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Apple Prepping 11.6'' MacBook Air and New iPod Touch with 3MP Camera
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It depends on why you passed them down..
And why would 14" attract more buyers than 13,3"? Because 14 > 13,3? If people are looking for laptops with "big" screens, why would they even consider a 13"?You know what you buy (in the best case) before you do so. Sure, you can complain that it only has 1 USB port, but if you pass down you MBA because (for example) you realize that 1 USB port isn't enough, or that the 2GB RAM are not sufficient, then you bought the wrong product in the first place... If you want a "good" light laptop "you are in the market for an Air".. but being light is not everything which defines that "good" and light laptop is.... If you want a lightweight yet powerful laptop, you may be better off with a Sony VAIO Z... Being "in the market for something" does not only mean to want a product or a certain aspect of it, but using/enjoying it no matter the problems you have.. which you obviously did not...
That depends on the question whether this "new" MBA WANTS to be what the 13"AIR is/was, or whether it "becomes" something different... the current AIR does not have to be EOL'ed.. they could co-exist and the 13" can be updated later..
But where has apple ever actively marketed the Air as an executive's laptop? At least at apple.com I cannot find any reference to this.
It's thinner and lighter. The "executive laptop" (as you call it) does not have to be 13"... many of my friends at university have eeePCs. Those that are 11,6" are big enough to read pdf or spreadsheets comfortably.. and if it has a better battery life, you will never have to carry the charger with you.. even better for the executives
While this is true, the form of apple products is one big selling point. Lighter and thinner means, in 90% of cases, that the products "looks" better.. see the new iPhone, MacMini and MBA for example.. I think everyone agrees that the MBA is one of the best looking laptops out there.. And in which aspect does it look different than an MBP? It is thinner (form factor)... okay and it does not have the black bezel...
Many people proclaim that the slogan "form over function" is apple's philosophy.. I would rather say it's "form improves/gives function", without being in the mood to elaborate it right now
(gotta' study )
What I don't understand, is how one can look at the 13" MBP, then want a premium machine and go to the 13" Macbook Air?
Or a 13" uMacbook and want a premium and go to an 11.6" Macbook Air?
You guys cannot honestly for one second thing a smaller macbook air will be anywhere near the ipads price range. That is just laughable. I'm guessing in the 1K range.
And I can't wait for the new ipod touch I have been holding on to my 1G waiting for one with a camera.
And I can't wait for the new ipod touch I have been holding on to my 1G waiting for one with a camera.
I call BS on the 11.6" screen. It would be too close to the iPad in screen size, making it harder to differentiate the MBA from the iPad. And the MBA would be at least twice the price of the iPad.
Plus my middle-age eyes (like Steve Jobs) cannot resolve greater pixel density. This doesn't matter on the iPhone, where the greater pixel density is used for better rendering. But on a computer, pixels are used to show more information, principally text.
A smaller screen makes the computer unusable for real work. The 13" display is barely large enough to do work. Again, the iPad is the portable entertainment device; the MacBook Air is priced for people who have work to do.
That said, it might be possible to reduce the MacBook Air size without reducing the screen: eliminate the border around the screen and keyboard. That would reduce length and width by about 1.5". That would be seriously cool.
In any event, it's nice to hear some positive news about the MacBook Air.
Plus my middle-age eyes (like Steve Jobs) cannot resolve greater pixel density. This doesn't matter on the iPhone, where the greater pixel density is used for better rendering. But on a computer, pixels are used to show more information, principally text.
A smaller screen makes the computer unusable for real work. The 13" display is barely large enough to do work. Again, the iPad is the portable entertainment device; the MacBook Air is priced for people who have work to do.
That said, it might be possible to reduce the MacBook Air size without reducing the screen: eliminate the border around the screen and keyboard. That would reduce length and width by about 1.5". That would be seriously cool.
In any event, it's nice to hear some positive news about the MacBook Air.
Ah yes, I'll make an edit. My thoughts were that the consistently increasing factor of Apples current range is power. If you're looking for somthing with the same clout but different form factor, you go up instead of along.
the OSX iPad is there for a giggle/fill out the graph.
Why not? I have a Fujitsu P1620 here that has a "hackintosh" partition on it. Running OSX on an 8.9" screen with a resolution of 1280x768, just over 2lbs. It's fantastic, the only thing that would make it better is to have it be Apple manufactured and easily updatable
Honestly I don't see how cutting an inch and a half off the MBA screen size and keeping the same resolution hurts anything. And the bezel on the MBA is so gargantuan they'd have no problem fitting a full size keyboard in there, even with the reduced width. The keyboard would simply stretch closer to the edges of the case. Reduce that knife-edge profile just a bit, it doesn't fool anyone into thinking the MBA is even thinner.
