Apple's refreshed MacBook Air now shipping to giddy buyers
By Darren Murph 
posted October 29th 2008 10:56AM
posted October 29th 2008 10:56AM
posted October 29th 2008 10:56AM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
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Does it have a removable battery?
do you have a removable brain?
why do so many people think they're funny with their pithy tongue-in-cheek sarcasm?
"duuh, ur duh does it have a removable battery duh?" hasn't anyone heard of beating a dead horse? You need new material, badly.
Did you ever stop to think that he might genuinely be asking if it has a removable batter, get a clue.
@Dude
I thought he was funny. You just sound like a bitter fanboy to me.
And now, to continue the trend:
"Does it still have one USB port?"
LOL @ DudeManDude
Does it have MMS? Copy and Paste! I can't live without them!
DUDE
You're either a macfanboy or an assjerk.
The MBA costs so much, that most likely, the only people spending money on would be professionals. The reason a "removable battery" is important is because if a pro, has to send his laptop in for service every single time he needs a new battery, he looses PRODUCTIVITY.
It is important.
My main problem with the MBA is the lack of ports, the price and the battery life.
I was asking because of the new EU directive
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/07/eu-directive-aims-to-make-all-batteries-removable-even-that-bat/
Answering your question eric mccormick: No it doesn't; it's a bag of hurt to have such thing.
It's likely trolling because every Apple laptop that I know of has had a removable battery.
Though I think the MBA needs 4 screws to be removed to swap it.
Also, I've only seen it in person once, but DAMN it looks thin in this picture.
Well we do now know that Apple can use the design of the Air and add a removable battery (hint: new MB + MBP)
So I'm guessing in January the MacBook Air will go the same way his brothers did (design wise at least)
Agreed. I think all laptops need a removable battery if for no other reason to replace it when it eventually goes bad. Apple will just say "that is a easy fix" Just buy a new Air for $2000+.
I'm one guy but I think all laptops need 2 USB ports(one on each side for a mouse and and a keyboard or thumb drive), a SD reader, and wired ethernet. These are needed to read pictures on the go, easily transfer stuff from other computers, and work in places with no wifi. Especially if you don't have a DVD drive.
no removable battery. Adding a removable battery -- or additional ports -- would reqire changing the body such that it basically becomes a regular Macbook. If those are concerns, just buy the MB.
Gruber had a great link on this yesterday on DaringFireball.net
"fastm3driver
fastm3driver @ Oct 29th 2008 11:56AM
Agreed. I think all laptops need a removable battery if for no other reason to replace it when it eventually goes bad. Apple will just say "that is a easy fix" Just buy a new Air for $2000+."
Hardly.
The battery in the Air is very easy to replace. It's just a few screws. The problem comes in when it's a matter of being under warranty, or if you like to carry an extra battery to swap on the go. When the warranty has run out it shouldn't be any problem for the user to replace the battery.
I still wouldn't buy a Macbook Air. Too expensive for such little utility, especially next to the new Macbook.
Murph, does Engadget pay you extra for every gratuitous instance of "fortnight" you are able to shoe horn into a sentence?
Has it occurred to you that it might actually be a fortnight ago?
Why does this bother you? He only used it once.
Honestly, I don't know why it bothers me.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Darren+Murph%22+fortnight&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=
The announcement he was refering to was made on the 14th...which was exactly "about a fortnight ago". I applaud his timely and appropriate of an oft-underused word.
He may just like the word, It does have a certain ring to it.
Thanks for the Google search link. While I don't really care, it IS pretty funny.
Oh man, that was hilarious.
hahahahahaha... aaaHAHAHAHAHA talk about beating a dead horse, that google search made my day.
2510 results? Someone call Guinness and tell them to add a "Most Uses of the Word "Fortnight" by a Writer" to the book of World Records. That's just hilarious.
fortnight=9 characters
two weeks=9 characters(including space)
Its not like he is saving himself any keystrokes or making anything if hes paid by the letter in his posts. Certainly is a strange affliction for a word.
