MacBook Air gets a quick little pre-unboxing in Japan

Can't wait for that MacBook Air to arrive in two to three weeks? (Please let it be two.) Some folks over in Tokyo got a chance to unbox the thing from its official box, and slide it into a couple envelopes for dramatic effect. Looks like classic Apple packaging, and classic Apple hype. Two tastes that taste great together.

[Via PMP Today]

[Gremlin @ Jan 21st 2008 11:50PM]

I need a piece of gum...

[Perry Barnoy @ Jan 21st 2008 11:54PM]

So did they figure out what the eject button on the keyboard is for?

[Kamokazi @ Jan 21st 2008 11:59PM]

Wild guess, but maybe it makes the attached optical drive eject, and does jack diddly when not attached. Probably included to make the keyboard reusable on other macbooks.

[Taylor @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:00AM]

Perhaps the SuperDrive doesn't have an eject button itself?

[Wes Joyce @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:13AM]

The eject button is for the usb, headphone jack, and mini-dvi on the side...it pops down when the button is hit, and closes to streamline the laptop..

[m-p{3} @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:24AM]

It's ejecting the laptop itself into oblivion.

[BobTurbo @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:27AM]

It sends you flying through the ceiling.

[Bobs @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:32AM]

Its for more magic, so i wouldnt press it, it might crash.

[sinai @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:04AM]

oh shi- divide by zero?

[memobox @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:17AM]

It's was designed for use while flying fighter jets (hence the name, weight, and price)--press eject when you cannot take heat and save your life.

At home/office use, it can be used when you cannot to take the sugary hype of apple--press eject and it becomes a Dell. Beware there is no "undo" button.

[stitifier @ Jan 21st 2008 11:55PM]

It looks hot as all hell, but I have to say that it's getting more than a little sycophantic when we have a "PRE-unboxing" article on the Air. That it slips into an envelope shouldn't be surprising since that, ostensibly, was the demonstration Jobs himself did. I'm as gadget-obsessed as anybody here, and gadget-pr0n like unboxing is my secret shame, but even I draw the line at PRE-unboxing. That's like the dirty home movies of gadget prOn.

I also would like to apologize for my overuse of the word "pr0n" in the preceeding paragraph. I assure all parties that I actually have no hacker cred.

[Nathan @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:37AM]

Oh...my...God...Classic Apple Packaging!!!! Look at those sweet corrugations, oh and the 4 color lithography on the face! That box is HOT, SO HOT! *fap fap fap*

Seriously, does anyone give a rat's anus about what the box looks like? It's a box for Christ's sake! It's recycled paper and starch based glue!

I'll make you a helluva deal; I'll order one, you pay for half, and you can keep that oh so sweet box! I'll go ahead and take the completely overpriced device that moments ago, was in it.

[OmG @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:06AM]

@ nathan you would actually pay $900 for this? even THAT is very overpriced, I'd say no more than $400 for the hardware, and also take off $300 because of the crap os.

[Juice @ Jan 22nd 2008 8:50AM]

I'd pay 750 for one.

[pmk @ Jan 21st 2008 11:56PM]

Actually, folks _from_ Tokyo. They did the unboxing at MacWorld.

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:03AM]

Let the Mac hater's gripes begin. It doesn't have this and it doesn't have that. It cost too much and there've already been lighter and smaller notebooks. And nobody will buy it and it doesn't have a user replaceable battery and yada, yada, yada. Good for you people, now move on.

[helloUser @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:09AM]

Those are all very legit reasons not to buy a macbook air. For about 500 bucks less, you can get a macbook that has everything you would need in a complete computer setup. That and the fact that its faster.

No brainer, really.

[derX @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:12AM]

The "Mac haters," as you've dubbed them, do argue the points you've mentioned--it doesn't have this and it doesn't have that and it costs too much and there've already been lighter and smaller notebooks"--all of which have a basis in reality. However, said Mac haters do NOT argue that people will not buy them.

