[richcon]

This laptop is about sex appeal, not practicality. That being said, I think that many of those who can afford it would appreciate the fact that it'll be so much easier to carry around and whip out when needed. Rather than a full sized laptop bag, just slip it into a briefcase pocket. It seems kind of like the iPod Nano of laptops.
As a lightweight companion to an iMac or Mac Pro at home, this would fit in perfectly. Do all your CD burning and video importing (FireWire) on your iMac, and sync it to your MacBook Air for the road.
Me, I need the extra features of a MacBook Pro for my work, so this will remain a sexy novelty for me. But I know so many people who would be drooling all over it.

[Jason Snell]

jkross22 said:

Without the ability to upgrade or even swap out memory, batteries, etc. makes this laptop even more difficult to justify than it's high price tag already made it.

I don't entirely agree. I've never swapped out my MacBook's battery. And 2GB of RAM shouldn't require any swapping.

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Looks like a premium of several hundred dollars for the pleasure of carrying a few pounds less and a cool looking machine.

No doubt about it. You say it like that's a bad thing. For many, it will be. For others, it won't be. I do believe there's a market out there that will pay a premium for a small laptop. But it's not a mainstream thing, no.

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Isn't this the antithesis of Apple? Expecting a high price for very little innovation?

There's a whole lot of innovation in this product, to get it down to that small size. It is what it is, but I don't think it's a fundamentally bad product just because you can't self-install RAM or swap out the battery.

[iron_chef]

whaaaat? No floppy drive???
;)

[edmetric]

The Air might work for me as a personal computer on business trips. Its size could let it nestle next to the business computer in the bag and be protected against bending.

It would need an Airport Express to make wireless in ethernet only hotel rooms (or use the single USB for an ethernet adaptor). I prefer a USB mouse over Bluetooth so there is that single USB port again. I like an 8GB USB flash drive for backup so would have to learn to manage the single USB port.

If I'm going to carry a USB DVD drive and ethernet adaptor then I might as well carry my 12in Powerbook with built-ins.

Most if not all classrooms and conferences provide downloadable notes so if I pull out an Air it is not to take notes but to do other work while in the room. A backlighted keyboard is good. Wifi (called a non-descript 80211n in the video without which standard or use with g or b) would have to be turned off on airplances then battery life would come into play. Sturdy flash drive is good for going through airport security.

I have large hards but a Kojak type index finger so I'm concerned about the gesture skills. Time to make a trip to an Apple store to try it out.

Any of these concerns affect others too?

In any case, I might buy one since they are so sleek and distinctive.

[Machound]

> In other words for Apple, it's an already dead (or at least dying) media, even for HD content.
[/quote]
That seems to be Apple's direction. Whether consumers will agree or disagree remains to be seen. The timing of this decision flies in the face of Blu-ray's recent victory over HD-DVD, though Apple could hardly have predicted the HD wars would end so abruptly last week while they were developing MacBook Air early in 2007. Anyway, this model is not about playing 1080p video. It's a business laptop, to be paid with a tax write-off.

[JakeT]

richcon said:

This laptop is about sex appeal, not practicality. That being said, I think that many of those who can afford it would appreciate the fact that it'll be so much easier to carry around and whip out when needed. Rather than a full sized laptop bag, just slip it into a briefcase pocket. It seems kind of like the iPod Nano of laptops. As a lightweight companion to an iMac or Mac Pro at home, this would fit in perfectly. Do all your CD burning and video importing (FireWire) on your iMac, and sync it to your MacBook Air for the road.

My 12 inch Powerbook fit nicely in a small bag. It had firewire and a DVD drive. It also had a video card. All that in a laptop that's smaller than this new one. Apple's MacBook Pro line is getting very old. I thought they would come out with a new one with Blu-ray, at least as an option. I also want something that supports the 30 inch display. I like to use a monitor most of the time and want to be able to connect to a high res one.

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Me, I need the extra features of a MacBook Pro for my work, so this will remain a sexy novelty for me. But I know so many people who would be drooling all over it.

I'm looking for a high end laptop. If Apple isn't coming out with new upgrades to the Pro line, I might have to look at other brands.

[JakeT]

Do people really care that it's this thin that they would give up half of the capabilities. No graphics card! No firewire! Can't watch DVDs! Limited memory! Limited hard drive! I like the size of the 12 inch Powerbook better and it had more features!

[fsalemme1]

I basically agree. Some new features. Stupid to swap some slim edges for serious functionality / maintenance deficits, plus a bunch of new incompatible connectors to add to my already extensive Mac collection. And still no provision for Wireless Broadband Cards in a portable where they have already removed Ethernet and Firewire ports (so is the solution to haul a USB hub with a bunch of adaptors attached to it like a giant wart?). I have been waiting for this machine, but the overall business solution seems far inferior to possible alternatives like Lenovo X61 running Mac OS. I think they let design completely trump practicality on this one. I hate hauling around my lead brick MacBook, but this is no solution. Probably the designers got the upper hand over more rational minds at Apple with the success of the iPhone and iMac, but the Air is disappointing and not a practical working machine from my standpoint.

