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The real point of MacBook Air - and why everyone is missing it.
- Thread starter Stuart in Oz
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Correct. Footprint size of a MB or an MBA is not "tiny"... that is exactly the point of the rest of my intial response to you. Please read.
yeah, but...
I understand the point of view and I agree when you talk about Apple wanting to show their "power" in the industry. Without a doubt, this is a flagship product and is not meant to sell huge numbers.
But when you say they created trends in the market (with the laptops), I don't agree. We don't see other titanum chassis or any trends from mac laptops in the market. It is even like other side, like Sony and Asus with carbon fiber ones... MacBooks and the Pros are unique and still unique in their style and feature. No one copied them (not saying bad or good, but it is just not!).
Also I didn't like much the MBA. It is thin, fantastic, amazing how Apple can do that. But not for me (and of course there are consumers!). But I believe this market is too small if compared to other she could go. If Apple wants the PORTABLE, LIGHT and WIRELESS, I think they missed some points:
- 13 inches is not ultra portable. It is small, great for travel, but not the best about portability. I'm gonna use the same example Jobs did: Sony TZ. Put this 2 together, side by side. Even though MBA is thinner, no way you can say it is SMALLER. Eye perception goes to the 11" VAIO model... (with 2 USB, ethernet, firewire, DVDRW, SD/MS slot, fingerprint, 3G and 7.5 hour battery. Not saying this was necessary to MBA, but more impressive work on Sony side than Apple).
- if we are talking about wireless, where is the 3G built in card? What if I want to rent a movie with no hotspots? Which are paid? If we talk mobility (I want my laptop whenever I want, whereever I want), I also want Internet, iTunes, emails whenever. If MBA had 3G SIM in it, that would be the true AIR. Or even WiMax, first one? Maybe too soon. But I just think it is not "Air" yet. It is missing something (which surprises me from Apple).
- I'd expect to have SSD memory already in affordable price. The difference is too much. Again, you can get a SSD 64MB VAIO TZ cheaper than that, which surprizes me again. With much more features and, I'm sorry, MORE PORTABLE and powerful.
Again - I agree with you about being a flagship model - but it could be more consumer focused as well. It is not balanced on what it offers/price paid. If it was much cheaper, it would be a hit, mass sales, no doubt.
I understand the point of view and I agree when you talk about Apple wanting to show their "power" in the industry. Without a doubt, this is a flagship product and is not meant to sell huge numbers.
But when you say they created trends in the market (with the laptops), I don't agree. We don't see other titanum chassis or any trends from mac laptops in the market. It is even like other side, like Sony and Asus with carbon fiber ones... MacBooks and the Pros are unique and still unique in their style and feature. No one copied them (not saying bad or good, but it is just not!).
Also I didn't like much the MBA. It is thin, fantastic, amazing how Apple can do that. But not for me (and of course there are consumers!). But I believe this market is too small if compared to other she could go. If Apple wants the PORTABLE, LIGHT and WIRELESS, I think they missed some points:
- 13 inches is not ultra portable. It is small, great for travel, but not the best about portability. I'm gonna use the same example Jobs did: Sony TZ. Put this 2 together, side by side. Even though MBA is thinner, no way you can say it is SMALLER. Eye perception goes to the 11" VAIO model... (with 2 USB, ethernet, firewire, DVDRW, SD/MS slot, fingerprint, 3G and 7.5 hour battery. Not saying this was necessary to MBA, but more impressive work on Sony side than Apple).
- if we are talking about wireless, where is the 3G built in card? What if I want to rent a movie with no hotspots? Which are paid? If we talk mobility (I want my laptop whenever I want, whereever I want), I also want Internet, iTunes, emails whenever. If MBA had 3G SIM in it, that would be the true AIR. Or even WiMax, first one? Maybe too soon. But I just think it is not "Air" yet. It is missing something (which surprises me from Apple).
- I'd expect to have SSD memory already in affordable price. The difference is too much. Again, you can get a SSD 64MB VAIO TZ cheaper than that, which surprizes me again. With much more features and, I'm sorry, MORE PORTABLE and powerful.
Again - I agree with you about being a flagship model - but it could be more consumer focused as well. It is not balanced on what it offers/price paid. If it was much cheaper, it would be a hit, mass sales, no doubt.
the flaw in that logic is that Apple does not release concpets for the reason of releasing a concpet. Apple releases the MBA for people who wanted a light weight portable device. Not to prove anything to the world.
Sorry, my bad.
I thought MacWorld would check their info:
http://www.macworld.com/article/131604/2008/01/macbookair_reax.html
Everyone seems to have glossed over the fact that the major engineering feat of this computer is the smaller processor and mainboard yet providing the same computing power. ....look for it it in all future iterations of macbooks ....Intel certainly didn't spend all that time squishing down the processor just for the MBA.
Depends how you define lifetime. Battery will loose half of its capacity after 500 charges.