As long as there are Mac haters--which are just people who know gadgets or, at the very least, know how to take inventory (USB ports: 1, optical drives: 0, etc...)--there will be Mac Fan bunnies, iBunnies, who will waste their money on such a product. And it's not that I am saying such a market for a MBA does not exist, but I'm sure the overwhelming majority of the purchasers will be the iBunnies.

And it's not that I have a thing against Apple--personally, I think most of their products are very good as what they're designed to do and look nice--it's just that some products aren't as appealing as others: this does not going into that appealing others pile.

[BobTurbo @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:40AM]

It doesn't have this and it doesn't have that.

[webon @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:04AM]

iBunnies haha

[sinai @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:09AM]

i would have bought an apple laptop to replace my powerbook g4, but this was six months ago and the macbooks were still pushing 5lbs.

6 months later, still not a convincing reason to buy it. it's light, specs are nice and all that, but i got a very similar spec'd machine 6 months ago for $1100.

[Kyanges @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:12AM]

"""Let the Vista hater's gripes begin. It doesn't have this and it doesn't have that. It cost too much and there've already been smaller and more secure OSes. And nobody will buy it and it doesn't have any stability, compatibility and yada, yada, yada. Good for you people, now move on."""

[DrXym @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:07AM]

Don't forget the atrocious quality control in previous MacBooks and Apple kit in general. Yellowing cases, expanding batteries, overheating, melted power cords. Wouldn't surprise me if we see new Air owners bitching that their hinges or aluminium case show stress cracks or some other issue.

[Phoenix Sanders @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:09AM]

yes i love to hate macs i am Microsoft fanboy # 1

too bad i own and Ipod........

Mac Air= amazing device missing a disc drive which i would definately love and way to overpriced. even without the solid state drive.

[Paul @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:30AM]

I don't get how this is ultraportable. It's still 13 inches, now just a lot thinner. Still gonna take up too much space for someone in college. I was hoping to buy the Macbook Air once I heard of the rumors about it, but Macworld's presentation dissapointed me. This should've cost less and had A LOT more hardware packed into it(Disc Drive, USB ports, Firewire)

[Alan Friesen @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:42AM]

I'm currently in an B.Ed. program at UBC, and the smallest laptop I've seen on campus (other than my own - 12" X31) has a 14" screen, largest at 17". Trust me, 13" is *not* too small for a lapotop on campus.

[MarvinK @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:35AM]

The MacBook Air would've been a lot cooler product if they were announcing a G3 iPhone (that supports tethering) at the same time. No PCMCIA slot or internal cell modem--and the iPhone and BlackBerry (at least the GSM-based models) devices both being too slow to use as a tethering device... it seems like a deal breaker. Who wants an ultra-portable that isn't ultra-mobile?

Wait for the Thinkpad x300--even if it won't score you any chicks. At least you can download some virtual action at reasonable speeds with the internal G3 card. ;)

[tnkgrl @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:01AM]

It's 3G, not G3 :) Integrated 3G would have been nice...

I plan to "tether" my MacBook Air to my Nokia N95-3 via Bluetooth for 3G functionality... This already works very well with others systems featuring Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR!

[BobTurbo @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:35AM]

I have been thinking of switching over to Macs because the Windows GUI is so bad, and the Windows-based laptops are so ugly.. but at the end of the day I am not sure there is a point because
1) Most of what I do is in IE7 and that negates much of the GUI advantages of OS X if I am just going to use the web browser (which, unlike everything else from Microsoft, has a fairly good GUI)
2) I have a critical app that doesn't have a comparable OS X counterpart
3) I am worried about the OS X font rendering

[webon @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:08AM]

Windows-based laptops are so ugly... dude have you checked recently??
SONY, asus, lg, even dell are quite the lookers this days

[webon @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:10AM]

sorry for replying twice man but have you heard bout mozzilla??

