Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacBook Air Suitable Montevina Chips Due Later This Year

Roller said:
It's an issue if you take flights that last longer than 3 hours, especially since the battery isn't swappable. And it'll remain so until airlines offer power at every seat, which won't happen soon.

For me, though, the Air's biggest current limitations are the size and/or cost of its HDD and SSD, both of which I hope will be improved later this year.
Click to expand...

The last 4 flights I've been on that have been longer than 3 hours have had American and European electrical sockets at the seats. I'm pretty sure the airlines have already thought about this for you. They don't expect people to have traveling gear and extra batteries when they restrict you to such small carry-on bags!
 
AlexisV said:
Where are they taking the measurement from?

The HP looks a hell of a lot fatter.


Macbook%20air.jpg


voodoo_envy_133_2.jpg
Click to expand...

That's because the Voodoo is .70" all the way across, while the MBA is only .76" thick at it's thickest point (the rear 1" of the computer when closed) and .45" at it's thinnest point this giving it the appearance of being thinner, but also giving it design and character (aka ... Individuality and appeal). In reality, the majority portion of the MBA is thinner than the Voodoo's .70".
 
Small White Car said:
Apple described sales numbers as "successful." It's impossible to say for sure, but this guy is running some estimates and comes up with some numbers that indicate they're selling well enough to be worth it for Apple.

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ba...sales-decoded-successful-not-thrilling-means/
Click to expand...

Excellent link!

"Successful" but not "thrilling." That pretty much seems to sum it up. Either way, I think Apple was hoping for it to be a bigger hit than it is....... obviously.

-Clive
 
HP Claims Thin Victory on Ugly Laptop

Just to set the record straight, the Macbook Air is slightly thicker at its thickest point than the Voodoo Envy is at its thickest point (.06 inches thicker to be precise - to give a reference point, a quarter is .069 inches thick). However, it is stupid to say that the Voodoo is therefore thinner. That is like saying I am thinner than a woman with a smaller waist because she has breasts and I don't. The Air's design is tapered. Its average thickness is much thinner than the Voodoo and that is what counts when you carry it or put it in a bag.

Also, the Voodoo is heavier. I am guessing the reason for this is because it looks like it was cut out of sheet metal in a shop class. What's that you say? It's made of plastic? Why would they mold plastic to look like sheet metal?
 
Hard drive speed/capacity is the issue with the MBA.

We're already at 500GB 5400RPM drives @ $200 for the MB/MBP, but remain stuck at 80GB 4200RPM for the MBA.

And I'll believe in a 128GB, $700 1.8" (*must* be 5mm high maximum for the MBA) SSD when I can order one at newegg - currently they're over $3,000 in 2.5" (9.5mm high)
 
galleyhannon said:
Just to set the record straight, the Macbook Air is slightly thicker at its thickest point than the Voodoo Envy is at its thickest point (.06 inches thicker to be precise - to give a reference point, a quarter is .069 inches thick). However, it is stupid to say that the Voodoo is therefore thinner. That is like saying I am thinner than a woman with a smaller waist because she has breasts and I don't. The Air's design is tapered. Its average thickness is much thinner than the Voodoo and that is what counts when you carry it or put it in a bag.

Also, the Voodoo is heavier. I am guessing the reason for this is because it looks like it was cut out of sheet metal in a shop class. What's that you say? It's made of plastic? Why would they mold plastic to look like sheet metal?
Click to expand...

I'm glad someone else sees the truth about the "thinner" myth (see my post 52).
 
ncbill said:
We're already at 500GB 5400RPM drives @ $200 for the MB/MBP, but remain stuck at 80GB 4200RPM for the MBA.
Click to expand...
I always wondered if that was an "Apple" thing, but the new HP Voodoo Envy has the exact same drive options (and the X300 only offers the 64GB SSD), so I'm guessing there really aren't any other choices on the market now???
 
carfac said:
Either you can't read, or your sense of dimensions is massively distorted. In most of the free world, .7' IS thinner than .76'.
Click to expand...
Like anyone is going to notice 0.06" difference. The MacBook Air is 0.76"-0.16". The Voodoo is .7" all across.

And by the way, you were saying .7' which is like .7 feet.
 
I own the MBA, and it is the first Mac in recent history where I wish it was more powerful and had better specs.

I am not complaining nor am I disappointed since I understood what I was getting. After years of traveling the world with a 17" MBP/PB, I wanted to try something on the opposite side of the spectrum.

I love my MBA, and think it is one of best Macs I have purchased from Apple.

But I do run into the core shut down issue from heat, the GPU stuggles frequently, and 57gigs of storage is simply not enough in today's day and age. And the battery life is about an hour short of ideal.

I hope Apple gives us a killer upgrade option this fall. If the spec upgrade is meaningful, I will be the first in line to buy the next generation.

