Apple MacBook Air and MacBook Pro size showdown
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted January 15th 2008 4:41PM
posted January 15th 2008 4:41PM
posted January 15th 2008 4:41PM
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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 ;)