Those That Think The MBA Is A Ripp Off

I think you're missing the point. Macbook Air is simply too big. It doesn't help that it's thin and sexy as hell. The whole point with the ultra-portable-market is to make the machines small but the Air has the exact same footprint as the regular Macbook. Compared to that Sony-machine it actually have a 35% larger footprint(!) It's not about keyboard-size, screen-size or technology - heck I though Apple new!

I sincerely fear that Apple may have created their second Cube…

For me the tiny ultra-portables are a bit of an oddity. My Blackberry/iPhone does allot of things that makes them much more portable than a 10" screen computer. I can even open Excel files on them.

Productivity would go down extremely fast for me on anything under 12". Are the ultra-portables that people speak of useful for anything but Word? Just curious as I personally think that Apple has managed a perfect balance between portability (the MBA is the size of an A4 and as thick as the average magazine), and productivity. It will slip perfectly into a document case with some contracts and still be under 2kg. Now thats amazing!

Regards,

C

Let's just wait and see how the early adopters with their genuinely Revision A machines get on with their itty-bitty 4200rpm drives... because if these machines are disappointing, we'll hear about it here, as sure as eggs is eggs. Let's just hope the yolk's not on them.

I thought it was interesting to hear in the keynote what they thought were engineering/design compromises they wouldn't countenance, choosing others instead. And I really think their environmental message is way overstated; this is a machine that is restricted in so many ways, that upgrading it appears nigh impossible for a home user.

Prometheus101 said:

I think those that believe the MBA is a ripp off need to check their vision and facts.

Please check this link the the Sony ultra-portable.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665293952

Click to expand...

I can live with a PADA 4200 that not a issues, this is a piece of art along with the imac G4 and cube, I have already ordered 2 one for me and a friend, I love the look and use it just for email and what not, if the new MBP comes out and knocks my socks of I then will have two, however sold my last MBP due to the Llatch, keyboard and screen, and went back to the macbook....

But for someone like me, making the footprint smaller by shrinking the screen and keyboard would be a dealbreaker. The full keyboard is one of the top features on my list, having a tiny footprint isn't.

This is really going to be a third computer for me. I already have a powerful desktop and a powerful laptop that isn't light or thin.

As for upgrading it, when that time comes I'll buy a newer one. I did go with the SSD since I was concerned a little about the drive speed on the 4200RPM HD.

If it sucks, I'll be one of the first to let everyone know.

Blue Velvet said:

Let's just wait and see how the early adopters with their genuinely Revision A machines get on with their itty-bitty 4200rpm drives... because if these machines are disappointing, we'll hear about it here, as sure as eggs is eggs.

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That's where the 14-day return policy comes in.

I don't think its a rip off (except for the $1000 for the SSD), I think its just a device that is going to appeal to a small segment of the market. I know it doesn't fit my needs.

I don't really think it's a ripoff either, but I do wish they had put in an ethernet port and removable battery. the more I think about the battery issue, the less it is an issue for most people. As a frequent traveller, I'd prefer to have a very light, but largish/thin computer with good keyboard and large screen, than a tiny one with uncomfortable display and keyboard. It's a tradeoff, but what really counts is not the size (I can easily fit the MBA wherever I can fit papers/documents), but the weight. Everything adds up and it becomes awfully heavy after a while. The size is not really the issue, but the assumption has always been that light weight= small size and compromised ergonomics. That is no longer the case.

I suspect Apple might be trying a creaming sales tactic where they set the price very high initially for large profit margins and once profits fall as the first-takers taper off, they make the prices drop for the average user.

Blue Velvet said:

Let's just wait and see how the early adopters with their genuinely Revision A machines get on with their itty-bitty 4200rpm drives... because if these machines are disappointing, we'll hear about it here, as sure as eggs is eggs. Let's just hope the yolk's not on them.

I thought it was interesting to hear in the keynote what they thought were engineering/design compromises they wouldn't countenance, choosing others instead. And I really think their environmental message is way overstated; this is a machine that is restricted in so many ways, that upgrading it appears nigh impossible for a home user.

Click to expand...

I coulda sworn Apple and Jobs never released a product unless it was going to be a huge marketing success. Isn't that why there will "never" be a mini tower? You don't presume to know more than they do about their market than they do, do you?

saltyzoo said:

I coulda sworn Apple and Jobs never released a product unless it was going to be a huge marketing success. Isn't that why there will "never" be a mini tower? You don't presume to know more than they do about their market than they do, do you?

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TAM

FTW!

ucfgrad93 said:

I don't think its a rip off (except for the $1000 for the SSD)

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nah, they're pricey, but fast!

I love the MBA..... Gut specs and all. I don't want anything less than a 13" screen. My only issue is the thick bezel and empty space left & right of the keyboard. If the bezel were thin - then we'd have that smaller footprint.

People who've seen this say the display is very nice. I understand it's optical glass like the iPhone? Then perhaps they needed to retain this wide bezel/frame for strength. I assume that's why it's there. Clearly from the pics/videos, the screen section is SUPER thin. When I see it being opened, the base stays firmly on the table without using another hand to hold it down. It also looks like it's not inclined to tip over (like my husbands POS Toshiba R500). So I get the logic of the bezel, but in my perfect world, wish it was smaller which would've shaved .5-1" off the width.

saltyzoo said:

I coulda sworn Apple and Jobs never released a product unless it was going to be a huge marketing success.

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It already is a marketing success if the reactions of my colleagues are anything to go by, whether it's a computing success amongst those who are paying to be first adopters remains to be seen; something which I'm not prejudging. I'm not a great fan of slow drives... It's not the product I'm looking for, but that doesn't mean I said it was unlikely to happen.

The mini tower is a geeks niche wet dream; this appears to be another kind of wet dream entirely.

