Adding insult to injury: USB 3G modems won't fit in the MacBook Air

Ouch, we just tested and confirmed that one of the smallest (and thus likeliest to fit) USB EV-DO modems around, the Sprint / Novatel U727, won't even come close to fitting in the cramped, foldaway USB port on the MacBook Air. Most flash drives will probably be okay, but it looks like 3G users might need powered USB hubs or a USB extension cable to get online where WiFi isn't available (read: most places). Of course, your mileage may vary -- we recommend testing your modem of choice on a live machine in an Apple store before dropping any coin.

Gallery: Adding insult to injury: USB EV-DO modems won't fit in the MacBook Air

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[Brian @ Jan 24th 2008 2:11PM]

Boohoo, you'll need a $2, 2 inch usb extension cable that can be found at 100000 stores online. Hardly news.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 2:13PM]

You still shouldn't need to because of a bad design!

[spass @ Jan 24th 2008 2:13PM]

So get the cable plus the adapter (again, two extra items in your bag...) to fix something that could have been included in the first place?

[PDubNYC @ Jan 24th 2008 2:26PM]

mike we get it. you hate Apple, and especially the MBA, so why the F do you have to post on every apple story your juvenile little trolls. Pretty much as bad as the Tony C guy being pro-Apple. Seems like neither one of you has a job, or maybe middle schools are closed this week.


How about you just go on enjoying your windows boxes, and let other use what they want to use. You think you're not a sheep? you are the moron following the anti-apple herd. About as original as a Williamsburg hipster.

[Fred @ Jan 24th 2008 2:35PM]

It has less to do with Apple hate and more to do with Apple's penchant for taking something that is obviously poorly designed and trying to spin it into a plus. They take a technical limitation or (in this case) a poor port layout and tell you how much better your life will be now that you have this limited functionality. "One USB port is the wave of the future!"

[Oracle @ Jan 24th 2008 2:35PM]

Yeah... just keep the octopus growing... LOL

[Elliott @ Jan 24th 2008 2:42PM]

Yea...if you're paying $2000 or $3000 for a underpowered laptop, the least they could do is make sure the USB port is usable.

Also, Mr. Block, I don't ever see this much coverage for any other single product that is a non-Apple product...please cut it out.

[Ellianth @ Jan 24th 2008 2:42PM]

You people make me so angry sometimes!! Quit calling the MBA a paper weight. Everyone knows that it can't even hold paper down or be a proper door stop :p.

[bcollinstex @ Jan 24th 2008 3:00PM]

Welcome to non news.

[sinai @ Jan 24th 2008 2:58PM]

@Brian

The point of the macbookair is to be ultra portable and ultra compact. now i need dongles too?

and this is obviously purposeful design, or else they would have learned from the iPhone debacle.

[David @ Jan 24th 2008 3:18PM]

I would prefer using an extension anyways so that the big ass 3g adapter wouldnt get broken off!

[superfresh @ Jan 24th 2008 3:18PM]

...echoes of the sunken iPhone jack that wouldn't incorporate most high-end headphones.

Now I need a USB extension cable in addition to my portable optical drive. That manila envelope is starting to fill up.

[The General @ Jan 24th 2008 3:20PM]

Really, though... The modem maker should have made their device so that it doesn't interfere with neighboring USB ports, thus solving this entire problem.

[Hax Or @ Jan 24th 2008 3:27PM]

Mike does it for fun. That's the definition of a Griefer.

Strange, I got booted from Gizmodo's comments section because I was identifying trolls and griefers. They must love it.

Here it's refreshing and pure... now sic em.

[AdamY @ Jan 24th 2008 3:41PM]

I think I'm about done reading the comments section at Engadget, thanks to people like mike.

It'd be one thing if he just wanted to rant and ramble, but the fact that he gets a "high" rank (and even highest) for being a dick, pretty much means that the children are in the driving seat here, and that scares the piss out of me.

Maybe it's back to MacSurfer for news aggregation. Such a shame too, I used to like reading the comments here.

[Bubba @ Jan 24th 2008 3:44PM]

Why not hack the Air like the Eee and put the 3G inside?

[Brian @ Jan 24th 2008 3:56PM]

I didn't mean to come off as supporting the Air, much less Apple. IMO, it's just a palm foleo with the sex appeal of a delorean.

I just don't believe that an extremely cheap usb extension is that big of a deal.

The device is already crippled, from a typical desktop users standpoint, so this is hardly proverbial nail in the coffin.

[Kiwi616 @ Jan 24th 2008 3:57PM]

This reminds me of the poor design of my MB with trying to use a flash drive and another USB device. The space between them is way to small, not to mention that there is enough space on each side to move one over a 1/2 inch.

Come on Apple, get with the program.