[mmendoza27 @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:10AM]

1 - Do the things you do rely solely on IE7? I mean, will it also work with Safari (which I've grown accustomed to) or even FireFox, which is multi-platform.

2 - Run Windows, what is the app? If it's a small application that doesn't require a lot of horsepower, just run it in Parallels or VMWare's Fusion. Both can install Windows XP or Vista via an .iso file of the OS, so you won't need an optical drive.

3 - Why exactly are you concerned about the font rendering? I'm sure there is a valid reason, but the fonts are always so much greater on Mac OS X. That's even with "Cleartype" turned on Windows.

Once you make the switch, it's hard to go back!

[BobTurbo @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:20AM]

OK mmendoza27,

1. No they don't, but what I was saying is that half the advantage of OS X is its GUI, whereas IE7 versus Safari GUI is not a large difference (I prefer IE7 actually) so if I spend all of my time in the web browser, the GUI advantages of OS X are minimal.

2. It is a small app, EAC. But running virtualised just adds more complication and hassle that I don't need. Which reminds me of another point: I am too busy in my life to be creating more problems for me. Switching has to be extremely compelling.

3. I am concerned about the issue mentioned recently that OS X fonts are blurrier and that would concern me as far as headaches go. I only have used macs for a few hours at a time here and there, not enough to determine if reading on them for a long time is better or worse than on Windows.

[tnkgrl @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:09AM]

Being an audio person myself, here's some info about replacing EAC in OS X.

I now only use EAC on my PC at work (XP) to rip very damaged CDs... iTunes on my Mac at home (OS X) works very well at ripping most CDs!

Furthermore, there's a Lame plugin for iTunes (OS X) which automatically encodes music ripped in iTunes using Lame instead of Apple's MP3 encoder.

Just FYI :)

[Eh @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:10AM]

The Vaio TZ kills this thing in looks easily. There are some good looking PC laptops, mostly by Sony and ASUS.

[fritz70 @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:16AM]

@ mmendoza27

when you say "Once you make the switch, it's hard to go back!", i have to wonder how ironic it is that I own a macbook and am running vista through bootcamp. 99% of the time too. I tried to make the switch, I really did, but parallels didn't do it for me and there was really not enough support for older hardware (believe it or not, vista has better drivers than leopard).

I do like the computer itself though

[John @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:44AM]

"You got some hype on my packaging!"
"You got some packaging on my hype!"

[John @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:34AM]

It's two -great- tastes that go great together.

Nice one John! (the other one who posted just above me - and no, we are not relations).

[ChrisG @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:49AM]

As soon as they open the box, Steve Jobs appears from behind and yells "Boom!!"

[Tony Rayo @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:49AM]

I think I am going to buy this for my mom. She has an 8 pound Sony laptop that is kind of awkward for her and still finds it heavy. Oh wait, it's 3,000$ and she only uses the internet for research, e-mail and Word. She also finds Windows to be confusing (hell I'm a sysadmin and it buggers me sometimes), so maybe I'll buy her a laptop that cost less but runs OSX and/or Ubuntu.

If anyone has any suggestions (a white keyboard instead of the traditional black with white keys is preferred), please feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail]

Thanks!
- Tony R.

P.S. - No ePCs, it needs to be 15 - 17".

[Mike @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:55AM]

If it needs to be at least 15 inches, I'm not sure why you're considering a MacBook Air.

[umijin @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:45AM]

I think you guys got it from the wrong source. These are part of a set of photos on a Flickr site and were first outed by macrumors (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/21/macbook-air-unboxing-photos-and-wireless-booting/)

Looks like some sort of small preview at a conference site in a tall building here in Tokyo.

