Just bought ultimate 11 inch MBA, concerns...

[House Crasher]

Hi all,
First post here, long time mac user since SE30 days...

Just yesterday I bought the 11 inch i7/8/256 for work travel. A couple quality control issues concern me. What would you do??

1. I set the mba on my granite countertop and the left front (under left palm rest) foot is slightly off the counter.

2. With the lid closed there is a gap between the display lid and the palm rest on the left from corner.

3. Some, not all, of the edges are literally as sharp as a razor, it actually sliced through a napkin when I wiped the edge, wow.

4. No Mountain Lion factory installed yet?? I mean I know it's free but....10.7?

Screen looks great, it's the Lg with Samsung SSD. The bezel is spaced evenly around the screen, I've seen many with uneven spacing and that drives me crazy. Trackpad is flush and even. Fan is quiet, apparently some are noisy..

I'll swap it out but quality lately is fast becoming an issue for Apple and who knows what the replacement could bring.

Thanks a lot

 

[PS65]

I'll swap it out but quality lately is fast becoming an issue for Apple and who knows what the replacement could bring.

Thanks a lot

I think you've just been unlucky. Don't forget, people only complain on forums, they never tell you about their machine being perfect. Apple ships so many machines, it's fair to say mistakes happen - the main thing is how they take care of you after, and generally speaking they are pretty good (not always, but mainly!)

 

[allmIne]

4. No Mountain Lion factory installed yet?? I mean I know it's free but....10.7?

Not really a quality control issue. Obviously the Apple store needs to maintain a constant supply of computers; they can't just cut supply once ML is announced, then start shipping ML computers. Otherwise they'd be left with a lot of unsaleable computers. There's a transition period.

 

[dmelgar]

Hi all,
First post here, long time mac user since SE30 days...

Just yesterday I bought the 11 inch i7/8/256 for work travel. A couple quality control issues concern me. What would you do??

1. I set the mba on my granite countertop and the left front (under left palm rest) foot is slightly off the counter.

My 11" was perfectly flat, but my 13" was slightly up like that. I twisted it to try and flatten it out, ie push it a little extra, and low and behold it flattened out.

2. With the lid closed there is a gap between the display lid and the palm rest on the left from corner.

Sounds like the base is twisted a little. As above, I'd manually try to bend it back into shape. Gently.

3. Some, not all, of the edges are literally as sharp as a razor, it actually sliced through a napkin when I wiped the edge, wow.

I've always thought the edges have been too sharp since my 2006 white polycarbonate macbook. For that machine I took some extra fine sandpaper and sanded down the edges. I haven't done that to any aluminum Macbook. My Macbook Pro bothered me the worst. The Airs are much better because the front edge is so close to the table.

4. No Mountain Lion factory installed yet?? I mean I know it's free but....10.7?

Dunno. ML install is can be fairly painless, especially if you have a fast network.

 

[netdoc66]

Maybe you accidentally brought a SMApple CloneBook Air? Did you get it from the computer expert shop across the street from the Apple store?

 

[House Crasher]

I'm not sure what an smapple is but I bought it from this guy in an alley behind a liquor store in Brooklyn.... Of course I bought it at an Apple store in NC.

Since my post on this topic I did some tweaking very carefully and it now sits flat and closes with no gaps...BUT, if I was able to make a change that easily, it does not say too much for the durability of the air. Naturally I didn't expect anything this thin to be a Toughbook but geez...

I'll give it a week or so and make a final decision.

Thanks guys

 

[GREEN4U]

My 11" was perfectly flat, but my 13" was slightly up like that. I twisted it to try and flatten it out, ie push it a little extra, and low and behold it flattened out.


Sounds like the base is twisted a little. As above, I'd manually try to bend it back into shape. Gently.

While some bending exercises may prove an effective home remedy, I definitely don't recommend it. You risk damaging internals.

 

[House Crasher]

While some bending exercises may prove an effective home remedy, I definitely don't recommend it. You risk damaging internals.

I understand what your saying completely, however I didn't put the air between 2 bricks and stand in the middle. I used those 3M sticky notes on diagonal corners underneath the air and with one finger on each opposing corner lightly pressed and flexed the base maybe 1/16" of an inch...maybe. It didn't take much at all which is why I stated in my email that if that is all it took that I am VERY concerned with the overall durability or lack thereof.

I am definately thinking the MBA is actually NOT a great laptop to travel with, I'm a 51 year old professional and take great care of all my belongings but I think the Air is a tad too lightweight in all the wrong areas.

 

[GREEN4U]

I am definately thinking the MBA is actually NOT a great laptop to travel with, I'm a 51 year old professional and take great care of all my belongings but I think the Air is a tad too lightweight in all the wrong areas.

I understand but I think you'll get over the "be very careful-phase" rather quickly.

I would implore you to purchase one of these cases especially if youre a big traveller. I got one for my 13" and it's the best/simplest case you can get. There are many imitators of Incase, but only one Incase! And at $18.99 on sale right now, you can't beat it. (Retail is $40)

http://www.amazon.com/Incase-Neoprene-Sleeve-Macbook-11-Inch/dp/B004J19IPE

 

[drxcm]

The 11" is an amazingly durable travel computer.

Mine goes in my bag with me every day to work (I don't use a sleeve) and has been to 4 continents this year. There are no scratches, marks, dents or bends in the case. It opens and closes just like day one, and feels completely solid, and there are no issues at all.

I do look after my gear, but I don't baby it.

 

[usmaak]

These things aren't cheap. If it was me and there was anything about it I didn't like or anything that seemed off, I'd just get it replaced. Too expensive not to be 100% pleased, IMO.

 

[TheRealDamager]

Unfortunately some people (not saying you) are never 100% pleased. The bottom panel screws onto the bottom of the machine, and sometimes it isn't seated perfectly, which can lead to the issue you had. When you flexed the machine to fix this, you were likely not actually bending anything - you were just getting a better seat on the bottom panel.

I assure you these things are built very well and are great for travel. I've been carrying one on many, many trips since 2010 and have never had any issues with durability.

 

[austinguy23]

Swap it for another. A wobbly laptop would drive me nuts.

 

[House Crasher]

Swap it for another. A wobbly laptop would drive me nuts.

Me too, I did fix the wobbly so now its a matter of if I want to keep it knowing I had to tweak it. Also the edges of the display lid are dangerously sharp and certainly won't do the inside of my laptop bag any favors. Pretty sure I'm going to try one more machine.