[Grant @ Jan 24th 2008 4:06PM]

i thought most of those 3G dongles came with a 1 or 2" extension because some laptops have this issue in the first place.

[runner7775 @ Jan 24th 2008 4:11PM]

well this seems to be a case of apple going for style instead of usability,
It is a nice laptop but it doesnt have any ethernet ports and the dvd drive thing is wierd
once again, it is nice but the probably couldve done a better job with the ports

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 4:13PM]

Adam:

You know why I do this? To prove to myself that you Mac fanboys are so easy to stir up! I do this because it shows what kinds of people use Macs. Now I am not saying everyone who uses a Mac is a fanboy that is so easy to manipulate but a lot of you are. You just prove to people that you are just pawns. Hell I don't even use Vista, I use XP and sometimes Linux.

[BigD @ Jan 24th 2008 4:15PM]

Predicted here:

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/18/fujitsus-lifebook-p1620-is-lighter-than-macbook-air/comments/9920974/

I didn't need to test it out to see that this was going to be a problem...

[Richard Lai @ Jan 24th 2008 4:16PM]

Wireless USB FTW!

[Ian @ Jan 24th 2008 4:33PM]

Yay! More dongles and crap.

EPIC FAIL.

[Mke @ Jan 24th 2008 4:49PM]

mike
@ Jan 24th 2008 2:13PM
You still shouldn't need to because of a bad design!

Kind of like how my friends shouldn't have had to upgrade their 1 year old PCs when Vista came out to do basic functions OS X can do on the original iMac. (Circa 1998)

[Pc_Madness @ Jan 24th 2008 5:16PM]

Mike:
"I do this because it shows what kinds of people use Macs."

And what does it say about people who don't use Macs then by your logic? (p.s. I don't use Macs) Get a life and stop being disruptive. You've posted 10 times and its nothing but crap.

[charliex @ Jan 24th 2008 5:16PM]

Fits in my X505 just fine.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 5:30PM]

You know whats really funny? How little I care. Hey Engadget, shut up with this Mac crap already!

[Mke @ Jan 24th 2008 5:51PM]

Mike -

Whether you know it or not, I'm certain that many readers here are able to extrapolate from your comments that you are quite young. What you're doing is very immature and definitely doesn't add to the environment of this website. This is an article about technology. This is no debate on abortion or economics, there is no reason to be evangelically, offensively forward.

Please refrain from making more of the silly comments you have been making. Not all Mac users are senseless and your comments are definitely not supporting your thesis.

In other words, you have been judging the users of a simple product instead of judging the product itself. That's very immature.

Thanks.

[mike @ Jan 24th 2008 5:59PM]

Fine I will judge the product: Apple screwed this up and idiots will buy it.

[Mke @ Jan 24th 2008 6:02PM]

Well... that's a little better, I suppose.

:)

[ChillyWilly @ Jan 24th 2008 6:15PM]

I'm actually surprised they didn't cut a deal with AT&T to have a SIM slot in this for cellular broadband. Not that it would have done anyone on Sprint, Verizon or T-Mobile any good.

Regardless, the design vs. how many USB devices are out there means that if it's not a broadband USB modem that doesn't work, it will be something else.

[Xof @ Jan 24th 2008 7:53PM]

BINGO!! A cheap accessory to stop the big drama!!

[V3LOCIP3D3 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:38PM]

I love reading conversations involving Mike. They're so exciting. He criticizes macs on a legitimate flaw and all the fanboys get their panties in a bunch . . and then he just keeps coming back for more! . . and how could you resist?

[Seth @ Jan 25th 2008 12:33AM]

Contrary to popular belief, you can like some Apple products and criticize others and not be a hypocrite.

I love every iPod I have ever owned, including the Touch, which is amazing.
I never leave home without my airport express, its perfect.
My MacBook was OK but I happily switched back to Dell notebooks.

The MacBook Air looks very sexy but the more stuff like this comes out the more it becomes apparent that they just made too many compromises for no other reason but to say they had the slimmest laptop by x millimeters.

And when it comes right down to it, the ability to say that means a lot more to Apple's marketing machine then it does to Air owners.

[C.K. @ Jan 25th 2008 10:18PM]

I'm convinced this laptop was designed for people who like to burn money.

If you have some extra money, just give it to me.

[Marko @ Jan 26th 2008 12:19PM]

Well actually, Apple charges $10 for a USB cable that everyone else sells for $2.... Hmm.... I sense a more sweeping analogy, but I'll stay silent...

[Travis @ Jan 24th 2008 2:12PM]

I simply don't understand the demographic for this particular machine. One USB port? Are you kidding me?

[tom @ Jan 24th 2008 2:17PM]

It is an ultra-portable, what kinda stuff should be plugged in?

USB powered-
cup warmer,
massager,
drink cooler,
or
a powered cooling fan?