Maybe there will be some external batteries connected to magsafe for people who would like to carry 2 batteries or whose internal battery is getting weak...
Yes, they are smaller but they are slower too.. Thinking that Apple wont slim down the MacBooks to not to cannibalize MB Air's sales, they will prefer bigger but faster processors on regular MacBooks and MacBook Pros..
peace out
This is the most enlightened post in the thread
This may not be a revolutionary product on its own, but it is a key incremental step in Apple's overall strategy. Steve has been setting up pins with hardware and knocking them down with software and services ever since the idea for the iPod was conceived and then followed up with the iTMS. Apple uses carefully chosen feature sets on its hardware to drive need for non-hardware services they provide. It's called horizontal integration and cross-promotion. Media delivery is absolutely the future of Apple's financial success. Steve has engineered this by using beautiful hardware to drive desire for marketplace evolution toward web delivery of content, and now, with the iPhone, AppleTV and MBA, wireless delivery of content. They have followed through masterfully on the promise of changing the face of the content industries, and believe me, the MBA is just one step closer to a completely untethered world. Steve is preparing us for what he already knows is to come.
As for me, I'm not selling my shares just yet... Apple is positioning themselves to rule the world.
I agree completley with the originator of this post. One point I think everyone is missing here is that there is a reason why Apple dubbed this machine Mac Book Air not Mac Book Utra Thin or whatever.
Consider this, Apple introduced Back To My Mac with it's latest OS along with the ability to sychronize both your desktop and notebook with the help of .Mac. Now Time Capsule has been released which is a combination of wireless ("Air") as well as 500 GB or 1 TB of storage space. And if you recall, you can "share" the drive of your desktop or other mac machine with the MBA as well.
By now you should see the point I'm trying to make. Apple has put all the wheels in motion for you to make the MOST use out of the MBA without all the bells and whistles people are complaining about.
Apple foresees a future when everything is done seamlessly through the use of wireless technology. Everyone should open their eyes! This is just the beginning, I can't just imagine what the future holds.
This may not be a revolutionary product on its own, but it is a key incremental step in Apple's overall strategy. Steve has been setting up pins with hardware and knocking them down with software and services ever since the idea for the iPod was conceived and then followed up with the iTMS. Apple uses carefully chosen feature sets on its hardware to drive need for non-hardware services they provide. It's called horizontal integration and cross-promotion. Media delivery is absolutely the future of Apple's financial success. Steve has engineered this by using beautiful hardware to drive desire for marketplace evolution toward web delivery of content, and now, with the iPhone, AppleTV and MBA, wireless delivery of content. They have followed through masterfully on the promise of changing the face of the content industries, and believe me, the MBA is just one step closer to a completely untethered world. Steve is preparing us for what he already knows is to come.
As for me, I'm not selling my shares just yet... Apple is positioning themselves to rule the world.
I think it is amusing that so many people get so upset that Apple released a product that isn't right for them.
Many of the posters may be too young to remember a time when portable computers and notebooks were used by business people who traveled for their work. Today, laptops are ubiquitous; people use them as their only computer. They place them on desks and hook up peripherals to them and wired ethernet. They may take them out and about once in a while, that's why laptops are so great, but they need the functionality of a desktop. The Macbook Air is obviously not a desktop replacement laptop. It is not suitable to be the only computer that someone has. It is for someone like me that travels a great deal, makes presentations, checks emails, writes articles. I have a Mac Pro at the office and a Macbook Pro at home, but lugging the 15" MBP on an airplane and especially trying to use it on the plane is a real pain. It is too heavy and the screen is too big. I had contemplated buying a 13" Macbook just for this reason, but the Macbook Air is much sexier and image matters when you are trying to sell your work. The target demographic for this laptop has a hefty IT budget and IT people who don't flinch at ordering a $3k laptop for the boss. It is not meant for college students--it is meant for their professors who can charge the laptop to a grant.
I think the original poster is dead on, although I think people are underestimating how many Apple will sell. There is a reason that UMPCs aren't really selling. I don't want a tiny little screen and a half-hearted processor. I want something that is basically a full sized laptop that is as light and thin in my bag as possible. I ordered a 1.8GHz SSD Macbook Air this morning.
For those of you who don't want one now. Don't worry about it. You'll want one 4 years from now.
Many of the posters may be too young to remember a time when portable computers and notebooks were used by business people who traveled for their work. Today, laptops are ubiquitous; people use them as their only computer. They place them on desks and hook up peripherals to them and wired ethernet. They may take them out and about once in a while, that's why laptops are so great, but they need the functionality of a desktop. The Macbook Air is obviously not a desktop replacement laptop. It is not suitable to be the only computer that someone has. It is for someone like me that travels a great deal, makes presentations, checks emails, writes articles. I have a Mac Pro at the office and a Macbook Pro at home, but lugging the 15" MBP on an airplane and especially trying to use it on the plane is a real pain. It is too heavy and the screen is too big. I had contemplated buying a 13" Macbook just for this reason, but the Macbook Air is much sexier and image matters when you are trying to sell your work. The target demographic for this laptop has a hefty IT budget and IT people who don't flinch at ordering a $3k laptop for the boss. It is not meant for college students--it is meant for their professors who can charge the laptop to a grant.
