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Those of you who cannot stop complaining about new MBA. What do you all want?

I wish there was an explanation of removing the back lit keyboard. This changed my mind on the device and keeping my 2009 13 mcb. I really need the backlit due to poor eye sight and I work in a dark area alot and it's been a life saver for me. Im not saying this is a bad product by any means, but unfortunately for my use, this feature was a deal breaker.

I dont want to have to worry about bringing an accessory to use my computer.
 
Apple and Steve Jobs have been, and always will be, about the user experience. That's why they will always blow away the competition.

Want a thin and very light notebook? Ask yourself what you are going to do with it. Apple certainly did, and basically is saying this is what you can have given the current state of engineering for a very thin and very light computer and have a great user experience at a reasonable price point.

If you are going to do a lot of processor intensive tasks or heavily game constantly, then you can't get the weight as light, since you need a lot of cooling and a lot more battery power and life.

Want a backlight? Then your batteries will have to be heavier and your size and weight likely larger.

Apple has never been into the spec wars--that's so passe now anyway. Listen to the presentation yesterday--it was all about the user experience. Nobody needs an i7 with 8G RAM to surf the net, do emails, write an occasional paper, and play the average computer game. The Crysis tests that PC Mag does on ultraportables are ridiculous, and a symptom of a passe focus on specs and specs alone--ignoring the overall user experience.

Ask yourself what you do every day, and pick the device (or suite of devices) that suits your needs. The days of one device doing it all are over.
 
I am more interested in what the changes in MBA brings to Macbook and Macbook Pro?

MB/MBP will have in the future
1) Flash Storage
2) Removal of Super Drive
3) Removal of Hard drive?
4) Combination of both Flash and HDD for 15"/17" if space permits.

What I want to see in MBA
1) $49 or even $29 super drive add on - $79 is expensive for an external super drive
2) 4GB Standard RAM
3) 128 GB standard SSD
4) Sandy Bridge CPU (less heat, over clocking ability, Intel IGP if the performance is good)
 
hcho3 said:
People are keep complaining about

1. no i3 processor
2. no 4GB ram standard. It is upgradeable.
3. no SD card slot on 11.6 model.
4. no backlit keyboard.
5. Too expensive

What do you all want apple to do? What specs u all want and how much are you all willing to pay for it?
Click to expand...

1- dont care
2-dont care
3-dont care
4-i like lights so this bothers me
5-money doesn't matter to me because when i buy something price isnt a concern if quality is involved.
6.you obviously dont have a macbook air
 
Lamarak said:
I wish there was an explanation of removing the back lit keyboard. This changed my mind on the device and keeping my 2009 13 mcb. I really need the backlit due to poor eye sight and I work in a dark area alot and it's been a life saver for me. Im not saying this is a bad product by any means, but unfortunately for my use, this feature was a deal breaker.

I dont want to have to worry about bringing an accessory to use my computer.
Click to expand...


I can generally touch type but sometimes I have to look at the keyboard, especially when I'm typing unfamiliar names. Mark my words; they'll re-introduce the backlit keyboard on a revised model. Apple is very good about product differentiation and incremental upgrades. They tend to follow this pattern: 1) Substantial new product missing a few features which could be included; 2) Incremental upgrade adding nice-to-have features; 3) Rinse and repeat. They kept a camera off the first generation iPad. They're keeping the backlit keyboard off the Macbook Airs.
 
Psychmike said:
I can generally touch type but sometimes I have to look at the keyboard, especially when I'm typing unfamiliar names. Mark my words; they'll re-introduce the backlit keyboard on a revised model. Apple is very good about product differentiation and incremental upgrades. They tend to follow this pattern: 1) Substantial new product missing a few features which could be included; 2) Incremental upgrade adding nice-to-have features; 3) Rinse and repeat. They kept a camera off the first generation iPad. They're keeping the backlit keyboard off the Macbook Airs.
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that would be shady business - if they bring back camera to iPad and back lit key board to MBA.

looks like we (early adaptors are screwed)

with Facetime becoming common, camera in next gen iPad is given.

adding feature is one thing, with holding a feature is another thing.
 
Icaras said:
And not to sound like a fanboy/troll/whatever, but I always find it amusing how people constantly complain about a company who's generated more than 20 billion in profits last fiscal quarter and who constantly keep pointing out what Apple is doing "wrong" with their products.
Click to expand...

I assume you saw the same financial report I did 3.89 million macs to ~27 million iOS devices. Now that's not a bad number for macs by any stretch (~86.7 million units on the PC side of things) but when talking about profits and what a given company is doing right, the macs isn't what makes Apple anymore.
 
While I agree that the missing backlit keyboard is not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things (except maybe for people who use it regularly in the darkness or bad lighting, such as certain classrooms or the like), here it my personal take on this:

I bought a (very slightly) used MBA C (2.13/128SSD) in July 2010 since I didn't want to wait for something that was uncertain.
I absolutely love the machine - it does everything I need it to do and it does it very well. I was concerned about the 2GB but it's actually not an issue for me (I don't need Windows on this machine).