[Roy @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:55AM]

i woulda bought one a year and a half ago but i broke down and bought a 15" MBP to replace my aging 12"PB. i would have paid 2500 for it too. the macbook at the time didn't appeal to me because it was made of plastic .. and the pro was only .2lbs heavier. a year later i bought a 3lb dell d420 for about 1700bux because i hated lugging around a 5.6lb behemoth. i'm a student and a realtor.

i have yet to use my optical drive, or FW port. i use the DVI for presentations.

now i'm getting rid of both and getting the MBA with the external drive. call me what you want but woohoo for apple. unless i could easily put OSX on a sony i dont think i'd have spent 3k for a flimsy sony ultraportable.

[Techjunkiez @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:34AM]

without an ODD how can one live.apple should hav integrated a ODD and then the macbook air would hav got a lot more attention

[aaronbareford @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:58AM]

No matter how much i enjoy Apple products, i am really really really disappointed by the macbook air :(
Seriously, wtf?
If i wanted a small mac laptop to take places i would get a standard macbook, more power, optical drive, and more than ONE usb port lol. Honestly, all you get from paying £450 or so more is thinness, which the macbook is already pretty good for. I could easily manage a macbook in a backpack :D
My iMac sits on my desk, screen bowed, in shame towards apple for making a completely useless product.
I think they should have made a small laptop (think eee pc) that is cheaper than the macbook that is more portable, i mean the air is just as portable as a macbook so whats the point?

[aaronbareford @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:14AM]

No matter how much i enjoy Apple products, i am really really really disappointed by the macbook air :(
Seriously, wtf?
If i wanted a small mac laptop to take places i would get a standard macbook, more power, optical drive, and more than ONE usb port lol. Honestly, all you get from paying £450 or so more is thinness, which the macbook is already pretty good for. I could easily manage a macbook in a backpack :D
My iMac sits on my desk, screen bowed, in shame towards apple for making a completely useless product.
I think they should have made a small laptop (think eee pc) that is cheaper than the macbook that is more portable, i mean the air is just as portable as a macbook so whats the point?

[Marty @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:20AM]

Does this Kool-Aid taste funny?

[Jean-Wesley New @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:42AM]

Hint for Apple: The magnetic power cord is ingenious, absolutely love it. However, why are the power prongs attached to the heaviest part of the power supply? In sockets that aren't the tightest, the power supply has a tendency to wiggle lose. I find it amazing that one piece of equipment has such inconsistent levels of thoughtful design. Abandon old design, attach another cord to the power supply so that all of it's weight doesn't rest upon the electrical prongs.

[lanejasper69 @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:01AM]

I love my Mac Book, with 4GB Ram and a DVD/combo drive etc. This thing is cool, but the macbook isn't THAT much bigger considering you have more hard drive, and optical drive, plenty or extra ports and more ram for a little more weight and dimension, I'm kinda stumped too, at why you wouldn't buy a macbook instead and get more bang for the buck. Just a thought. Kinda like the Palms Version of the Folio, why would anyone by that instead of a small notebook that offers much more at a cheaper price and more options...and before everyone starts bitching that this is not s Folio blah, blah blah.......I know that!

Faslane

[Mike Butt @ Jan 22nd 2008 12:13PM]

I was a little bit surprised when Apple announced Macbook Air, which totally disappointed me. The design makes non sense. Apple emphasizes it is THIN, but who cares about how thin it is? I will never put it in a folder anyway. Also it is too thin to make me believe it is solid like a stone. Though my MacBook is heavier, ye MUCH heavier, I like it, it is rock solid and I am confident to carry it around anytime anywhere. More sadly, MacBook Air trades off too much usability for so-called portability (Apple guys must believe ultraportable is equal to thin), such as the notorious design of one USB port. Totally relying on wireless network interface is ridiculously too. MacBook Air is defined as ultra-portable laptop, who can guarantee there is wireless network everywhere when you travel around the world? It's sad to see Macbook air. If I want an ultrportable laptop, I would go for eeePC, which is light, small, cheap, and powerful enough on the go. I totally have no incentive to throw $1,800 to buy a 13', but THIN, laptop with limited usability. If Apple just announced a new 13' MacBook with Aluminum case, I would be much happier.