I think the original poster is dead on, although I think people are underestimating how many Apple will sell. There is a reason that UMPCs aren't really selling. I don't want a tiny little screen and a half-hearted processor. I want something that is basically a full sized laptop that is as light and thin in my bag as possible. I ordered a 1.8GHz SSD Macbook Air this morning.
For those of you who don't want one now. Don't worry about it. You'll want one 4 years from now.
But thats not possible for 2 reasons:
1) you'd be carrying around a huge brick instead of a nice/slim 45W Magsafe adapter.
2) Once your battery goes weak, you'd be living connected to a cable for external battery life.. How is that "Air" or "wireless" in any ways?..
You mean besides replacement MacBook Pro power supplies?
Sorry, couldn't resist. I agree with you.
As an Apple enthusiast, I dont want you to demand anything to turn Apple into Dell in anyways
Just joking.. Dont worry.. When iPod first realesed, we saw people like today, whining how impractical and useless iPod was. MacBook Air will be selling millions, dont worry, Julian "the shareholder"
nice post. i agree, to some degree, anyways. i haven't really judged the macbook air just yet. i want to see one in person first
To the OP - best MacBook Air post ever.
Exactly why the MBA is exactly what I want.
This is potentially a new class that perhaps should be defined as ultralight - a full size laptop that weighs as much as a cramped ultra portable.
I don't understand what you're trying to convince us of - the MBA is obviously not for you, so don't buy it! Besides, if you do such important work with your computer, why would you even be considering an ultra portable?
"I want the power and flexibility of the 17" MacBook Pro in something the size of an iPhone."
Exactly why the MBA is exactly what I want.
This is potentially a new class that perhaps should be defined as ultralight - a full size laptop that weighs as much as a cramped ultra portable.
I don't understand what you're trying to convince us of - the MBA is obviously not for you, so don't buy it! Besides, if you do such important work with your computer, why would you even be considering an ultra portable?
"I want the power and flexibility of the 17" MacBook Pro in something the size of an iPhone."
As a road warrior the MBA would be nice if only it had an Ethernet connection. Many hotels have only Cable available in their rooms. Wireless is usually available in the lobby but I don't sleep in the lobby.
Apple offers a USB to ethernet adapter for I think it was $20.
My mantra is that market segments should be defined by the users, not the products.
By definition, marketing is user-centric. You look at how users make use of a product and why. I'm not so sure that breaking out classes like subcompacts and ultra-lights is useful if all the users are looking for is "easier to schlep around."
I don't disagree with you about MBP's being the machine of choice for the majority of users, but why does the introduction of a MBA imply that the MBP's will not be updated?But for 'The Rest of Us" i.e. those who have to earn their money by using notebooks, MBA is only a good choice, if it fits a lot better in a bag than MB or MBP (which I doubt, as the footprint of MBA is not really smaller). OK there is the better design
If Apple decided to keep the same enclosure and just change the internals, they'll be updated soon at a later date with less fanfare. Let the MBA celebrate it's birthday as the star of Macworld - all the other existing product lines will get Apple's attention at a later date. As Steve said, we're only 2 weeks into 2008 and you've already got these software and hardware updates. Wait until the end of the year, then look back at what we've got from Apple...
As an example, look at the updated Mac Pros. Quite a serious improvement that was released as a "non-event" (of course, they had lagged quite a bit, but I'll be ordering one soon).
IMHO the MBa has two purposes. ONe is to bring Apple into the niche, but important, ultra portable segment , and two, to show the promise of throwin goff all the cable shackles of current portable computing. FOr the first, I have owned a Sony TX and use it as my travel computer. while a good machine wht I really want is something light, that will fit in a briefcase, has a full sized keyboard and reasonable size screen. It's not a replacement for a MBP and is really not meant to be, any more than an Lenovo X40 replaces an R series. It has it uses and it meets my needs exactlly. I'll use my MBP at home for my personal stuff, watching movies on personal trips adn all the other things I use it for , and will use an MBa for business trips, stuck in my briefcase, writing documents on planes and in hotel rooms, and doing longer emails. Oh and by the way, in three years , it's very possible that all laptops will have SSD drives, minimal cable requirements and be thinner that most are now...
Peace and love now please
Nice post OP!
If some nice man bought me an MBA for my birthday (March 2nd btw) I would be very happy.
Any takers?
Nice post OP!
If some nice man bought me an MBA for my birthday (March 2nd btw) I would be very happy.
Any takers?