Back when the CRT was king, people could not understand why I spent $400 on a 15" LCD. There were many techies who insisted that LCD's had inferior picture quality, too expensive, and so on. Now look where we are. Maybe you are too young to remember, or too young to understand my point. Basically, don't dismiss anything that you can't easily wrap your mind around.
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15" MacBook Air Under Development?
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Back when the CRT was king, people could not understand why I spent $400 on a 15" LCD. There were many techies who insisted that LCD's had inferior picture quality, too expensive, and so on. Now look where we are. Maybe you are too young to remember, or too young to understand my point. Basically, don't dismiss anything that you can't easily wrap your mind around.
I agree with you, but back then the LCD wasn't as good as the CRT. That only happened recently actually, and in some cases a CRT is still preferred.
There was a story about Apple using carbon fibre for the base in order to remove weight. About 10% of the current weight could be shaved off.
For strength and weight very little beats carbon fibre. Unfortunately it wouldn't fir very well with Apple's current green initiatives.
If your interested, this is the current breakdown of the 13" MacBook Air:
Courtesy iFixit via AppleInsider.
NO, I get you, just taking a side note on the CRT thing.
I got you a few pages ago.
I completely understand.
Seriously, what are you going on about? You've shot off on a tangent and aren't even talking about anything relevant to this thread or my point. We're not comparing LCD's to CRT's or anything in that concept.
I'm comparing a 13" MacBook Air to a 15" MacBook Air, thinness against power and why a 15" MacBook Air would be pointless in that the foot print is too big for it to be an "ultra portable" and the Pro is still really thin, plus a hell of a lot more powerful. A bigger screen on a thin laptop, why? Thinness isn't everything.
Apple has a reputation for form over function, and this would be a good example of that. It'll be a rip off computer that is very thin, and for probably the same price, you could get a Pro that slightly heavier and thicker but not even in the same league in terms of power.
Maybe you're too old to understand my point
Of course you are a marketing expert. The reason why Apple is so big on laptops is that they are the only computers that are seeing growth. Laptops outsold desktops for the first time EVER this year, and the trend is continuing. Also the MBA was NOT a failure, it is a fantastic machine. If you don't have one you don't have the right to comment on it.
Apple touts luxuries like a full-sized keyboard and screen, while retaining portability. Increasing those thigs arbitrarily would be pointless. I could see a 15" MB before a 15" MBA. And I don't see a 15" MB coming anytime soon.
I think Apple should come out with a 12" and 15" "Air" but erase the Air and just call it a macbook then drop the price by $800.
For the revamped Air lineup there should be a 9" widescreen, a 12" convertible tablet notebook, and a 13.3" . All under 3 LB
Call me when that happens!
I sorta agree. From all of Apple's greatness when it comes to the Mac Notebook lineup, they are really missing the mark. I believe the article doesn't state a 15" just says another size. It could very well be smaller. Just the interpretation may be off. I believe they could have taken the current $1799 MBA, called it the MB, sold 20 million of them this year for $1299. Would probably double the stock price. If they made that many at that price, and called it the MB, everyone would buy it and due to such a large scale, they could make a fortune on it! Seriously, the current MBA isn't much different than a MB other than the ports and the thickness.
I just don't get Apple's business decisions. I cannot believe the stock hasn't tanked further... selling the same Mac Mini for 1.5 years. leaving out whole segments of the market... the NETBOOKS! And in this economy, it just isn't going to fly to continue with more of the same. A year from now, we may be seeing $40 per share of AAPL - it's truly SAD!
I think the MBA needs a little individuality, I also prefer having a button on my trackpad, and you can not say the thin bar at the bottom of the trackpad on the Air gets in the way. If anything you have the best of both worlds.
No, it is not meant to be affordable, it is meant to be cutting edge. The MBA is for those that want something that isn't mainstream, something that has been built to do the job, not meet a price point.
Lack of some features, but by doing that it gains others, size, weight etc.
Exactly.