Prometheus101 said:

I think those that believe the MBA is a ripp off need to check their vision and facts.

Please check this link the the Sony ultra-portable.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665293952

Click to expand...

You are lost. That laptop comes with optional sprint service, 4.5-9hr battery, is 2.6lbs, comes with an external dvd burner at no additional cost. is 11" which makes it a lot more portable than the Air, comes with true subnotebook intel processors, a media card slot and an expresscard slot, plus you can throw an extra 250gb 5400 drive in there. The Sony you linked to is a TRUE subnotebook. Apple are trying to make you believe that a 13" with a full keyboard that is thin, but yet maintains the same portability of the macbook, is an ultraportable. Don't get me wrong, the AIr is nice, but the Sony you pointed too is generations ahead of the Air in terms of realistic mobile usage.

meagain said:

I love the MBA..... Gut specs and all. I don't want anything less than a 13" screen. My only issue is the thick bezel and empty space left & right of the keyboard. If the bezel were thin - then we'd have that smaller footprint.

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I would agree with this. Might it be that they needed that size for the base to fit things without making it thicker? Thus, they had to add a thicker frame to the screen?

It would have been really nice if the size hugged the actual screen without that frame!

Regards,

C

it's just so stupid.

Save your money, get a macbook.

faster,same footprint, cheaper.

I hope Apple goes bankrupt over this.





okay just kidding.

Comparing a 11.1 SSD/250GB to MBA is silly. If/when apple ever comes out with something that small with all the features listed in that laptop, it'll probably be 5k to buy (altho it'll probably look better).

NickFalk said:

I think you're missing the point. Macbook Air is simply too big. It doesn't help that it's thin and sexy as hell. The whole point with the ultra-portable-market is to make the machines small but the Air has the exact same footprint as the regular Macbook. Compared to that Sony-machine it actually have a 35% larger footprint(!) It's not about keyboard-size, screen-size or technology - heck I though Apple new!

I sincerely fear that Apple may have created their second Cube…

Click to expand...

I agree with everything you said about the MBA being too big and what the point of an ultraportable is. However I don't think they've created the second cube because as the Motorola RAZR showed, people like thinness. The RAZR wasn't a very well featured phone but it sure as hell looked cool and sexy just like the MBA and sold extremely well.

Catch said:

For me the tiny ultra-portables are a bit of an oddity. My Blackberry/iPhone does allot of things that makes them much more portable than a 10" screen computer. I can even open Excel files on them.

Productivity would go down extremely fast for me on anything under 12". Are the ultra-portables that people speak of useful for anything but Word? Just curious as I personally think that Apple has managed a perfect balance between portability (the MBA is the size of an A4 and as thick as the average magazine), and productivity. It will slip perfectly into a document case with some contracts and still be under 2kg. Now thats amazing!

Regards,

C

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I can't agree with the notion of productivity going down when you go below 12". The Sony Vaio TZ may have an 11" screen but it has a 1366 x 768 resolution - more than the MBA! I've seen the Vaio in person and it's screen looks awesome, so sharp and crisp and with no problems reading text.

Also check out the attached photo below to see just how small an ultraportable should be (compared to a pen):

I have to agree with some of the previous posts. Having converted to a MBP from a Sony Vaio 13.3", the features that Sony offers for the price and the size are far superior to the MBA.

If I was going to go "back" to a PC, I would get the Sony in a heartbeat. It is an excellent machine except for the operating system.

I love the MBP and probably will never get another PC. I just hope that Apple uses the MBA as a stepping stone to other innovations for the MBP's of the future!

The Sony ultraportables are very nice, but the build quality on them is terrible. Feels like flimsy plastic if you've ever used one. That being said, the MacBook Air is no ultraportable. I was really hoping for a 12" PowerBook replacement but all we were introduced to is an underpowered, really thin MacBook with LED screen.

I'm waiting for LED screens on the BlackBook and then I'll replace my 12" PB. Unless Apple wants to update the 12" PB to Dual Core standards, make the latch magnetic, up the battery capacity and replace the screens with LED backlights?? Pretty please??

Have you held a MacBook Air? Have you played with it in an Apple Store? NO

How about you ignore the numbers for a moment and give the machine a chance.

Yes, the SONY is made out of plastic, but I never had an issue with the durability. From what I have read, the plastic case of the Macbook is terrible and cheap plastic is an understatement. That is why I have the aluminum MBP. Yes, it's not perfect either, but I haven't heard people complain of it cracking over and over again. I met someone, the other day, who is on his 3rd case for the Macbook (first generation). He is a programmer and from observing him, doesn't appear to be abusing the computer.

Prometheus101 said:

I think those that believe the MBA is a ripp off need to check their vision and facts.

Please check this link the the Sony ultra-portable.

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665293952

Click to expand...

That's a **** comparison.

The TZ is an ultraportable.. the MB Air is not.

It has an 11'' screen (higher res then the Air), up to 8.5 hours of battery life (and you can get a second battery and swap it out if you want [holy ****, what a concept!]). They also offer a high-capacity battery that goes up to 13 hours.

It also has built-in EV-DO along with 802.11abgn.

It also has gigabit ethernet, dial-up modem 1 FW400, 2 USB 2.0, 1SD slot, 1 memorycard slot, audio in and out, and a port replicator (dock).

All of that and it's only .1 inches thicker than the Air, with a much smaller footprint.

So yeah, it's expensive. But it's an actual full-featured ultraportable.. unlike the half-assed not even an ultraportable Macbook Air.

Oh, and to top it off, you compared the top-of-the-line TZ to the bottom MB Air. The TZ starts at $2099, not much more than the air.

Winglet said:

Yes, the SONY is made out of plastic

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It's actually carbon fiber.