Apple's refreshed MacBook Air now shipping to giddy buyers
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 29th 2008 10:56AM
posted Oct 29th 2008 10:56AM
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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.
Fine if you want to spend the money, don't care about not having an optical drive, only need one USB, and must have OSX, but the Air is expensive and I don't see 13" as much of an ultraportable. So you fit the target market, good on you. But I'd like to see the sales figures because I don't expect the Air to last much longer.
It should have been smaller or it should have been the Macbook, that's the way I see it.
I didn't say I got the Air. I actually bought Vaio Z which has none of those drawbacks and is amongst the fastest notebooks available regardless of weight. But the new Air which is faster and has a longer battery life and display port is a considerably better buy than the old one.
I didn't say you bought it either, Andrew. I said you fit the target market. ;)
Yes the new Air is a better value than the old Air. But FOR ME and for MY MONEY I can't see it as an option when I do eventually replace my old Powerbooks. At this point, I'm planning to go with the Macbook because I think the Air is too much for too little. And I hazard a guess that even many "mobile professionals" will agree and decide that the Air, as beautiful as it is, just isn't worth it.
The thing is, if I was looking for ultra portability and utility and not looking at the OS itself, I would opt for one of the Lenovo offerings, or perhaps the Vaio Z as you did. At least then the battery is readily swappable.
I do agree that new MacBook is a very appealing yet reasonably priced laptop and in fact I probably would have bought that one instead of Vaio Z had I known it will be released (I wanted to get a Mac machine for quite a while now). And yes the Air even in the new addition still has a limited target audience. I am happy with my purchase, though. Especially once SSD prices fall and I replace HDD with Intel's SSD.
Beautiful product, and by the sounds of it rather powerful with the Nvidia chipset.
Wouldn't be of much use to me though unfortunately.
I need an optical drive and maybe 1 or 2 more usb ports. Plus it's a bit too expensive for me and for what it is.
*sorry for offtopic bit here, but how do i create avatar picture, the ones i upload don't work. Do they need to be certain size? format?
Hmm. The MacBook Air looks freaking awesome. Not awesome enough to buy, but good enough to gawk at a store.
Oh, I bet you would buy it if it was a little cheaper.
Oh yeah, it's just a little too rich for my blood.
the fanboui one cube over just blew something, im pretty sure it wasn't a cork though...
Hrrmm.. How about the new Apple In-Ear Headphones w/ Mic that was supposed to be released in 'October'? Still waiting on those :(
Why? There are about 50 earbuds that do the same thing out there already...
Since the original Air gets only 3.75 - 4 realistic working hours a charge (and the battery most certainly isn't replaceable 'by removing four screws') with *extremely* aggressive power saving, I'd be interested in seeing how a graphics chip with a notably higher TDP works in terms of real-life runtime when balanced with a lower-power CPU/chipset.
Apple don't have much to worry about from the fanboys since many were simply just lying about their runtimes (if they owned one, that is...?) in the 5-6 hour range, but for those of us who're actually used to less pretty but flat-out-better machines from Sony et al, it'd be nice to have real facts.
And I wonder if they've solved the ten-hour charging time from nearly flat (which it is every time I take the Air out due to the pathetic runtime), overheating, etc etc etc that makes my Crapbook Air... well, crap. Very pretty crap, but crap nevertheless.
Oh well, waiting on Centrino 2 Voodoo Envy...
oh oh oh oh. i just popped a cork.
things go well i'll be showing her my O face.
HAHA phanbouy!!
You ain't right.
:D
Still no kensington slot. I'll pass thank you.
I wonder if these are the kinds of notebooks that a responsible American computer company should come up with during an economic slowdown. What bothers me is that tons of people actually are drooling over a 1700 dollar notebook when for the most part they could do the same with a 1000 dollar basic macbook or better still, pick up one of the netbooks that are cheaper but do the job for the most part. Admitted that the sleekness, design and so on are appealing, but these can't be the only features that people find attractive in notebooks.
holy fucking shit people need to shut up about the god damn recession every time there's a post about something that costs money
A fortnight ago I lusted for that new Air on Apple's website and now it has really arrived in stores? I think I'm gonna pop a bottle of Champagne in a cube of even in Cuba or whatever...
The new Macbook refresh is nearly the same dimensions as the Air, it's actually pretty cool. I used to kind of want an Air, but why settle when the full product weighs only a little more?
The only reason is if that weight difference is really important, and for some people it is. That said, you'd have to be very weight conscious to select the Air over the new MacBook so I am expecting sales of the Air to drop.