I hope it's true. The current MBA has nearly the table footprint of a 15" Windows laptop! Cut down the screen size, reduce that crazy bezel... I want something smaller that won't get snapped in half when the jerk in front of me on the airplane reclines his seat into my work-space
I think we could reasonably see something like this:
11.6" Display at 1280x800
4GB RAM
256GB SSD
SD Card slot
1 USB
6-7 hour battery life
What I'd love to see that will probably never happen:
11.6" Display at 1440x900
Ethernet jack
HDMI jack
3G
8-10 hour battery life
A road warrior can dream...
Yea, exactly! Why can't Apple make the iPod Touch be an iPhone 4 without the cellphone???
I want GPS, Gyro, 5MP camera, etc, but I REFUSE to pay a cellphone company to have it. I guess I'll just have to buy an iPhone 4 and jailbreak it.
Jobs is such a GREEDY CONTROL FREAK!
Hope it doesn't have a stainless steel band on the outside, running along the entire length of the MBA.
I don't want to be told I'm using the touchpad the wrong way.
I don't want to be told I'm using the touchpad the wrong way.
Oh, got it now. I think the OSX iPad would be great in an 11.6" factor. Like the iPad that should've been, or iPad Pro. SD card slot, full Snow Leopard, USB port, etc.
Then just switch the machines around, where a user wants a 13" uMacbook then moves up to the 13" Pro for the premium. I'd love to see a 17" MBP with the current specs as the standard, then we could pay a premium for a real desktop replacement 17" MBP with specs similar to the Dell Covet.
Maybe it will be $699 retail and $399 with a subsidy from AT&T (since Apple seems set on keeping AT&T as their partner). It does sound like a netbook, but I know that Apple will not make a cheap computer. I suspect that the Macbook Air name will be retired (since in my opinion, it is kind of retarded) and it will be called the Macbook Mini.
You know what? I hope you're right. It's just, to me the biggest problem with the screen on the MBA is moving all your windows around. Spaces helps some, but it does make multitasking more cumbersome. Reducing the screen size will just exacerbate that issue.
That said, I got used to the denser pixels in my 15 inch high-rez i7. It's just on the edge of being too dense, but it does give you more real estate.
The machine you're just described could potentially work for my needs. Again, I withhold judgement.
Bri
lolol, $699? This is more than likely going to start at the current MBA price point, or be even more expensive, though i do have a feeling it'll come with some nice benefits like an IPS display.
No, and aside from ushering in their unibody systems it never really was.
At 11.6", it might fit a niche that actually exists though.
LOL, I guess Jobs has Vaio X envy. That really is a sweet machine, it weighs the same as an iPad with standard battery but is actually suitable for creation, unlike the watered down consumption crapola that is the iPad (sorry iPad fans).
I wonder if he'll be able to match the battery life mine gives me using its extended battery. That will be hard, because he'll try to make it as thin as possible. And it seems he thinks the Macbook Air battery life is acceptable for an ultraportable.
But if he gives it a full-size keyboard that will actually be an improvement on the Vaio X--that is its main drawback as of now. The Air X will have a glossy screen, though, which is a step down.
I wonder if he'll be able to match the battery life mine gives me using its extended battery. That will be hard, because he'll try to make it as thin as possible. And it seems he thinks the Macbook Air battery life is acceptable for an ultraportable.
But if he gives it a full-size keyboard that will actually be an improvement on the Vaio X--that is its main drawback as of now. The Air X will have a glossy screen, though, which is a step down.
If you measure the keyboard on a MBP you'll find that it is about 11 inches once you cut away the sides. So they might be able to keep it if they find a way to put it in a body that has almost nothing to either side.
Waste? For whom?
Well that's your opinion, but I can't imagine many other MBA users agreeing with you. Using the same line of argument, some would insist that discount airlines provide the same experience as scheduled carriers, and that scheduled carriers should discontinue premium classes altogether. In my mind, it's nice to have a choice, as everyone's opinion of 'waste' differs.
I've used my SSD Air as an on-the-road accompaniment to my Mac Pro for over a year now and I would find it hard to live without. Being able to carry it around every day in a leather folio sans shoulder strap, it feels like a bundle of documents rather than a laptop. The price doesn't interest me - whilst its size, specifications and ability to run OS X make it the only choice. I'd upgrade in a heartbeat.
Apple is better off just discontinuing the Air. Its a completely useless machine vs. the rest of the Macbook line and it's way overpriced and honestly just a waste of time and waste of money. I had one for a year and that was the longest year of my life with it as I used it for business, glad I got rid of it for a real Apple notebook. Again, it's just a waste.
Well that's your opinion, but I can't imagine many other MBA users agreeing with you. Using the same line of argument, some would insist that discount airlines provide the same experience as scheduled carriers, and that scheduled carriers should discontinue premium classes altogether. In my mind, it's nice to have a choice, as everyone's opinion of 'waste' differs.
I've used my SSD Air as an on-the-road accompaniment to my Mac Pro for over a year now and I would find it hard to live without. Being able to carry it around every day in a leather folio sans shoulder strap, it feels like a bundle of documents rather than a laptop. The price doesn't interest me - whilst its size, specifications and ability to run OS X make it the only choice. I'd upgrade in a heartbeat.