Just played with a MacBook Air! Some impressions...

I'm typing this on my iPhone so bear with me...

First, this thing is gorgeous. I mean really gorgeous. It's quite astonishing how thin it is. The weight is "good" but the thinness is what really does it.

Second, the screen is lovely. Miles better than the MacBook screens which are the worst screens in any Apple product (bar iPod Touch/new iPhone screens).

The keyboard.... Aaaah I love it! The absolute best keyboard Apple have ever designed. Even better than the MacBook keyboard and miles better than the MacBook Pro keyboard. Just lovely. And the hot keys (volume and brightness etc) are a much better layout.

It's also really solid feeling. Even more so than my MacBook Pro!

Overall, do I need one? No. Do I want one? Oh my goodness yes.

 

So... if you don't mind me asking... what about the ports and things that will actually be in use? Rather than looks.

 

Sounds good, William! Yeah, I think the MBA has potential, in its future generations when some of the main issues are fixed. Glad to hear the keyboard and screen is great!

 

Its clearly targeted at people who care about looks more than usability so if HP does it for you it might not for other people. Some people want to look cool when they use their MBA in college campus or in Starbucks. Ports and usability is not a priority for that group of people, and they probably already have a full-blown system or other full featured laptop at home so....

 

I must ask, however...what is wrong with MacBook screens? All that I have seen are nice...

 

I kind of disagree. My impressions were along the lines of "It's thin, the rest of it (and the price tag) is crap."

The touchpad was huge but the button was terrible. If they were 600 I would buy the hell out of one. 1800-3000 (THREE THOUSAND LOL) is just insane.

 

Oh I agree it's not perfect. But the screen is stunning, and the keypad is wonderful. If you don't know what's wrong with the MacBook screen, then I don't want to ruin the dream!

I also really liked the going back/forward using 3 fingers, though the rotating/zooming feature in iPhoto is bleh. Whatever. It's great on my iPhone, but pretty pointless on a laptop if you ask me.

Speed-wise, and port-wise, it's not great at all. I didn't play with it a ton, but it was noticeably slower than my MBP. Also, the screen should be 1440x900 (as should the 15.4" MBP screen be 1600x1200). Text is noticeably jaggier at 1280x800 on the 13.3" display than 1440x900 on the 15.4" screen.

Overall, I don't NEED it, and it's definitely the Swatch of laptops (you do know the 'S' in Swatch stands for "second?").

 

Meh. I don't NEED it, nor do I WANT it. Piece of junk IMO. If somone gave me $3000 and said "use this to ONLY buy a MBA" I'd buy it, sell it, and buy a real notebook... like a Macbook or XPS. Maybe even an Alienware.

Owning a MBA is like one of those pretty girls owning a tiny purse or dog. All useless and insanely overpriced, but hey, it looks cute.

 

I respectfully disagree. I think it's an awesome second system. I'd rather bring a MBA to work/class than my MBP, that's for sure.

 

And I have to disagree with you there too Given the choice I'd rather bring a normal Macbook since they take up the same space, and have no shortage of HDD space, ports, and performance.

 

That's just crazy talk, yo!

The MacBook weighs almost twice as much, and has a FAR inferior screen. For sitting on a desk during the day when I don't need more than 80GB or 26 USB ports, give me the MBA. No comparison.

 

I have no trouble at all lifting a normal Macbook, lol. And if it's on the desk all day weight doesn't matter. I also personally would not spend 3 grand on a notebook that would only be used when I was sitting at my desk. Now THAT'S crazy talk!

Again, given the choice, I'd rather have a computer that wasn't totally dependent on access to an external drive, and external hub. Oh, and don't get me started on the unremovable battery...

Also if you really need a good screen, using a 13" notebook in the first place is pretty crazy! MBP all the way.

 

LOL. In that case, I'll bring a 24" iMac and just leave it in the office. I win!

 

Can I get some articles proving that MB screens suck?

 

Just go to an Apple store and compare a MacBook to a MacBook Pro 15.4" LED-lit LCD or a MacBook Air. The MacBook screens are washed out, have absolutely ghastly viewing angles, and are utterly unusable near strong light sources.

Sorry, you asked.

 

OK...all rhetoric aside...its been asked twice: What's the issue with the macbook screen?

I'm also interested in a mature response to that honest question. And, "it sucks", is not a mature response.

Thanks.

 

I'll have to side with RogueMonk on this one....all of the material (reviews, videos, and pics) that I have seen shows it to suffer from a tad of glare, but none of the severe afflictions that you seemed to have mentioned.

 

Again, go compare it to any other Mac display.

 

So you'd get a MBA for sitting on the desk all day?

I don't get it.

The macbook screen is worse than my Matte LED MBP screen but it's not bad by any means. Viewing angles could use some work.

 

And there it comes...