I was excited about the new MBA and had already decided to buy it (the top model) and then saw the missing backlit keyboard. While I don't depend on it, I really like it and this missing feature sort of changed my mood: from being excited to hold the new, shiny model in my hands (after shelling out a substantial amount of money) and exploring it, to: how much better will it be for me? And I found out that the answer is: not much.
Again, the 2GB are not an issue, my 128SSD is only half full, I don't play any games and don't need the video card improvement - and the nice form and weight factor that I love has not really changed.

So, for now I'll pass. Guess that the emotional reaction that Apple products are often built on (at least when it comes to buying impulses) sometimes works both ways ... :)
 
I can't stand the way that Apple do these incremental rises - you can bet that the next iPad will have a camera for skype - hell, that's the reason why I didn't buy one - in the next generation iPad (there's even a place for it ready and waiting) - and such is with the MBA backlit keyboard - it seems stupid to not have a backlit keyboard with a BLACK keyboard - when on the sofa at home, I don't turn on the main lights so it's like a prison chamber - I have lights on low. And yes, I touch type and yes, I make mistakes, so I have to look down at the keyboard occasionally and correct myself, and if there's very little light then it's a problem and an annoyance that shouldn't exist.

For a company that has $50 billion in the bank and no real reason to not have a backlit keyboard I find it distasteful and offensive that they chose to do without. It will come - but we'll have to wait 9 months. It stinks.

Apple; if you're going to do something, do it right.

If you find the lack of backlit keyboard in what essentially is otherwise a beautiful machine, please write and send your feedback to Apple - that way they'll know they messed up big time.
 
bolsen78 said:
WOW thats sounds a little bit too picky and lame if you ask me!!
Click to expand...

If you ask me, that's not lame at all. You obviously don't work in a low light environment - but can you understand that other people might?
 
Like most, backlit keyboard is just that one thing I would miss.

Still trying to convince myself if I like the new "edgier" silhouette, though...
From the side it reminds me of looking at the top of an axe blade. And all those visible ports seem to clutter the profile much more, compared to the hidden ones.

My initial sense is that it lacks the fluidity of the previous one.
 
I would consider buying a future revision if-

Battery life was at least 8hrs. Battery life is way too short for an ultrapotable. Other ultraportables have at least 7hrs battery life.

Integrated 3G/4G/GPS.

It's almost there but not quite.

I would also prefer if it was 2.4lbs with a standard battery so battery life could go up.
 
Backlit keyboard.
Machined power button.
No entry level models. (Just like with the 13" MBP at $999 the MBA is no longer a status symbol, at least it was good while it lasted.)
 
the wedge design is awful just AWFUL...it's so sad because apparently this is what's gonna happen to the next Macbook Pros too.
 
anthorumor said:
I want a $1 MBA that can play blurays and slice cheese.

In all seriousness though, the 11' is going to be the home runner. Since the days of the 12" PowerBook G4 people have been wanting to use OS X on a small sized computer with some even resorting to hackintoshing netbooks.

I can already see Apple withdrawing the 13" model in the future simply because users would probably move towards the MacBook Pro 13' that still has a great battery life, has a fast (abiet outdated C2D) cpu, cd drive and up to 8GB RAM for the same pricepoint as the lighter and faster booting MBA.
Click to expand...

Agreed. But when you put it like that, makes me want to buy a MBPro :p

The future of the beefier MacBooks is exciting! Big ass SSDs, uber battery life and much lighter.

Is there an 8GB or 16GB chip the same dimensions as in the new Air?

I don't need much more CPU than that, but would gobble up the RAM in the same for factor as the air..

I'm so excited about the direction Apple is taking now.

Sure, EeePC's had the same type SSDs first(?), but that was when SSDs were good for like a day and then had performance issues (and super overpriced).

Going to work my ass off this month and try to get me the $999 one.
 
Velin said:
Weren't you the same one who said Apple couldn't deliver these Airs at the $1200 price point? Mmm, yes, that was you. Looks like you got smoked on your prediction.

Demanding consumers get great products. People who don't care about quality, settle for garbage like Vista.

PS I don't see many complaints, looks like an overwhelmingly positive response.
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Why don't you actually read the post before insulting him, genius? He said that the Air won't be priced at $1000-1200 with an i3 processor and 4 gb of RAM standard. The Air certainly doesn't have that right now, so looks like he was right.
 
hcho3 said:
People are keep complaining about

1. no i3 processor
2. no 4GB ram standard. It is upgradeable.
3. no SD card slot on 11.6 model.
4. no backlit keyboard.
5. Too expensive

What do you all want apple to do? What specs u all want and how much are you all willing to pay for it?
Click to expand...

For the AWESOME look it carries, I would want the starting price to be around $1800.
 
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