I am reading these threads as I am about to trade up to a MBA from my previous gen BlackBook. I need a portable Mac with great screen that can be also used in the dark (backlit keyboard). Ok, I could buy the new MB but I don't need DVD, 2 USBs or a removable battery. OK, I also don't need to spend £1750, but, it wouldn't kill me to do so, and finally I might be able to part with my 12" PB, which I fell in love with 5 years ago! I love that machine because it still looks great now and it still works well (as a sofa surfer). I hope if I buy a MBA this spring I will still be using it in 4 or 5 years time and be proud to be doing so.
I think the Macbook Air is the perfect size... It doesn't need another model, what it needs is some real functionality. If it had a Firewire or eSATA port, and an Expresscard/34 slot, it would be PERFECT! They could even take out two birds with one stone AND save space by using a combination ethernet/FW800 port. Similarly, they could instead add a combination USB/eSATA port like some Toshiba/Panasonic ultraportables have.. I refuse to hook up external drives with USB!!
The expresscard slot is important for not only adding 3G broadband without needing a USB dongle hanging off your computer (many don't even fit in the Air's recessed USB port), but it allows you to add Firewire 400/800, eSATA, TV Tuner, or anything else with a tiny card. In addition, both USB3 and Firewire 3200 will be out in 12-18 months.. Once you get used to that, USB or WiFi file transfer will REALLY seem like torture..
Heres an idea of what I'm talking about, check out this comparison...
The expresscard slot is important for not only adding 3G broadband without needing a USB dongle hanging off your computer (many don't even fit in the Air's recessed USB port), but it allows you to add Firewire 400/800, eSATA, TV Tuner, or anything else with a tiny card. In addition, both USB3 and Firewire 3200 will be out in 12-18 months.. Once you get used to that, USB or WiFi file transfer will REALLY seem like torture..
Heres an idea of what I'm talking about, check out this comparison...
I think Apple should come out with a 12" and 15" "Air" but erase the Air and just call it a macbook then drop the price by $800.
For the revamped Air lineup there should be a 9" widescreen, a 12" convertible tablet notebook, and a 13.3" . All under 3 LB
Call me when that happens!
Call me too! I was reading an article on netbooks the other day. It was saying about how all the major computer makers, except
have released netbooks... As has been mentioned before - they should get in now. I would mind a line-up like the above. My wife wants me to replace the 12" Powerbook G4, so she could get the new 12" model and I could then get a 9" (or a 10" I'd prefer!!!). Or of course the mac Mini I've been hanging out for... Be patient!!!! 
I think this is their chance of building a real Pro machines for the real Pro users. We see that the MBP 15 seems to "drift" into the mainstream higher-end users. The Pro users are feeling edged to the Pro17 but to many, they size and weight are the main hinderance as with the sub-Pro quality of screen amongst others (at least for the price, not that price matters a heck of a lot to these target segments). So I see these features being mandatory:
- A really good screen with 110% NTSC color gamut (matte option please),
- Bezeless display. Take the black bezel away and leave the 2 mm aluminum lining (this brings MBP to be same size or slightly smaller than PB167).
{I was pretty upset when I found out my MBP15 was almost half inch wider!}
- Ditch the CD, instead give more ports on that size. 2 more USB, second FW800 and eSata (leave our ExpressCard for something else!)
- Separate audio out ports (ie dedicated SP/IF)
- Dual bay SATA disk. (add a 1.8inch 8mm support for SSD, standard 2.5inch/9.5mm for HDD or optional second SSD)
- Target 4.2 lbs weight maximum
- 10 hours of battery usage.
- Price target $2699 (4GB DDR3 standard, 64GB-SSD, 320G HDD)
- A really good screen with 110% NTSC color gamut (matte option please),
- Bezeless display. Take the black bezel away and leave the 2 mm aluminum lining (this brings MBP to be same size or slightly smaller than PB167).
{I was pretty upset when I found out my MBP15 was almost half inch wider!}
- Ditch the CD, instead give more ports on that size. 2 more USB, second FW800 and eSata (leave our ExpressCard for something else!)
- Separate audio out ports (ie dedicated SP/IF)
- Dual bay SATA disk. (add a 1.8inch 8mm support for SSD, standard 2.5inch/9.5mm for HDD or optional second SSD)
- Target 4.2 lbs weight maximum
- 10 hours of battery usage.
