The MacBook Air Question
Being a sucker for shiny new things, I ended up ordering the Macbook Air, mostly to lighten the load. But after reading the reviews by the big three — Walt Mossberg, Ed Baig and Steven Levy — I am having second thoughts about my decision. (Maybe David Pogue is going to provide a contrary point of view, accompanied by a song-and-dance routine!)
Reading between the lines of the not-so-gushing reviews, it is clear that the ultra-light device leaves a lot to be desired. Unlike the big three, I am not that worried about the lack of a removable battery since this isn’t going to be my primary machine, but will be used for event blogging or on-the-go computing.
Given that I have dot-Mac, I can get access to my main computer over the Net, and basically use that hack to get access to files when I need them. My biggest concern has been the amount of heat generated by this laptop. Levy wrote a tiny bit about this in his review, but didn’t offer much clarity.
…the Air doesn’t run as hot as Apple’s other laptops–it’s actually possible to work for an hour with the device on your lap without the feeling that your fertility is at stake…
I liked what Steve Rubel had to say about it being a cloud computer, and to a large extent that was instrumental to me deciding to order a Macbook Air. But now I am wondering if made the right decision. Should I call Apple and cancel my order? Send me your suggestions.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
Bought the one Jobs compares it to (Sony TZ-1). Totally regeretted my decision when I saw the Air.
BUT, the Air just is not a tool for those who need to present or work in corporate work. The TZ-1 has integrated EV-DO which is killer. (You can buy a card, but you’ll break it, lose it, etc. Integrated is 100x better.) The Air doesn’t have Ethernet or (like other Macs) VGA, making it a challenge for many presentations.
Bottom line is the Air is slicker than the TZ-1, but can’t survive without Ethernet/EV-DO/VGA …
Did you pony up for the SSD or not? With the normal hard drive the system is not worth hassle of the missing components. With the SSD you are looking at something much more amazing. Having no moving parts it is going to be one strong device.
It is also a first gen Apple product. That means that it is going to have problems, they all do. If money is no object the solid state Air would be a great computer for the right person. For the rest of the world who have to watch our wallets there is no reason to get this computer.
Let’s be honest. You’re buying the first generation of a more or less new concept. Ofcourse it is not perfect. Would you buy an iPhone? No you wouldn’t (would you?) it’s a slick machine, but the next generation is going to be much cooler. We all want those slick, thin ultra long battery life immensely powerfull laptops. But we know – we do know that, because we are geeks – it isn’t there yet. At least not to our full satisfaction. Then again, if you are not into graphic design or movie editing and the like. Why would you want ‘the’ fastest machine? And not just something that’s comfortable to use?
For comparison’s sake, I have a Thinkpad X61. True, it’s far from sexy but: it has a full-size keyboad; it has a 2GHz dual core chip with up to 4GB of RAM and you can get a full speed hard drive in there (i.e. 7200rpm); it weighs a touch over three pounds; is smaller (if obviously thicker) than a Macbook Air; and is available with WWAN. Yes the Air is thinner – and impresses potential mates at Starbucks – but unless something is in my pocket, thinness really make any difference. The X61 takes up less space in a bag while outperforming it. The Thinkpad does, however, come with Vista which, as I understand it, everyone loves and has no problems with whatsoever ;)
“Maybe David Pogue is going to provide a contrary point of view, accompanied by a song-and-dance routine.”
What do you mean, “is going to?” I reviewed the Air last week. :)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/technology/personaltech/17pogue.html
–Pogue
The MacBook Air obviously has limited abilities, so its just whether or not you need the advantages it provides more than the abilities it doesn’t. The advantages being light weight (less to lug around), thin (easier to carry around by itself or with other stuff), simplicity (no need to bring a lot of extra junk you can’t use anyway). You mention live blogging and on the go computing which it seems to be a perfect use for it. It sounds like a good fit especially when it won’t be your only Mac.
I took Levy’s comments about how hot it runs as a positive – he says it doesn’t run as hot as Apple’s other laptops, then made a joke about others being detrimental to fertility. Personally, I’d say it’s a good choice for a second (but not your only) Mac, especially for event blogging or on-the-go computing.
One thing that bugs me is that you don’t seem to be able to rip music to it using the Remote Disc feature. Don’t really get that if you can install software using the same feature. Although, I suppose if you’re going to pony up for a 2nd computer that costs this much, might as well throw in another $100 for the SuperDrive. No sense in choking on the tail when you’ve already swallowed the whole horse.
Om, I agree with Steve’s thought as this being a good cloud computing experience. It’s why I bought my Asus Eee PC with the 4 GB storage limitation. However, if you’re going after the cloud, you need a flight to get there and for most folks, WiFi isn’t going to cut it. Your mileage may vary of course. I raise this point because like most die-hard mobile device owners, I use 3G. Mine is in the form of a USB card. It’s the USB727 and it works great with all of my devices (Asus Eee, Samsung Q1P UMPC, MacBook Pro, tablets from Gateway & Toshiba). One problem though: it won’t work easily with the Air because USB modems don’t fit! There isn’t enough clearance in the little drop down USB port! Ugh… you’d need a male / female USB cable, which I have, but that’s not the sexy, lightweight solution Apple really wants us to use… is it? [Of course, they could always sell us the 'iCable' for only $49.99.] I say cancel… but it’s your money and your computing requirements; not mine! ;)
Jason Lemkin, you incorrectly wrote:
“The Air doesn’t have Ethernet or (like other Macs) VGA, making it a challenge for many presentations.”
Wrong. The MacBook Air comes with a micro DVI to VGA adapter if you really need VGA. You can get an optional USB to Ethernet cable, and you have the option of getting a micro DVI to S-Video cable.
Om Malik — I ordered an MBA with Solid State Drive. Before doing so, I confirmed with Apple Business (if you call 1-800-MY-APPLE sort the phone tree for Apple Business and you will get to telephone operators who can usually answer more nitty gritty questions or get to an engineer to answer your questions). As we know in this day and age, the art is asking the right question. Did Pogue, Mossberg et al ask the right questions? I don’t think so. The questions I asked about the hard drive options were:
Does the internal 80 GB PATA drive have a sudden motion sensor (wanted to make sure) and the answer was “yes” it does.
Is the solid state drive soldered into the logic board or can it be replaced. The answer: it can be replaced. In fact, in the future, as Solid State Drive densities increase, it can be replaced with higher density SSDs. Now, ladies and gents, we’re talking about a cloud-based machine that could conceivably last a long time!
But I didn’t see Pogue / Mossberg, et al asking the same questions even though they are alleged “gurus”.
I can’t wait to have a machine with no moving parts, and I fully expect the MacBook Air with Solid State Drive to a.) run cooler than the MBA with 80 GB PATA drive, b.) last longer on its battery than with the 80 GB PATA drive — probably has a shot at exceeding Apple’s estimated 5 hours on the SSD drive.
Eddie
Dude,
Glad to have you back.
This is version 1.0 of a untested concept i.e. it’s really a public beta. If you want a thing that “just works”, this is probably not it. Just like with Powerbooks and Leopard and iPhone and …. wait for a couple of releases till they figure it out. On the other hand if you like paying to be part of the beta testing team (a lowered expectation for which Microsoft has conditioned us all) then get every Apple product on day one ;-).
On the other hand if you want to make it easier to strike up conversations in airports with beautiful women and ugly nerds this is just the ticket when paired with your iPhone.