[bob @ Jan 24th 2008 2:27PM]

Function follows fashion.

[max andrews @ Jan 24th 2008 3:03PM]

The macbook air is a flawed machine in it's current state. It needs the following to be worth the price:

firewire (at least 400, preferably 400/800)
ethernet jack
at least two fully accessible USB ports
expresscard 34 slot or at the VERY LEAST a card reader
full sized 2.5" hard drive, or cheaper SSD flash drive (only time can help this)
easily serviceable interior for adding 3G upgrades, etc), or, at the very least,
a user replaceable battery (not as in swappable, but replaceable in event of failure)

The processor is fine, the screen is fine, the keyboard and trackpad are fine, the battery itself is fine, but this is a seriously crippled and overpriced machine given the current specs. Hopefull by version 3 they'll have seen the light!

[ClaMs @ Jan 24th 2008 4:00PM]

@max andrews

You're talking about the MacBook Pro...

The beauty of the Air is that you don't need those. Or you have to learn to live without.

[Grant @ Jan 24th 2008 4:05PM]

rich college kids and soccer moms with lawyer husbands who need to show it off at starbucks.

[mythago @ Jan 24th 2008 4:59PM]

It's for that class of computer user who wants everyone to know they have the newest, coolest toy on the block. Apple isn't stupid; they understand very well the concept of planned obsolesence and design that signals status.

[Mike @ Jan 24th 2008 4:51PM]

@Mike

It's a computer that will fit in my briefcase and be non-intrusive in the conference room. Calm down, big boy.

[wookee88 @ Jan 24th 2008 6:01PM]

can't agree more with Grant, somehow i always have this feeling that apple users and starbucks lovers are the same kinda people

[onebluehaze @ Jan 24th 2008 7:09PM]

IT'S A LAPTOP, a small one at that, how many USB ports do you need?! I mean if you want to hook up and external HDD, your new MacBook Air Superdrive, your TV remote and a bunch of other crap at the same time... get a desktop! The idea about a laptop is that it's portable, not that it's a whore for your USB dongles.

It's weird how some many people can be like, "I don't understand who would want this thing". If you don't want it, dont buy it. I know Apples marketing makes you feel like if all the cool kids have one you should too, but use what you want. Get a laptop with 8 USB ports if that's what makes you happy.

[V3LOCIP3D3 @ Jan 24th 2008 8:50PM]

ClaMs said it right.

That's why there are different models of Apple Notebooks. I was just at the library earlier writing a paper for class. To do that I had to carry around with me a huge power cord and my huge Dell. I'm not there to watch movies, play games, listen to a high-end audio system . . just there to browse the internet and type up a paper, and maybe chat online. But I need to bring a huge ass computer with me.

The price is what's wrong here . . . I'm paying a premium and getting less? does that make sense? I really think 5-600 bucks is perfectly legitimate, and theyre not making 800% profit.

[max andrews @ Jan 24th 2008 11:41PM]

@ ClaMs:
Exactly, so if this computer at that price were to be worth it, it would essentially be a macbook pro. If all I want is a simple computer for word processing or web browsing, why not an EEPC which is only $300? Things the air CAN'T do:
can't work with raw images (because of slow shitty 1.8" ipod drive)
can't do any sort of meaningful video editing (again, shitty 1.8" ipod drive)
can't work with any firewire 400/800 drives (limiting expansion to slow and shitty USB 2.0 drives)
can't get 3G internet without an adapter AND and extension cable (really portable now eh?) can't play any sort of games (integrated graphics)
can't effectively dual boot windows (not enough HD space for two decent partitions)
can't burn or read CD's without an external drive

Let's consider the shit we now have to carry around with us, just to bring this computer to the level of the cheapest $1099 macbook:
proprietary external cd/dvd drive ($99)
external USB hard drive -- Oh shit we only have one port so we'll have to trade off. What if I want to burn something from my external have drive onto a cd or dvd? Can't do it. ($99)
So we've spent twice the price of a normal, faster, macbook, and we have to carry around two extra chunky pieces of crap just to be able to do the same things?

Want to know why it pisses me off? Because I like the air in theory. Really I do! I'm typing this on a macbook pro right now and my ipod is hooked up to the stereo, I like apple and most of their products. And I WANT to like the air, but I feel it was maybe a year too soon. Hell I'd like it twice as much if it just had firewire, because then at least I could use it with a decent external while at home on my desk. If they'd waited a year, they could have charged $1799 with the SSD included as standard. I like the SSD option because it makes working with big images on a small computer fast and easy (images are essential to my work). But the SSD is small so the lack of firewire for expansion is a dealbreaker for me. This is ALMOST my ideal computer, I could care less about the cd drive or the 3G, but not for this price and not without firewire.

[helloUser @ Jan 24th 2008 2:12PM]

For $1,799 this computer is SO convenient!