Apple's New MacBook Air Tops 'Consumer Reports' Ratings

[samcraig]

I can understand why people turn to CR more for washing machines, toasters, etc. The simple reason being is that use cases are nearly identical for low level appliances. It really is about specs, design and function.

Computers, cell phones and other high end electronics really vary based on use cases and are harder to evaluate consistently and give a true "full" report because everyone has different needs. They can only give snippets of things.

 

[KnightWRX]

Consistent: Running the same set of tests against the entire batch of products being reported on and using those results to compare those products.

Inconsistent: Running the same set of tests against the entire batch of products, except adding an additional test against a single product and reporting on those results in a vacuum.

Good, glad someone is pointing out the same thing I did.

They went back after the fact and added a test for *one* product out of the entire set. That is inconsistent.

They did ? That's exactly what Small White Car says they didn't do, add a test for a product. They didn't, the score stays the same. They changed their recommendation status based on factors outside their testing, which is why the score is high, yet the phone is not recommended.

So like me, you agree they were consistent.

 

[macdaddy57]

Buy Now or Wait a Little Longer?

So should I wait until they resolve the display problem reported with some MBAs or buy one now? I could really use one immediately but I don't want to plunk down $1400 and then have problems.

 

[BaldiMac]

Good, glad someone is pointing out the same thing I did.



They did ? That's exactly what Small White Car says they didn't do, add a test for a product. They didn't, the score stays the same. They changed their recommendation status based on factors outside their testing, which is why the score is high, yet the phone is not recommended.

So like me, you agree they were consistent.

They were consistent in their scoring and inconsistent in their standards for providing a recommendation.

Audio quality is not esthetics. Esthetics is purely physical appearance.

By what definition?

 

[pixelbart]

Blue LED lights on a TV can make it an immediate no-buy and not because of aesthetics. A TV that goes into a bedroom needs to be completely dark when turned off.

Nothing a bit of duct tape can't fix

OTOH, it reminds you of the fact that it sucks energy, even when turned "off". One more reason to buy a power strip with a switch (and a circuit breaker) and make it a habit to turn all your devices completely off every night.

 

[FuNGi]

Changing their testing and scoring methodology would have not been consistent unless they had gone back and re-tested every phone which might not even be possible, depending on if they still had all the testing units or not. It's much simpler to simply say that in light of the issues, while the phone scores the most point, it is not recommended for purchase until Apple addresses the issue.

That is very consistent.



I don't buy electronics based on esthetics. I don't know any sane person that does either.

I'd argue that I am sane. And I'd argue that aesthetics weighed heavily on many other early adopters of the Air. Once the "does what I need it to do" box is checked, many people quickly move onto "aesthetics" to finalize their decision. Ask a car salesmen how most women judge a car for instance.

I also like the aesthetic of the aluminum keyboard and chose it as well for the look as it sits under my aesthetically pleasing display. I could have got a hunk of black plastic with potentially better responsive keys and ergonomics but didn't even try.

 

[KnightWRX]

And I'd argue that aesthetics weighed heavily on many other early adopters of the Air.

Well, I'm sorry for those Air owners. I bought it for the weight and "does what I need it to do". Looks never entered my mind. Unless now weight is an aesthetic feature ?

A keyboard is also the last thing I'd buy based on looks. I type on the thing everyday, all day. Comfort is the number 1 priority.

 

[Eidorian]

Solid machine if it meets your needs. Core 2 is cringe worthy though.

 

[a.gomez]

So does that make Consumer Reports view valid again now after the iPhone verdict?

probably not for the fanboys after they turn the page to the Smartphone ratings

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/11/10/consumer-reports-android-pulls-the-smartphone-grand-slam/

 

[reybart]

CR as in " comfort room"?

 

[Loonytik]

So should I wait until they resolve the display problem reported with some MBAs or buy one now? I could really use one immediately but I don't want to plunk down $1400 and then have problems.

I think those display problems are isolated. One user posted a youtube video and it blew it out of proportion. I'm on my 13 MBA right now and the display is perfect. The form factor is perfect. It's light as hell and you should drop everything and go buy one right now.

There...I decided for you.

 

[tigress666]

Well, all I know is I disagree with CR about the iphone 4, it's a great smartphone imho *shrug*. And I would recommend it (unless you live in California or rather the San Diego area. ONly time I've had problems with disconnecting calls is when my roommate is calling on his from California).

And don't know about the MBA, looks pretty good. Not for me but looks like it is definitely a good product for what they are selling it for.

And, the one item I bought from CR under their recomendation, I am pretty disappointed with (a washing machine and dryer). And I really was excited about the machines, but they really haven't cracked up to be all that good (certainly doesn't seem to be better than our cheapo washing machine our apartment had). I guess they're not horrible but the washer just doesn't seem to be so good and I've had a few times where I had to run the clothes again cause it didn't seem to do it right for whatever reason (it's a front loader and usually when it does it right the clothes are mostly dry by the time it's done, sometimes for some reason they are still sopping wet and I find that usually doesn't seem to have washed them well when that happens).

Oh, and if they ever recomend GE products... I will never be able to take them seriously. Our house came with GE products, our apartment used the cheap brand GE (Hotpoint I think was the name, it's GE's cheap brand), and all of them are absolute *CRAP*! Hell, my friend's GE microwave crapped out on them even. I don't think they can make a good product. They all have issues and they all haev sucked (shoot, our dishwasher has a recall on it about causing fires if you use a spot free drying agent which we don't so we haven't bothered with it).

