Apple MacBook Air enters the light, thin mobile market
It’s official: the MacBook Air is the third line of portability in the Apple notebook family. As much as I like my 15-inch MacBook Pro, it’s certainly not the device of choice when I leave home. I’ve been more productive with smaller devices like my UMPCs and Asus Eee PC. The MacBook Air offers up an opportunity though: folks looking for the power of a MacBook or MBP in a smaller, lighter package are squarely in the aim of the Air.
- Thin, tapered design ranging from a scant 0.16″ to 0.76″
thinthick, 3 pounds in weight - 13.3-inch widescreen display with LED backlight; ought to help with the power consumption, battery rated at 5 hours
- 1.6 GHz to 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-powered with 2 GB of RAM, so no skimping on performance
- 80 GB hard drive standard, in the 1.8-inch form factor; 64 GB SSD option. This could help drive down SSD pricing…
- Multi-touch support like the iPhone on a large trackpad, backlit keyboard
- 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1, external optical drive available as a $99 option; Remote Disc software will allow for use of opticals on networked Macs or PCs
- Starting price at $1,799, shipping in two weeks, pre-orders begin today
No question in my mind that a ton of thought went into the design here. Apple seems to have created a very portable device that still offers a more-than-generous screen and keyboard size. Ultra-portable? No, not when I look at traditional UMPCs and upcoming MIDs. Light, powerful and (dare I say it?) sexy as all get out? You betcha and I have little doubt that a ton of these will be flying off the shelves at Apple stores everywhere. Check the Apple MacBook Air site for full details or catch a video guided tour of the device. Who’s buying?
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64GB SSD is $999 as am option.
It needs to drive down a LOT more
..wiley
NW Houston
64GB SSD is $999 as am option.
It needs to drive down a LOT more
..wiley
NW Houston
I love this thing. Plus the ability to use a PC or Mac CD/DVD drive to read those over the network is cool. I hope it doesn’t need a Airport Extreme to do that however. I have a commercial grade router in my house and I ain’t giving it up! :D
GASP! 64 GB SSD almost doubles the cost! Wow. Well, I’d go with the 80 GB one there until SSD goes down in cost.
Integrated battery??? BAD APPLE! :D
I still like it and want one.
Once again, this is just a demonstration that Apple is all looks and no brains. I mean, sure it looks like a super-model, but does it really matter if it’s only usable for web surfing, entry-level multimedia, and word processing (*IF* you buy Office)? It still isn’t a Tablet PC, a Media Center PC, or a gaming PC, and at the start of a weekday, you still can’t use it as a business PC.
And then there’s the cost factor… talk about an over-priced feather… who do they think they are, Dell’s Latitude XT?
Sure, it looks good but where’s the innovation?
Cool but overpriced and not worth the purchase.
Sorry, I know this is heresy and I will hanged in effigy in Frisco tonight (they’ll also set the effigy on fire for some warmth!), but the Air doesn’t excite me like the Everex Cloudbook or even Asus EeePC do. Three frikkin pounds is NOT light to me!
Pity they didn’t deliver a umpc, which there engineering they could shake the market into action