Here's what I need:

1. The upcoming Intel GPU which is reported to be 5x faster
2. Minimum of 128gb storage
3. Heat/Core shut down issue solved
4. Keep the fit & finish quality of the current MBA. (Don't let the quality slip to the levels of the rest of the Mac line.)
5. Another hour of battery life (just get it up to claimed levels)

Here's what I love to see if possible:

1. Faster CPU
2. 256gb of storage on SSD
3. 2+ more hours of battery life
4. Another speaker for stereo sound
5. Another USB port
 
thin & hot

The tapering of edges to create more stylish and sleeker looking and feeling devices is one of the hallmarks of Jonathan Ive's designs for Apple products.

Look at the iPhone 3G. While on paper, the stats for the new phone appear to be thicker (by a fraction of a millimeter), the more pronounced taper on the edges vs. the relatively squarer 1st gen iPhone give it a sleeker look and reportedly better feel in the hand.

Compare the iPod Classic's tapered edges to the original's squared edges as well. Although in this case, there is also an appreciable slimming in the latest incarnation of the iPod.

While everyone seems to be focused on battery life issues with the new gen chips that could potentially find their way into the refresh of the MBA, little has been mentioned of the possible increase in heat dissipation of these new chips.

If the chips aren't under clocked, the 25W power draw will lead to more heat dissipated which will factor into whether the chip will work in the MBA's svelte enclosure.

BTW, I did do the math: 25W is an 25% increase over 20W. I was referring purely to the power draw, not any other factors of the chip.
 
EDIT: hey, you can indeed order those nifty new MLC-based (better wait for someone like anandtech to confirm the speed) SSDs, but their interface isn't compatible with the MBA (can anyone rig an adapter, or will we have to wait for the MBA 2.0?)

https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FUM20GK18H#

ncbill said:
Hard drive speed/capacity is the issue with the MBA.

We're already at 500GB 5400RPM drives @ $200 for the MB/MBP, but remain stuck at 80GB 4200RPM for the MBA.

And I'll believe in a 128GB, $700 1.8" (*must* be 5mm high maximum for the MBA) SSD when I can order one at newegg - currently they're over $3,000 in 2.5" (9.5mm high)
Click to expand...
 
arn said:
If the power specs are to believed, I don't think it will actually have better battery life.

arn
Click to expand...

In the world of engineering it all depends.

Number one; it depends on Apple maxing out the clock rate. It wouldn't need to do that to get a good performance boost, they could go from 1.6 to 2 GHz and make out nicely.

A lot also depends on exactly how the processor is configured. Especially in relation to busses connected and the advancement possible in support chips. It would not be impossible to make up for some extra wattage in the processor by lowering power else where.

The big problem with Air also is removal of that heat. Again it is possible Apple could address the mechanical/thermal issues in a revised AIR. Even though the product is new to marker there is nothing really keeping Apple for doing a slight mechanical revision to leverage better thermal performance. AIR shouldn't be thought of a static platform any more that Mac Book Pro or the Mac Pro.

Dave
 
ncbill said:
EDIT: hey, you can indeed order those nifty new MLC-based (better wait for someone like anandtech to confirm the speed) SSDs, but their interface isn't compatible with the MBA (can anyone rig an adapter, or will we have to wait for the MBA 2.0?)

https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FUM20GK18H#
Click to expand...

Those are uSATA and the MBAir is PATA, and there is no adapter that I know of, and even if there was I dont know if it would fit into the MBAir case.
 
I think regardless of however the air is updated, it will always be obselete in comparison to other apple products. The fact is that the air is not built for performance, rather portability. If anyone is looking for a computer with better specs, it's never going to be the air. Compromises in size must be made for power...period. Apple will always have it's consumer and pro models using more powerful processers.

The air is not for power users, rather it is for someone who needs a light and easy to carry notebook capable of doing basic tasks like word processing, web browsing, and presentations. Final Cut, CS3, and things that require GPU's and powerful CPU's don't even apply.
 
Mr Maui said:
You do realize they make airline adapters for computers? Right?!? And if they don't offer power at every seat, those who need more, and travel on those types of really long flights REGULARLY, should opt for the MB or MBP, not the MBA.
Click to expand...

And my point is that the MBA's battery life is an issue for some. Cutting it even more isn't going to spur sales.

I think that lots of people - myself included - would pay a premium for the Air (over the MB) if it offered a larger HDD or SSD and maybe a bit better graphics performance without heat issues. That's what I'm hoping for in the next rev.
 
I think the voodoo thingy looks nice too. :D

More than one style can concurrently look good! If apple had designed it half of you would be singing it's praises.. (remember those leaked fat nano photos?)

It's less blocky than the MacPro anyway. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back