 

[mloffa]

Went to Apple store in White Plains, NY (The Westchester Mall) and they were fresh out of the $999 base model tonight.

 

[Roofy.]

Fact:
Any negative rating on a product that a fanboy is attached to= biased

Any positive rating on a product that a fanboy hates= biased.


The fact that they couldn't recommend an iphone 4 yet recommend a MBA= unbiased.

 

[Danman90]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8B117)

Just got the new Mac air 13" 256 hardrive. 2.13 gz with 4 ram holly cow this computer is amazing. My first mac it's so thin and so fast no problem gaming, programing or multitasking. Bye bye windows

 

[linux2mac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8B117)

Just got the new Mac air 13" 256 hardrive. 2.13 gz with 4 ram holly cow this computer is amazing. My first mac it's so thin and so fast no problem gaming, programing or multitasking. Bye bye windows

Congratulations on your MBA. Interestingly I was in another thread and some haters were dissing the MBA because of the low processor C2D. They obviously have not tried out the new MBA's. This is the future of laptops. I am waiting to laugh at the Dell/HP copy cats - LOL

Bye bye windows

+1

 

[MacTheSpoon]

Given that the 11" category only had two models in it, total, I'm not sure if that's a particularly impressive achievement. Also, it's strange that they actually rated the 13" MBA higher than the 13" MBP.

In any case, I doubt anyone would argue with the MBAs being quality machines...not the best option for everyone, but they'll be the best for some.

 

[alec]

Not a surprise!

 

[KPOM]

Went to Apple store in White Plains, NY (The Westchester Mall) and they were fresh out of the $999 base model tonight.

I'm not surprised. Apple has a hit with that one. It's amazing what getting it under $1000 has done for sales, even with the slower processor and tiny storage space.

Anyway, Consumer Reports has always rated Apple products pretty highly, and the Air is no exception. It loses some "versatility" points because of the lack of ports, but it is a well-built machine.

 

[tigress666]

Also, it's strange that they actually rated the 13" MBA higher than the 13" MBP.

This I agree with.

Honestly, sure, the MBA is lighter, but the 13" MBP is pretty portable in itself, and for the compromise, I'd think the MBP would have the appeal to most people (I would suspect most people who really need the ultra portability are going to go for the 11" which is not just lighter and slightly thinner, it also takes up less real estate as well).

I still think that it is very likely the 13" MBA will end up only being slightly more successful than the last MBA, I think it competes too closely with the MBP with compromises for space but more pricetag for those compromises.

 

[macdaddy57]

I think those display problems are isolated. One user posted a youtube video and it blew it out of proportion. I'm on my 13 MBA right now and the display is perfect. The form factor is perfect. It's light as hell and you should drop everything and go buy one right now.

There...I decided for you.

Thanks. That's just the shove I needed. I'll buy one this weekend.

 

[marcinstepien]

damn... no choice ... I have to buy 13,3"

 

[tbrinkma]

Good, glad someone is pointing out the same thing I did.



They did ? That's exactly what Small White Car says they didn't do, add a test for a product. They didn't, the score stays the same. They changed their recommendation status based on factors outside their testing, which is why the score is high, yet the phone is not recommended.

So like me, you agree they were consistent.

Not at all. (And I suspect you're being deliberately obtuse.)

CR ran a battery of tests on a selection of smart phones, including the iPhone 4. They published the results of those tests. That part was consistent.

They then decided to run an additional test on the iPhone 4, but *not* the other smart phones in the original selection (and according to more than one expert in the field did a piss-poor job of designing said test, which makes all of their signal strength test results a bit suspect). They reported on the results of that additional test, having *not* run all the phones through that test. That's the inconsistent part.

Or, as you so succinctly put it, "They changed their recommendation status based on factors outside their [original] testing, which is why the score is high, yet the phone is not recommended."

If they had run that final test against all the phones in the review group, they would have been consistent. They didn't. That's my only complaint on the matter. (Personally, I'm not a big fan of the iPhone 4's aesthetics, so I'm perfectly happy with my 3Gs. The people I know who have a 4 haven't had any signal strength problems with it, so I can't really speak to the significance or impact of that issue, other than to say I've never seen it.)

 

[chirpie]

i always take consumer reports' computer and electronics ratings with a grain of salt... Even if i happen to agree with them.

They are much better at rating dishwashers and blenders.

***Meanwhile... On a dishwasher forum***

i always take consumer reports' dishwasher and blender ratings with a grain of salt... Even if i happen to agree with them.

They are much better at rating computers and printers.

 

[KnightWRX]

They then decided to run an additional test on the iPhone 4, but *not* the other smart phones in the original selection (and according to more than one expert in the field did a piss-poor job of designing said test, which makes all of their signal strength test results a bit suspect). They reported on the results of that additional test, having *not* run all the phones through that test. That's the inconsistent part.

It's not inconsistent because as pointed out by Small White Cars, this test had no influence on the final score. The score remained the same.

As such, the final test wasn't a test and the score still reflects what all other handsets had gone through. The recommendation conclusions are not just based on the testing alone, so do what you will with them, the score was determined the same way for iPhone 4 and other phones.