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Potential MacBook Air Update Delayed Due to Chip Shortage?

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Apr 12, 2001
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Hardmac reports that new ultra-low voltage Intel chips, introduced earlier this month as part of a major roll-out in conjunction with CES and presumably destined for the next revision to Apple's MacBook Air, are not yet being produced in mass quantities. The delay in chip availability may result in Apple having to push back the introduction of updated MacBook Air models by several weeks or else offer Intel a premium price to snap up limited quantities of the chips currently available and in production.
According to the last rumors, the MacBook Air might not be updated in a very near future with either Core i3/i5 has it uses Low Voltage version of the Intel mobile CPUs. Such processors are not fully ready/available and Apple will have to delay the update of the MacBook Air by couple of weeks. It is still possible that Intel ships first samples to Apple, in small quantities, at a premium price.
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According to our buyer's guide, Apple's MacBook Air is nearing the end of its usual product cycle, and when combined with the new chips from Intel, many have thought that a product update might be in store in the near future. The company's MacBook Pro and Mac Pro models are also reaching the end of their usual update cycles, leaving several opportunities for imminent Mac hardware updates.

Apple has scheduled a media event for next Wednesday, where the company is widely rumored to be introducing its tablet device, as well as possible details on iPhone OS 4.0. There have been no reports of refreshed Mac hardware being announced at the event, as Apple may prefer to spend its limited time in front of the media focused on its handheld products.

Article Link: Potential MacBook Air Update Delayed Due to Chip Shortage?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/22/potential-macbook-air-update-delayed-due-to-chip-shortage/
They still make the Air? I haven't heard much about it recently. Maybe it's the other stepchild...
 
So Apple will annouce the Air Specs and just tell users that they won't ship until a certain date. They've already done this before.

I hope we see 4GB Ram BTO

The Samsung 160GB SSD

If we get that then I'm buying this instead of the pro's.
 
I really can't see what justifies the purchase of the Air right now. Maybe it's because it's 1.5 pounds lighter than the base MacBook Pro and Macbook, but is that really that great of a trade off considering everything else you are losing in the process?
 
Bye Bye air

I think the Air will be phased out of the product line. It's overpriced and under featured, the speculated tablet will be the primary ultra-portable solution from apple.

The laptop feels like a damn slim jim.
 
greg400 said:
I really can't see what justifies the purchase of the Air right now. Maybe it's because it's 1.5 pounds lighter than the base MacBook Pro and Macbook, but is that really that great of a trade off considering everything else you are losing in the process?
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Flash Drives can hold LOTS of data (So 1 port is all you really need)

I personally don't use the optical drive (So no optical is no issue)

For the excellent portable experience the Air does it!

It just needs a slighlty larger drive IMO and obviously the Standard 4GB ram

Plus eventhough technically 1.5lbs difference isn't much, but if you use one and it fits your needs why go back?

Plus the Air compliments the iMac or Mac Pro very well.
 
I would like to see the Mini updated with this CPU but I bet it will follow the tradition of being another Apple step child with no updates for over a year. Mac Pro, Mini, Apple TV and now the Air are abandoned wares with limited refresh cycles.
 
4GB RAM, 256GB SSD and a glass trackpad.

I'm fine with it remaining glossy too.
 
iDisk said:
Flash Drives can hold LOTS of data (So 1 port is all you really need)

I personally don't use the optical drive (So no optical is no issue)

For the excellent portable experience the Air does it!

It just needs a slighlty larger drive IMO and obviously the Standard 4GB ram

Plus eventhough technically 1.5lbs difference isn't much, but if you use one and it fits your needs why go back?

Plus the Air compliments the iMac or Mac Pro very well.
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But you are essentially paying $300 or $500 more than what the MacBook Pro and Macbook cost while getting less. You could always say less is more though I suppose. :\
 
When was the last time the Air got updated, or was it even updated since its initial introduction?

I would think the air would be perfect for education (probably Kindergarten-5th, maybe a little older, too) if a) it weren't so expensive and b) the case was stronger. I've heard the case is horrible & cracks easily. If Apple were to fix both problems, it would be a whole lot better. Working with several hundred 5-11 year olds, having no DVD drive & no moving parts would really help. Since my district uses Netboot / DeployStudio to get the computers initially ready and then Filewave for updates, we wouldn't need a DVD drive except for maybe projects where kids burn CDs/DVDs. But a lot also use usb flash drives.
 
guzhogi said:
When was the last time the Air got updated, or was it even updated since its initial introduction?

