Comments on: Apple to Produce 15″ MacBook Air, Continue Missing the Point?

By: Feroze

Feroze — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 20:26:43 +0000

I have a 15″ macbook pro. I like the screen size. I don’t need a built in cd-rom drive. I could do without a firewire port. I wish it was a LOT lighter. Half the weight would be nice. This is why I would buy a 15″ macbook air. Although I think they might just do away with the cd-rom drive in the macbook pro’s soon. They will also do away with conventional hard drives and move to ssd in all the laptops. This will make the macbook pro line even lighter so I might just want to upgrade to a new macbook pro down the line. Well see….

By: Warren

Warren — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:40:56 +0000

I agree. I travel a ton, and the weight is more important than the powerhouse computing,. I really only need office and the web when I travel, and the 128 Gig HD is fine. The screen would be great in 15"

By: Scott Boyer

Scott Boyer — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:35:31 +0000

Braselton:
Have you failed to notice that many more people are merely downloading the movies they watch?
That’s what Apple is banking on, that in the future more fold will be net dependent, and eschew the optical drives just like machines don’t have floppy drives in them. Apple was one of the first to ditch the floppy in favor of CD, then DVD, etc. This is just the next incarnation.

By: John G.

John G. — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:25:15 +0000

Dwight might have a point. A larger MacBook Air might be feasible as an upward expansion of the Air line. I am not sure of how that might drive costs down but It might do just that. Add to it the downward cost of components and the 13″ might drop in price, which I would welcome.

MacBook Air is a niche product, yes. I think too that it’s a platform for testing out some new concepts that will, or have already, made it to the main line of MacBooks. Right now it’s the LED-based backlight, the laser-cut aluminum body and the illuminated keyboard, but the smaller-sized chipset, permanent battery and solid-state drive are not far behind. I know the aluminum body and the backlit keyboard are probably not new to that model, but those two have become standard now across the line. The rest probably will too.

By: james braselton

james braselton — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:56:55 +0000

HI THERE ALL BIG COMPUTERS HAVE BUILT IN OPICAL DRIVES CD DVD OR BLUE RAY I DONT SEE SENCE IN A BIG COMPUTER WITH OUT ANY DRIVE.

By: Jan 19: Picks From the GigaOm Network | Telecom Update

Jan 19: Picks From the GigaOm Network | Telecom Update — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:46:40 +0000

[...] sell ala carte cable content. [NewTeeVee] First Impressions of HP Mini 2140 Netbook. [jkOnTheRun] A15-inch Macbook Air. Now I want that. [...]

By: David

David — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:26:49 +0000

Apple isn’t missing the point. They make more money than most of their competitors combined despite having on a small share of the market. In recent years they’ve made very few mistakes with new hardware. Anyone who calls the Air a mistake because it doesn’t sell all that well is completely missing the point. Apple, for better or worse, only introduces a new product if it won’t cannibalize sales of their existing products to any great degree. The Air sells almost exclusively to new buyers and those seeking a second (or third) computer. Introduction of the 13″ Air had minimal effect on sales of the MacBook and MacBookPro.

If they introduce a 15″ Air you can bet they’re counting on it to add sales not simply move people from one model to another.

I really hope Apple doesn’t force us all into “cloud” computing. I’m a MobileMe member with the default 20GB of online storage. I’d love to keep encrypted backups of data on a server in a different part of the world so it would be safe from theft of my computer, fire or natural disaster, but iDisk is so unbelievably slow that it’s useless.

By: kenika

kenika — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:37:45 +0000

I think diferent. Air is today a standalone modwl. Macbook is a very good pine of 3 notebooks. Aple Macbook air has an advantege in portability, macbook in power. In my opinion apple will prepare an air row (11, 13, 15″), book row (13,15,17) and iphone row (nano, 3G, touch netbook).
Denis

By: Arvin

Arvin — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:13:27 +0000

I’m more interested in the actual practicality of a 15″ MacBook Air. I may be one of those “consumers” who prefer it “more as a status symbol than anything else…” But that said, I actually, and honestly wondered if Apple would ever release this exact model. It may be a very niche market, but for those who prefer light, thin platforms as opposed to powerhouse’s, it could be the ideal solution. Especially if you travel considerably for business. You only need it for basic computing (mostly web use, basic apps), and the larger screen space would just be added luxury. I’d love to hear other thoughts on the matter.

By: Wincent

Wincent — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:11:20 +0000

I think you hit the nail right on the head, Leo. Look at high end car companies too – Lamborghini doesn’t care that they don’t have the most market share.

As well, Apple has demonstrated time and time again that it redefines traditional markets. The 15″ air fits perfectly if you look at the portfolio of products that Apple is moving towards. Their strategy seems to be geared towards cloud computing. I can’t think of any other company that’s taking this approach with hardware which puts Apple in a great position.

By: Leo Bulero

Leo Bulero — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:45:42 +0000

Market share is irrelevant. *Revenue* share is what is important, and selling disposable boxes for $400 and margins of cents is not the way to increase revenue share. Just ask Gateway.

By: Dwight

Dwight — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:11:31 +0000

If this is true, it could potentially be part of Apple’s ongoing strategy of moving technology “downmarket” as new technology becomes cheaper.

I.e., this “new” 15″ MacBook Air would replace the current 13″ MacBook Air. The 13″ MacBook Air would then be priced considerably lower (maybe sub-$1,000, more likely priced comparable with the 13″ MacBook) and positioned as an upscale netbook alternative. The MSI Wind MacBook Air clone will likely be priced around $800 or so, and Apple could charge a 20% – 30% premium over that product and likely find many buyers.

There is precedent for this strategy with iPods, iPhones, and even the last generation MacBook.

Yeah, I realize that this a bunch of “maybes”, but I can envision a world in which this would work.

By: Phil Nelson

Phil Nelson — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:58:29 +0000

Interested in seeing a source for ” taking huge chunks out of your market share” claim.

By: Lon

Lon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:51:52 +0000

I think this rumor/rant is off the mark.

Apple has shown they have no issue pulling the plug on products that are unsuccessful.

Just because some value-oriented brand (cheap) like Acer is going to shovel low profit junk in volume, doesn’t mean Apple should cheapen their brand to compete.

If I were Apple I would rather produce 20% of what my competitor does, while reaping an exceptionally high profit margin, then destroy my brand and profits.