I've found out that in some parts of the English speaking world, the word fortnight is not uncommon. I'm American and I use the word for comedic purposes on occasion, but I've grown quite accustomed to hearing the word used seriously by some of my Aussie, Kiwi and Brit co-workers.
Did you just make fun of Mac fanatics?
Engadget: It's Now Worth Reading.
:P
Continuing the trend: Can it run Crysis?
Zzzinngggg!
I would very much enjoy a youtube video of someone trying that.
It actually can run Crysis*..
(*The game stated will run only on Ultra Low settings with an amazing 1 FPS! Remember kids, games are a bag of hurt!)
Not sure, but it sure as hell can run it better than the Envy-133.
i don´t like apple, but this computer, air, in terms of design , is what every computer should be already, just beatiful, makes the rest looks like junk..
If by junk you mean more affordable and better features with a very good & acceptable design, then I'm up for that junk.
It's close but still has a few kinks to work out. Specifically, the lack of a user replaceable battery and only a single USB port tends to hold it back. However, aside from that it's pretty great.
Saad, you really have no idea what things cost, do you? You realize every other laptop in this class costs the same as the Air or even more, right? And it's not the netbook class, it's the ultrathin 13" laptop class. You know, like the X300? Which costs $1800+ for the cheapest model? Please pull your head out of your ass. The Air is the same price as the X300 despite being cut out of a solid block of aluminum and being significantly thinner and faster.
Which one is "more affordable" again?
@ Zak
Because a business class 64GB SSD drive costs nowhere near 10x as much as conventional hard drives right? Guess you thought you'd skip that point even though a 120GB drive like that found in the $1800 MBA costs about $60 at retail whereas the SSDs that Lenovo uses retail for $500+
The X300 also has DVD drive, that can accommodate an extra 3 cell battery and a USER replaceable battery combined with magnesium alloy construction (magneisum alloys > aluminium btw) I'm amazed they actually cost the same amount of money since the Lenovo seems to be worth way more!
Thank god my fanboyism has not gotten so bad that I would actually consider buying this overpriced piece of aluminum with one USB port. I think I will go buy an EEEPC S101 now, at least its only overpriced by $400.
Any chance of price-drops due to economy state...??
Does it have the glass bezel like the MBP/MB?
"try not to blow a cork while bottled up in that cube of yours, okay?"
speak for yourself engadget, if its no biggy, then why is it on the front page of engadget?
I'd say just about everything ends up on the front page of Engadget
"try not to blow a cork while bottled up in that cube of yours, okay?"
thats what she said.
i apologize. i had to :(
Does the new MBA include the new glass trackpad that the MB and MBP now have, or did they just add the new gestures (while keeping the one-button trackpad)?
wow, everyone's in a crappy mood today... jeeeez
I know, right.
Shut up, you idiot.
:)
What the Air has in beauty (and it is beautiful) it detracts with lack of utility. Since the release of the new Macbook, the Air looks like a complete joke to me. At $500 less to start the new Macbook is the real value and I see no reason for the Air whatsoever.
Thinness, sure, whatever...
I tend to agree but I am sure that there are those people who will find the 1.5lb reduction in weight of the Air to be important enough for them to go with that rather than the standard MacBook.
Oh I agree, some will probably opt for the Air but I am willing to bet that many who would by the Air will see it as I do and opt for the Macbook with the added weight, but much better added utility. They're almost the same dimensions save for the thickness and the same basic look. I just can't see why the Air needs to exist next to the new Macbook. I predict that without some major upgrade in the Air, it will cease to be produced within the next year or so.
I agree as well. The Air is beautiful, but it's not what I need, but then again I'm not the target demographic. Actually I'm a target for the MBP, but with the enhancements to the standard MacBook, I see no real reason to spend the extra cash on the MBP since most of my real work will be done with an external monitor anyway, and I won't play games on it.
As Kelmon said, it's the WEIGHT factor. Having used ultraportables for 4+ years, I find "regular" laptops cumbersome. I'd rather use a desktop, thank you. If I need a PORTABLE machine then it needs to be light, otherwise what's the point? I don't want to lug 4+ pound thing around my home, let alone anywhere else.