- Price target $2699 (4GB DDR3 standard, 64GB-SSD, 320G HDD)
Well, my Atom machines are not as slow as my pbg4 1.33 (in fact they're pretty responsive) but they just don't have the floating-point performance of the core2-based machines (even the slowest ones) to do stuff like intensive photo editing and video transcoding in a timely manner. I'd say that a dual-core Atom 330 is about like an original 1.6ghz core solo mac mini (more or less).
Reading all these posts, IMHO above quoted post is all but the only one who really gets it. Why talk about more laptops? Sure, Apple laptops could have Blu-Ray or 15" screens or for that sake 24" CRT (see above) screens that weigh 60 pounds and don't fit into a large size Samsonite.
Point is, more laptops doesn't make desktop users happy (even if mini's and iMacs use laptop hardware). I'm still trying to figure out why Apple is leaving us with a mini that's worse at Aperture than the old G4 mini, an iMac that boasts yesterdays technology today and a big gap between said models and a "Pro" computer that is so professional it needs at minimum a $400 memory upgrade before it's useful even for hobbyists.
I think this is their chance of building a real Pro machines for the real Pro users. We see that the MBP 15 seems to "drift" into the mainstream higher-end users. The Pro users are feeling edged to the Pro17 but to many, they size and weight are the main hinderance as with the sub-Pro quality of screen amongst others (at least for the price, not that price matters a heck of a lot to these target segments). So I see these features being mandatory:
- A really good screen with 110% NTSC color gamut (matte option please),
- Bezeless display. Take the black bezel away and leave the 2 mm aluminum lining (this brings MBP to be same size or slightly smaller than PB167).
{I was pretty upset when I found out my MBP15 was almost half inch wider!}
- Ditch the CD, instead give more ports on that size. 2 more USB, second FW800 and eSata (leave our ExpressCard for something else!)
- Separate audio out ports (ie dedicated SP/IF)
- Dual bay SATA disk. (add a 1.8inch 8mm support for SSD, standard 2.5inch/9.5mm for HDD or optional second SSD)
- Target 4.2 lbs weight maximum
- 10 hours of battery usage.
- Price target $2699 (4GB DDR3 standard, 64GB-SSD, 320G HDD)
I do believe that I saw Elvis riding on a unicorn with one of these computers you describe the other day. If my memory serves me, I do think he was sending Jimmy Hoffa a Facebook friend request...don't know if Jimmy accepted, since he has plenty of friends on Moon Base Alpha.
Seriously, that is a lot of stuff to cram into 4.2 pounds.
Lower the price of the Macbook air to $1099 and give it a 12-inch screen with unibody aesthetics. It would sell very well.
I would take that 15" MBA over the current one anytime. I also wish that they can beat the specs of the Vaio TT on that one
Steve Jobs said that the MBA is the Apple product to beat the Vaio TZ at the time. Unfortunately, Apple failed to do any of that with revA, and even revB cannot really compete with the TT now.
Steve Jobs said that the MBA is the Apple product to beat the Vaio TZ at the time. Unfortunately, Apple failed to do any of that with revA, and even revB cannot really compete with the TT now.
Well, no - the 13" is king at any university. As long as students' (read: their parents) have money, the 13" is a cashcow for Apple.
Imho, the 13" & 15" MBA will be great, and probably replace the current 13" & 15" once their CPUs get up to speed. The 17" will be the workhorse for professional artists, as it currently is.
Again, imho, there will be *no* smaller "MBA". However, there will be the new MacPad (or whatever), and will be decidedly different from a notebook (probably closer to a large iPod Touch).
Mockup:
Speakers possible?
Glass trackpad possible?
Modded from: http://images.apple.com/macbookair/images/design_keyboardair20080115.jpg
I was bored. I don't think it will happen, but I wanted to see what it could look like.
Speakers possible?
Glass trackpad possible?
Modded from: http://images.apple.com/macbookair/images/design_keyboardair20080115.jpg
I was bored. I don't think it will happen, but I wanted to see what it could look like.
Mockup:
Speakers possible?
Glass trackpad possible?
Modded from: http://images.apple.com/macbookair/images/design_keyboardair20080115.jpg
I was bored. I don't think it will happen, but I wanted to see what it could look like.
It's a fine mockup. I guess I am with most of the other folks here in the "I don't see the point" camp.
