Apple cuts price of flash-drive MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is now cheaper if you want the flash-memory hard drive option.

(Credit: Apple)

Updated 2 p.m. PDT Monday to clarify that Apple has cut the price of a MacBook Air with a solid-state hard drive and faster processor by $500 total.

Apple has quietly reduced the price of the flash-memory version of the MacBook Air.

Appleinsider tipped us to the new price, which can be found at the online Apple Store. Before today, you would have paid a $999 premium if you wanted a MacBook Air with a solid-state hard drive, but Apple has reduced that premium to $599. It's also now cheaper to upgrade the processor from 1.6GHz to 1.8GHz, $200 instead of $300, on either the flash model or the one with the standard hard drive.

PC companies have been interested in flash memory hard drives for some time, but it's not clear how well they are selling. Using flash memory instead of moving parts to store data improves the reliability of the system; hard drive failures are one of the most common problems experienced by notebook users.

But it's still very expensive to choose a flash drive over a regular hard drive, and potential customers might not be able to justify spending that extra $999, or even $599. Reliability is important, but so is price, and recent news that flash-memory drives are actually a drain on battery life won't help sell them as an upgrade option.

[Xtoo]

<br />That makes a $400 cut - not $500.

[cnetcensorssuck]

He's counting the upgraded processor price drop of $100 too. Together, it makes $500.

[Tom Krazit]

It's $400 off the flash, $100 off the faster processor, for the $500. But I see what you mean regarding the headline, we'll tweak that.

[Orengeman]

$500 if you include the drop in the upgraded cpu price.

[jcwestbrook]

Lenovo also has a big sale on the X300 with the SSD option right now - cuts of $500 - $600.

[xZero2007x]

Tom Krazit:<br />Now for you, the editor who started this crap. First, you TOO need to learn how to write more effectively. If you're going to post an article with the subject heading, <br />"Apple cuts price of flash-drive MacBook Air,"<br />then FOCUS on the reduced price of the flash-drive. What you did was throw in a twist by stating in the beginning,<br />"Apple has quietly reduced the price of the flash-memory version of the MacBook Air by $500"<br />which forces readers to make sure they catch the "VERSION" bit in that statement. What's wrong with this is that it strays from the original topic when most readers upon reading the subject will assume that the price of the flash-drive itself has dropped, but only to later find out that other components have gotten cheaper as well (if they were reading), which would have been OK if you had left out your initial statement. Now, you've forced readers to change their mindset, otherwise they'll be like Delfairen (commenter from the Crave re-post found here: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9983811-1.html" target="_newWindow">http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9983811-1.html</a> ) and think that you have a problem with math, when really, it's just your writing skills.<br /><br />Also, recap on some background information in your articles as well. By saying there's a flash-memory version of the Macbook Air, some will think that there are only (2) configurations of the Macbook Air, when it's actually customizable. Otherwise, combining your first error and this one will cause confusion when people look at your math.<br /><br />My point isn't to bash you, but rather to inform you that if you're going to be publishing articles, you're going to have to make sure it's readable. Otherwise, you'll just earn yourself and your company a bad reputation--kinda like what you guys have already done.

[wdehning]

Apologies to all for continuing the tangent started above, but I do want to point out that the headline for the story is constructed correctly (at least as far as I can recall from English class in high school). I believe that in the headline, "flash-drive" is hyphenated because it is a compound adjective modifying "MacBook Air" ... thus, specifying a particular kind/version of the MacBook Air. If the headline were referring to actual flash drive, it would have been written as: "Apple cuts price of MacBook Air flash drive" ... without hypenation, and with "MacBook Air" placed in front of, and modifying "flash drive."<br /><br />Tom, looking forward to your coverage of the 3G launch in a few days ... as a day-one purchaser of the 1st gen iPhone, I was prepared to do the same this time around, but honestly don't know if I care enough about 3G to pay 12%-25% more a month for service ... at least not right away. <br /><br />Cheers.

[Tom Krazit]

Thanks for your feedback, I think. If you look at Apple's Web page for the MacBook Air, you'll see the company markets the system in two configurations. Yes, you can configure the cheaper one with a faster processor and the SSD, but that's the extent of your choices as far as the internal configuration.

[make_or_break]

You could've just told him to revise the end of the problem sentence from "...MacBook Air by $500" to "...MacBook Air by <i>up to</i> $500". <p>.<p>.<p>.<p><br />See how simple that was?

[amandachuck]

Whatever the price cut, it's not worth it. Once the Intel drives come out, prices will drop again and energy use will go down. Right now, the flash drives are hot and energy hogs, not exactly what was promised.

[dwr50]

Great... now more Yuppies can afford to buy one.

[Xtoo]

I'll personally only be interested in flash drives once their price gets a lot closer to standard hard drives. A few seconds faster on boot-up and read seeks are not worth the expense for me.

[dburr13]

With the economy in full retreat it's a good move to cut the price...However i'll let someone else be the first to plunk down the big bucks...In time computers with flash drives will be much cheaper...I'll consider it when the price is more in sanity's ballpark.

[gary85739]

While Apple makes fine machines, this computer is totally over priced..<br />They could cut the pricing by $1000 and you'd still be paying WAY too much!<br /><br />There are plenty of smaller screen laptops that don't break the bank...most don't need 1/3 of the features on ANY computer...<br /><br />Buy what you need, not what looks good...

[Xtoo]

I agree with gary85739. I love the Mac and the Air is a fine machine but at the current price point is very expensive for what you get. A $1500 high-end Macbook Air would be very hard to overlook, I think in time Apple will get it there, but for now, I much rather spend the current $2500 on a 15' Macbook Pro with the works.

[Firestorm0013]

I usually read articles posted on CNET but I think the editor should have a little more ethics when writing misleading articles just to get people to click -in to read bogus stories with horrible mathematics. I guess you don't need to know how to add or substract to write articles.

[Zaunto]

SSD's are an option on Alienware laptops as well, so this isn't new. As long as the Macbook Air has a non-replaceable battery, it won't be a product of interest for me. Despite the fact that I own a Mac, not everything they produce appeals to me.