I would think the air would be perfect for education (probably Kindergarten-5th, maybe a little older, too) if a) it weren't so expensive and b) the case was stronger. I've heard the case is horrible & cracks easily. If Apple were to fix both problems, it would be a whole lot better. Working with several hundred 5-11 year olds, having no DVD drive & no moving parts would really help. Since my district uses Netboot / DeployStudio to get the computers initially ready and then Filewave for updates, we wouldn't need a DVD drive except for maybe projects where kids burn CDs/DVDs. But a lot also use usb flash drives.
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I hardly think the Air is a suitable computer for 5-11 year olds...
 
Hasn't it been typical that Apple gets the first of many new Intel chips? I can't imagine the MBA is that huge of a seller where Apple would need a whole lot (compared to outfitting a MB or MBP). At any rate the tablet is going to suck up all the PR air from any new update product so it would even go noticed. Plus I'm more important Apple get i5s in MB and MBPs pronto. The MBA has always been a bit crippled.
 
greg400 said:
But you are essentially paying $300 or $500 more than what the MacBook Pro and Macbook cost while getting less. You could always say less is more though I suppose. :\
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Yes exactly, less is more. The Air is Steves' vision of what a notebook should be.

Those who are saying the Air is "finished" are not in tuned with the creator Johnny Ive & Steve Jobs. The design of the Air is minimalistic (something Steve & Johnny) strive for with every new product design or refresh (look) at the iPhone and how minimal the hardware is. Again a Johnny & Steve creation
 
guzhogi said:
When was the last time the Air got updated, or was it even updated since its initial introduction?

I would think the air would be perfect for education (probably Kindergarten-5th, maybe a little older, too) if a) it weren't so expensive and b) the case was stronger. I've heard the case is horrible & cracks easily. If Apple were to fix both problems, it would be a whole lot better. Working with several hundred 5-11 year olds, having no DVD drive & no moving parts would really help. Since my district uses Netboot / DeployStudio to get the computers initially ready and then Filewave for updates, we wouldn't need a DVD drive except for maybe projects where kids burn CDs/DVDs. But a lot also use usb flash drives.
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It's been revised twice since introduction.
 
griz said:
I agree. The Tablet will replace it.
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Can someone explain how a notebook that runs OS X, with a full-sized keyboard and 13" display is going to be replaced by a purported device that runs a hybrid OS, has a smaller display and no physical keyboard?

People have been saying that the Mac Mini and AppleTV will be merged to a singular device since the AppleTV was introduced.

They serve two fundamentally different purposes as I believe that a tablet and Macbook Air do.
 
greg400 said:
But you are essentially paying $300 or $500 more than what the MacBook Pro and Macbook cost while getting less. You could always say less is more though I suppose. :\
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I've said it before: It depends on where you live and your transportation circumstances. For a person who lives in New York and doesn't own car, but carries their computer to work every day, 1.5lbs is a huge difference. It's not just your computer your walking two miles with every day.
However, if you have a car and live in a Kansas City suburb, where the farthest you walk with your laptop is to the garage, 1.5lbs doesn't much matter.
 
As someone who flies to client sites every week, then home on Thursday, I'm seeing more and more people using MB Airs on the plane.

The 2nd gen is really much more functional than the 1st. I bought the 1.6ghz HD model the day arrived at the Apple Store. If only they had 4gb+ of memory and much larger drives, I would have one instead of my current 13" MBPro. Still, I was able to charge nearly 1,800 hours using my first gen Air, so it more than paid for itself.

The size and weight are really great when you have to carry it around all day and fly several times a week.
 
When the Air was introduced it was a halo product so Apple could claim it has the lightest, thinnest, etc. laptop. While it's still among the thinnest it's not what it once was. It has it's place but I certainly don't see the forthcoming iPad as a replacement. A update delayed by a couple of weeks is nominal. What's of more substantive news is a refresh of Apple's desktop line especially if rumors come true of a touchscreen iMac. In any case, a major overhaul of it's desktop line (both consumer and pro) along with a tweaked version of OS X that supports touch screen displays could warrant it's own event.
 
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