 

The MBAs I've seen in the Apple store had SSDs. And they seemed pretty snappy. But I think it would probably be pretty sluggish with the hard drive.

 

I don't get it. OF COURSE this is a personal preference, but one of the main reasons I didn't want a MacBook and got a MacBook Pro instead is because the screen is light years better on the Pros. Anyway, it's good to see the MacBook Air more in line with the screens on the MBP.

 

Because you need all those ports while on the go.

Nope, the HDD machines are pretty snappy. Not quite as fast as the SSDs when reading data, but keep up and pass up the SSDs when writing. So it's a wash.

The LED displays are very good, but the MB display isn't that bad. It's pretty good in comparison to what is available in competing machines. The colors are nice as well as the brightness. The off-axis viewing is OK, but with a screen that small it isn't like your going to be looking at it from such weird angles.

 

Oh Noes! The Mb Doesnt Has Teh Leds!

 

No, it's because I need more then one USB port GENERALLY. Not to mention the Air is the worst "on-the-go" laptop in the Macbook line. What kind of portable doesn't have a removable battery?

Apple completely missed its mark creating it, and it's NOTHING but a fashion statement, and it's useless to argue otherwise, because it's the truth.

 

I think the screen is even better than the ones from the MBPs. I saw them both today in London's flagship store and the Air had much better viewing angles.

But I still think the Sony Vaio X505 looked much better.

 

anandtech released a nice review today. i was pleasantly impressed.

 

Anand is amazing. FYI.

 

That's one one Anandtech's best reviews. Right on the money, if you ask me, though one thing struck me as odd. It's mentioned in the review that the MBA keyboard is the same as the MB keyboard, while I thought the keyboard on the MBA is different to the MB keyboard. The keys don't get pushed in quite as deep, and....gah.... I can't put my finger on it. I'll play with it some more tomorrow and make sure of it, though, but I think the keys are slightly different.

 

Since you present such a powerful case I guess I can't argue.

So you need multiple USBs when on the go? So where do you put all these USB devices when you're sitting on a plane or train? I'm not saying I wouldn't mind another USB, but I can't for the life of me remember the last time I needed a single one when I was polishing up a presentation while waiting for a conference room to open up or sending out one last email before boarding a plane . That buddy is what I mean when I say "on the go".

 

Agreed, duffy.

And as for the keyboard, it is perhaps the same keyboard as the MacBooks, albeit a different color AND, most importantly, it doesn't come up as high so the keys are a little more recessed, which feels better to my hands. Subjective, of course. But it's backlit which just rocks.

 

Right... which is why I said... it's the worse "on-the-go" Mac out there, and mentioned the battery. I am constantly using my laptops USBs and firewire for data transfer and my mouse. And printing things off external drives and such. The Macbook Air, I imagine, would be pretty useless if you've got work to do on a flight or in an Airport, and your battery quits before you finish, and you can't do anything about it. I'm not saying people don't like it, because obviously you do. I'm just calling it like I see it. A more fashionable watered down Macbook. Removing a disk drive and decent hard drive, along with ports from a laptop = easy way to thin it down and get rid of some weight. The only remarkable thing I see in the Air is the sized down CPU, which is quite impressive, but then again that's Intels doing, not Apples.

 

You mean its three-pound weight, backlit LED screen and keyboard, SSD drive and multi-touch trackpad are not innovative enough?

I have a Sony TZ, iBook, MacBook and MacBook Air, and I believe the MBA is one of the best-designed laptops of all the ones I have owned. Oh yes, features were deleted and the three ports that remain are too close to one another, but using it on planes and for presentations, proves it's superior to the MacBook.

There's no laptop that will beat the TZ's screen quality, but the MacBook Air's screen is significantly superior to the MacBook's and that's the bottomline for me.

 

And let's not forget the engine under the hood of each system: Vista vs OS X. I know which I'd rather use....

 

lol... you said it yourself. It's all been done before, and better may I add. Multitouch is nothing but a gimmick, SSD drives have been around for a while, and so have backlit keyboards and LED screens. Yes the Macbook screen is in need of an upgrade though, I have to agree with you on that. And it's also easy to cut weight when you strip something of it's insides.

Here, do this: get a bag of rice. Lift it. Pretty heavy ain't it? Ok, now cut a hole in it and let a lot of it drain out and try lifting it again. Pretty light now right?

The CPU is innovative... maybe remote disk too. But that's about it.

@WilliamG: lol, William, finally we agree on something. Vista is annoyance incarnate.

 

Well, not really. It's a thin, stripped down MacBook. With a better screen, I guess. I'd rather have the MacBook.

 

Go Macbook! Im very satisfied with my macbook come macbook itself is very portable ad light jsut 5lbs! tell me you cant carry that. heheheh 5lbs is good for me. the air is thinner,so? macbook has all the power while on the go, if pro line was 13" that's a different story! IMO, Go Macbok!