[jkross22]

Jason, I hear you. You make excellent points. The real question here is that Apple sets the bar for innovation and likes to market itself that way. In that theme, making the thinnest computer is nice, but is it real innovation on the scale of the iPhone or the new MacBook redesign from 18 months (or so) ago? Nah. It's a pricey toy for those that have a good amount of discretionary money to spend. You could make the same argument for the iPhone, but at least the iPhone broke new ground. My expectation, and I would bet the expectation of many others, is that new product releases should be very impressive for this company. This product is a let down.

Apple needs to realize that as it's appeal grows, it is essential to bring new consumers to the table to continue to grow it's customer base. That means products that appeal to the design sensibilities Apple brings, along with price accessibility. I'm a good example of this. I won't buy the iPhone because $400 for a phone is too high (for me), especially when it's likely to get damaged as many cell phones do. $200 would be a more reasonable price for less memory. Apple offers no such product, and therefore I am going to buy a Nokia phone that will sync with my Mac. For $100.

Apple is a premium brand, but it is also a mass market brand. Just like another very successful company - BMW.

[gnutellapocky]

read between the lines. Partner the air with a MacPro and you have one sweet setup = more sales of desktops for apple.
Quite a few people have veered from bulky and expensive desktops because they find quite an adequate replacement in the MacBook Pro (as I have done). But I would personally like a lighter laptop that I was tempted a few times to pick up an old 12"pb (no wonder you can find more of them on ebay!) so I can sync and work on my mddfw800 again.
When I am finally getting paid for the fruits of my studies, I would like the MacPro to be my main machine and team it with the air.

[Jason Snell]

I see what you're saying, but you realize that it's impossible for any company to only release groundbreaking, earth-shattering products. Apple has been missing a subnotebook in its product line for years -- should it continue to ignore that problem, or address it? By your reasoning, if it can't be a world-beating game-changer, it shouldn't be released. I think there is room for both kinds of products.

There's a definite audience for the subnotebook. Why not offer it? Apple didn't get where it is today by being a company that only releases products that appeal to the masses. It's a company that competes on style and substance, and the MacBook Air has both. It's just not for everyone.

Of course, if you prefer a $100 Nokia to the iPhone, perhaps you've explained why your interests don't always intersect with those of many Apple customers. Not saying that's a bad thing -- but it's a thing.

[montgomery_burns]

>Absence of a superdrive on the MacBook Air, I believe is not a only a question of physical space. Absence of support for either Blue Ray and/or HD DVD support/drives, even as build to order, on other Macs, and lack of interest of Apple for both its iDVD and DVD Studio Pro softs, all say alot about Apple futur vision about optical drive medias.

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In other words for Apple, it's an already dead (or at least dying) media, even for HD content. Apple was first to ditch the disquette, remember. The fact that they are selling separate USB superdrives are so much reminiscent of the separate disquette drives Apple once sold, for a while...

End of an era...

When Steve Jobs first introduced the Powerbook G4, he made fun of other "thin" laptops for having no internal optical drive. Is he eating his words now?

What is Apple going to tell major movie studios that want to produce HD-DVD or Blu-ray disks on a Mac? That they are out of luck and should not use Final Cut Studio?

[edmetric]

Jason Snell said, "There's a definite audience for the subnotebook... It's just not for everyone."

Who do you think is the audience? Students? Conference goers? Computer tethered vacationers? Style conscious DINKs?

I flew to Minneapolis from the East Coast to meet my wife's flight from the Southwest so spent five hours in a weather delay layover. I was surprised to see so many 12in Powerbooks in use at MSP. I don't think the Air is a 12in PB replacement though.

As I interpret the Apple focus, it is all about a computer tethered to iTunes. No need to save movies. Watch it, delete it, buy another one. Scoop up a tune at Starbucks or any wifi spot. No burning a playlist to DVD. Download more tunes. If it will play tunes while closed, it will be a hit in classrooms, at conferences or on trains. If it has terrific battery life, it will be a movie hit. If you are in a wifi zone, it will be a YouTube hit.

The Air has iLife 08 but how do you use iMovie, GarageBand, or iDVD with a single USB port?

The Air connects to a stand alone monitor but how will the Air sync with a desktop?

What does the Air say about Apple's view of the computing future?

[savageduck]

Oh it's very pretty, and I am sure there are going to be those who must have one. It just isn't going to do it for me.
I waited to see what would materialize this week, as my G4 PowerBook is starting to get asthmatic and I am planning an upgrade. However no Optical drive, no FireWire(400 & 800), minimal capacity drive options leaves me befuddled with this move from Apple.
This is going to be one of those "pioneering" developments such as the Newton or the Cube, destined for the "Apple Development Museum of What Could Have Been." Those who will own one will praise it and discount the short comings, until the fix comes along.
A "Pro" version providing some of the connectivety and storage options available to the ProBooks would have been a much more satisfying unveiling. I remain disappointed.
Now my dollars are going to be spent on a new, loaded ProBook, not this shiny svelt cripple.