You guys are all completely missing the elephant in the next room. The MacBook Air was designed *from the beginning* to tether to the 3G iPhone over Bluetooth. When you're mobile, you don't need a separate air card, Ethernet dongle or Wifi connection when you simply flip your MacBook open and it automatically initiates a connection to the Internet over your iPhone.
You can call me an apologist, blah, blah, blah, but the Air was clearly designed this way. Once you sync it to the iPhone 3G the first time, it's going to be *easier* to connect to the Internet via Bluetooth tethering than any other method. It's all about ease of use, and both devices will sell like crazy on just this one feature.
@Carl: have you actually *used* 3G via tethering over bluetooth? It sounds nice, in theory, but when you actually depend on it I think you'll see the advantage of USB/Cardbus II.
CB17 - uhm, how can you promote 3G iPhone tethering when it doesn't even exist? I use BT tethering for Sprint 3G on a regular basis and it is much slower than an expresscard. It also smokes the battery in your phone, since you are powering 2 radios constantly. I seriously doubt Apple will promote tethering, or even allow it, because users will complain about battery life (if the consumer can even get the shit to work, considering the target audience of the iPhone).
Obviously, the assumption I making is that Apple will get this right where Microsoft and other Smartphone makers haven't. Given Apple's history of product design and ease of use, I don't think that's too much of a leap.
Really, Carl? I'd say claiming "the MacBook Air was designed *from the beginning* to tether to the 3G iPhone over Bluetooth" when the iPhone doesn't support bluetooth tethering and is not 3G is quite a leap.
Yeah, you're an apologist. There's literally nothing to suggest your wild speculation.
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You guys are all completely missing the elephant in the next room. The MacBook Air was designed *from the beginning* to tether to the 3G iPhone over Bluetooth. When you're mobile, you don't need a separate air card, Ethernet dongle or Wifi connection when you simply flip your MacBook open and it automatically initiates a connection to the Internet over your iPhone.
You can call me an apologist, blah, blah, blah, but the Air was clearly designed this way. Once you sync it to the iPhone 3G the first time, it's going to be *easier* to connect to the Internet via Bluetooth tethering than any other method. It's all about ease of use, and both devices will sell like crazy on just this one feature.
@Carl: have you actually *used* 3G via tethering over bluetooth? It sounds nice, in theory, but when you actually depend on it I think you'll see the advantage of USB/Cardbus II.
@Torqueo
Only because no phones use Bluetooth 2.0 w/ EDR like the iPhone does.
CB17 - uhm, how can you promote 3G iPhone tethering when it doesn't even exist? I use BT tethering for Sprint 3G on a regular basis and it is much slower than an expresscard. It also smokes the battery in your phone, since you are powering 2 radios constantly. I seriously doubt Apple will promote tethering, or even allow it, because users will complain about battery life (if the consumer can even get the shit to work, considering the target audience of the iPhone).
Obviously, the assumption I making is that Apple will get this right where Microsoft and other Smartphone makers haven't. Given Apple's history of product design and ease of use, I don't think that's too much of a leap.
Really, Carl? I'd say claiming "the MacBook Air was designed *from the beginning* to tether to the 3G iPhone over Bluetooth" when the iPhone doesn't support bluetooth tethering and is not 3G is quite a leap.
Yeah, you're an apologist. There's literally nothing to suggest your wild speculation.