 

Agree with that. I'm not trying to say the MBA is a bad laptop, just that I don't think it makes sense. Do you need more than one USB port on the go? No, not really, but there's no sense in paying more for less. The MB is already quite portable.. Unless you have some serious space/weight issues where you'll notice .4 inches and 2 pounds, what are you gaining with the MBA?

 

I think most of the negativity surrounding the MBA proves the need for a 13" MBP. Something with a dedicated GPU, backlit KB, LED screen, alum casing etc... I'm really beginning to think that there's a definite market for it.

 

The MacBook screen is fine. You will find no better on any low cost laptop.

The only way you can come to the conclusion that it utterly sucks is when comparing it to the MacBook Pro screen in the store. I didn't see the MBA yet so I can't comment. But the MBP screen is absolutely the best LCD I have ever seen on a laptop. It's brilliant. The closer you look, the bigger the difference gets.

But like I said, the MB screen is fine.

 

There's definitely a market for it.

As for being negative about the MBA - I don't get it. If you don't "need it" or are "just as happy carrying 2lb more" please by all means, get another laptop. I think the MBA is a fantastic piece of engineering, and in a class all by itself - the only subnotebook with a full speed processor.

If you say it's nothing but good looks, that's very silly. Size and weight do matter, and they do cost - a lot. We don't need to discuss this. It should be obvious that the main features of the MBA are size and weight.

 

We do need to discuss this, because its the difference between saving money and burning it. You can find smaller (not thinner but im not trying to shove my laptops in envelopes 99.99% of the time.) and lighter laptops for less money and you know, something as simple as an optical drive or a replaceable battery.

 

lol... I think the ports and disk drive would add up to the 2 pounds. But hey, if you need a disk drive you're going to be carrying around an external one, which takes up more space and probably weighs 2 pounds by itself.

The scaled down processor is a great piece of engineering: the Macbook Air itself is nothing but a gimmick, or accessory to make you look cool.

And that size and weight argument is total BS, especially when all they do is remove hardware to achieve it (and then CHARGE you ONE HUNDRED dollars for an external drive that can ONLY be used with a MBA), and the footprint is the same as the normal Macbook. If the footprint was smaller, I wouldn't be so hard on it, since it would indeed take up less space on a surface, and fit into small bags, but at its current proportions you might as well just be carrying a Macbook and not be limited for the sake of just having a slightly better looking laptop.

 

I question whether one can really consider the MBA a subnotebook.

 

Well, it's not a "real" subnotebook. And it's not a "real" notebook either. It's stuck in between and doesn't know what the hell to do with itself, lol.

 

Short answer is it's not a notebook or sub-notebook. It's a stripped down piece of hardware that only passes off as a notebook/sub-notebook because it remotely looks like one.

You'd need a REAL notebook or desktop to be really efficient.

 

Not by a long shot what about the Lenovo X61? It does not end there either.
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=D670E9977F234D8197E1A6952DF8E9DF
Some thin and light Panasonic Toughbooks also use the same type of processor. The CF-Y7 is 14 inches and is about 3.0lbs with an integrated dvd drive i believe. Some LG <13 notebooks also do sport a full speed processor. There are also many 3-4lbs 13.3 inch notebooks that actually do feature full speed processors.

Typically notebooks 12 inches and under can be classed as ultraportable and 13-14 are classed as thin and light notebooks. It is a bit confusing about where to place the MBA. If we are going to class the 13.3 MBA as an ultraportable then we may as well do so to the 14 inch light weight Panasonic Toughbooks.

 

I don't want to be dependent on a notebook that needs wireless for internet (so many places don't have it).

 

I consider the MBA a subnotebook - it works well for those in business class who travels a lot, but has a main desktop back at home.

Sure, "typically" notebooks 12 inches and under can be classed as an ultra-portable, and 13-14 are "thin and light" notebooks. IMHO, the MBA is an ultra-portable. Sure, it's 13.3" notebook computer, however, the weight is a huge factor. Have you seen other 13" computers that are only .76" thick? That are 3 pounds? There are barely any notebook computers that fit both these categories, and is a 13" computer.

 

prediction: we are going to see more and more laptops missing ports in the future... right now the computer industry is going through a a sort of wireless revolution.... wireless internet, peripheral, and recently wireless battery charging (No, it's not out yet, but it does exist). I think that the need for usb devices is going to decrease.

error: I think that one of Apple's plans for the MBA was to reduce the need for wires. The problem lies in the fact that most people rely heavily on Ethernet, wired mice and keyboards, as well as USB external hard drives (I use 5 USB devices with my laptop). I don't think that the MBA belongs in the present. It belongs is the future where most computer functions are done wirelessly. Apple released it too soon for its own good.