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MacBook Air Evolving Into Mainstream Product?
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Apple's in distribution. But don't worry - it's not alone. (Oh, um - maybe THAT means 'worry', too.)
Even the 'Core 2' isn't 6 year old technology, its no more '6 year old technology' than Sandy Bridge being little more than a 'extension of 6 year old technology'. The Core 2 is as valid today as it was when it was first released, fine tuned, tweaked, and perfected - to me I don't see it hanging around for 6 years as being bad, I see it as an example of good design that can stand the test of time and deliver great performance to this day. Today the Core 2 is still being sold but under new brands, new names etc. but it is still very much the same.
It will be interesting to see where Sandy Bridge fits into it - whether Apple is waiting for the Intel refresh later this year named Ivy Bridge which will hopefully bring a GPU refresh as well
I really don't think Apple will update the Air's with Sandy Bridge.
Here is why, the high resolution display (1440X900) will make the Intel graphics a major downgrade from the 320m in performance. I think the Air will get updated with the next MBP update (2012) and the 13" MBP and MBA become one with Ivy processors. Also at this time I expect the 15" and 17" MBP's to become "Air" like with SSD storage, thinner, and lighter.
I was holding out for the update, but came to this conclusion and made my purchase, which I couldn't be more satisfied with.
I may be wrong, but I would rather have the 320m if they do update it, the Thunderbolt is what will hurt if you use external drives..
Here is why, the high resolution display (1440X900) will make the Intel graphics a major downgrade from the 320m in performance. I think the Air will get updated with the next MBP update (2012) and the 13" MBP and MBA become one with Ivy processors. Also at this time I expect the 15" and 17" MBP's to become "Air" like with SSD storage, thinner, and lighter.
I was holding out for the update, but came to this conclusion and made my purchase, which I couldn't be more satisfied with.
I may be wrong, but I would rather have the 320m if they do update it, the Thunderbolt is what will hurt if you use external drives..
But where is the Sync? iPad, iPhone have Sync.
Why is it that the iPad and the iPhone have great Sync with the iMa, but the small drive MBA has no Sync. Both the MBA and the iPad can be 64GB. Since one cannot cram a 1 Terabyte drive into 64GB of the MBA, there is a need for the Sync.
Why is it that the iPad and the iPhone have great Sync with the iMa, but the small drive MBA has no Sync. Both the MBA and the iPad can be 64GB. Since one cannot cram a 1 Terabyte drive into 64GB of the MBA, there is a need for the Sync.
Graph from Fortune
A new research note by J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz reveals that Apple's MacBook Air has seen significant sales growth since its most recent refresh in October (via AppleInsider and Fortune). MacBook Air sales in the last quarter were 333% higher year over year with projections of annual revenue of near $2.2 billion. The new MacBook Air adopted an SSD-only design, introduced an 11.6" model, and saw a considerable price drop from the previous models.The MacBook Air was originally released in January 2008 as a 13" model only with a starting price of $1799. While Apple has offered slight improvements and price drops in the interim, October's refresh was the most dramatic overhaul of the ultra-portable with the introduction of an 11.6" model that starts at $999.
Article Link: MacBook Air Evolving Into Mainstream Product?
So Intel's graphics are good enough for the 13" MBP that can support an external 30" display, but not for the MBA? Most LV/ULV Sandy Bridge cpus have the same HD3000 graphics as regular Core i5/i7 cpus used in the MBP. Sure they are clocked slightly lower, but it is probably already the case for the 320M.
I don't see how Thunderbolt will hurt for external drives. If anything you'll get access to faster drives (RAID HDD, SSD) it's better than what you can today with only USB2 ports.
The MBA is not an iOS device. If you want a syncing solution, install one. Plenty of them available out there.
I remember when I played with the last gen MBA in the Apple Store; my thought was that this thing was TOO light. I just couldnt get into it. Then there was also the price. Yikes. Then I played with the new gen 11 recently, and I was all like ooooooooo. Still an 11 display is too small for my needs, so if I really feel the need for ultra portable second machine, I think an iPad will do. As far as the horsepower ting goes, I have no idea if Im a power user or not. I know Im definitely not a light user. I have a habit of having a dozen applications each with multiple windows/tabs open including the life sucking Safari as well as Photoshop, huge amounts of photos open at once, and editing video.
I use the OD on my MBP often as I author a lot of disks, but when Apple inevitably drops the OD, I really dont plan on coming unglued. I can always get an external OD, and since I do the burning at home, its not like Ill have to lug it around.
I use the OD on my MBP often as I author a lot of disks, but when Apple inevitably drops the OD, I really dont plan on coming unglued. I can always get an external OD, and since I do the burning at home, its not like Ill have to lug it around.
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Yep, it is beautiful and now cheaper. Flash memory is great for that kind of device. No wonder it is selling more. I've seen more or the new airs than any of the old ones.
I mean that the iteration of Thunderbolt will hurt for me, by getting a MBA now with out it.
The HD3000 is slightly less powerful than the 320m GPU. So with a higher resolution display on the MBA the HD3000 would perform worse than the 320m currently does? This is my thinking and why I think Apple didn't increase the resolution of the current MBA instead of suffering a major decrease in GPU performance. I'm thinking that the Intel graphics performance will degrade much quicker at higher resolutions than the Nvidia does.
Only in gaming scenarios and other OpenGL applications. For the desktop, these GPUs can power massive external monitors with no problem. It's not like GPU power required to push out the kind of resolutions we're talking about here haven't been around for close to 10 years. My old Matrox G200 with 16MB of RAM could do it without flinching.
No one answered him and I am interested as well. Are there benchmarks comparing iphoto and imovie between MBA and the MBP?
Also, I love flash based games and my laptop always gets really really hot when playing them. Is this a problem?