laptop and my desktop. Like the Duo The MBA has its shortcomings and it is a bit pricey, but you have to consider the engineering and the cost it takes to shrink it to this size. I am waiting for some tests on the speed of the flash drive (1000$ is quite a steep price jump) and possibly battery savings to decide which version I will buy. Again, don't compare the Macbook to the Macbook Air. They are 2 different things. The first is a portable desktop machine, the second is designed for maximum portability. Apples and Oranges. BTW: I don't work for Apple or in the computer industry. Just a guy with experience on the Apple platform as a consumer from the first Mac in 1984. I have seen and used over the years a lot of products they produced that were "the worst ever" such as the latter years of the pre OSX era, the Newton, the Pippin, the Cube and numerous beige boxes during the dark ages of the 90s. Compared to those I products I have a feeling the MBA will take off. If you don't like it, just buy another their products
Why did you compare it to the not-at-all-mobile MacBook Pro? An interesting comparison would be Apples previous mobile laptop offering, the 12" PB G4. It would be nice if you compared footprint, disk, memory, ports, battery, keyboard, optical drive and other spec with that 3-4 years old machine.
Bleh..bring the price down to $2200 and you may have a customer. I'll let the guys who tested the bugs in the iPhone take this hit too ;)