Comments on: 'Cutting-edge' MacBook Air silicon getting old

The MacBook Air still offers the same Intel processors and solid-state drive that it was offering nine months ago.

[jscott418]

The real problem with the MacBook Air was its limitations in other area's. No optical drive, lack of enough USB ports, no LAN card. The list goes on. I think Apple had forgot that mobile means adapting to conditions. Some places you go require a LAN connection or even a Modem in the boonies.
This is why the Mini notebooks are doing so well. Most of them still have what a roady needs and they are cheap to boot! Something Apple really needs to address.

[k2dave]

It's a different market segment. The ultra portables are for the road warriors, the Air is for status.

[o2bpitching]

Um, the whole point is a lack of an optical drive. It's a feature, not a flaw...
Just thought u should know

[Lerianis]

Ultra-portables are really a waste of the money you pay for them. Lackluster processors, lackluster video cards, no USB ports in some cases, no LAN card in some cases, etc. etc. etc.
I have to say that my opinion is that only an absolute idiot would buy a ultra-portable, period and done with, at the high prices they are marketed at right now.
Lower it to about 300 dollars, then maybe I will look at an ultra-portable for web browsing..... oh wait.... I do more than web browsing on ANY computer..... (clicks his tongue).... it's desktop replacement quality or nothing for me.

[tkindle]

Clearly you don't travel very often. I'll never buy another laptop over 4.5 pounds. Most folks who buy ultraportables need MS-Office and network access as a priority, the rest is just gravy.

[TheCrudMan]

There's rumors going around that the October event will be "all about the brick." My favorite theory so far is that they will add additional ports to the charge-brick for all macbooks, including the air, allowing you to use the Air with USB, firewire, and ethernet ports when plugged in, just not on the go (when you don't really need them anyway.)

[mbenedict]

Today's MacBook Air also offers:

the same overheating issues...
the same lockup issues...

I'll pass.

[Goodbye Helicopter]

more speculative apple articles designed to drive cnet site traffic and adclick sales

[Perry_Clease]

Exactly!

[rocketjam--2008]

9 months without a refresh?!!! Unbelievable!!!

[WhuzYoDaddy]

MacBook Air = all the style but without all that pesky substance

[DarkHawke]

You mean it's the Obama of computing?


Sorry, totally could NOT help myself. Move along, then. Nothing to see here.

[bornlikethis38]

haha burn!

[john55440]

Apple doesn't refresh their computers as often as other computer companies. The end result is stale, ovepriced, computers.

That said, like every other company, I'm sure that they will have new releases by Christmas Shopping Season.

[setgo]

The guy Patrick Wilkison that thought that Jobs was going to announce a MacBook on the same day as the iPods doesn't know much about Apple or marketing.

[Penguinisto]

ZOMG! Nine whole months!? Why, I'd never own a car that has such old tech in it! (as he types this on a Hackintosh cobbled together out of odd parts, which sits next to a 4-year-old Mac that has run flawlessly since the day he bought it).

Clue: Nothing out there can touch the Air for what it was built for, period.

Clue #2: if my crappy but still running old Sony Vaio Z1RA is any indication, most folks don't bother buying notebooks every 6-9 months.

The funny thing is, it makes perfect sense for Apple (or any OEM, really) to not spend obscene amounts of cash constantly re-tooling their products every six months without a damned good reason. Doing so would be stupid financially, and sometimes pointless. Sort of like the article I just read...

[Vegaman_Dan]

Answer to Clue #1: You're right. Nothing can compare to it. But then nobody wants to compare to it. People buy products they can use everyday instead. The Air was and continues to be a status symbol, to be seen with one but not necessarily actually using them. Their sales figures have demonstrated that quite clearly.

Answer to Clue #2: The Sony systems were one of the first entries into the sub notebook market and they demonstrated that you have two different classes- those systems that compromise on functionality/usability for the sake of looks / ego, and those systems that are coming out now that are just as small or smaller that lack none of the functionality or features, which makes them a better choice for sub notebook mobility.

The funny thing is that Apple wasn't the first to do this. They are nearly a decade late to the market and even then their claims of the lightest/longest battery life/size were immediately proven to be complete bunk. Don't believe it? Just look at the Toshiba Portege 2000 that was out some six or so years ago. It was lighter, smaller, longer battery life, had built in ethernet, plentiful USB ports, etc, etc, etc. Look at the new Dell, HP, and Toshiba systems. There's plenty that cost 1/3 the cost of an Apple product that can do 3X the work. That demonstrates to me that the Air is a status symbol- and a very successful one at that. If you want to look like you are important or are too important to be seen with a working laptop, then you can have the Apple Ego- err, Air.

I wish I could say otherwise, but the product's 9 month history is hard to dispute.

[renGek]

So its ok for apple to retool iphone, itouch and ipods every 9-12 months because that wouldn't be stupid financially or pointless unlike air?

[Swift2]

So, if there are RUMORS that Apple is introducing something, generated almost exclusively by the tech press, then Apple is WRONG if they don't do what you want them to? Doesn't anybody else see something wrong with this? Now, I presume they're preparing processor/storage improvements, but the sales might just be okay right now, and the final design for MacBook Air II isn't ready. How many children is that going to kill?

[Seaspray0]

Perhaps sales weren't what apple expected and the air is slated for the chopping block?

[Dulwithe]

"Clue: Nothing out there can touch the Air for what it was built for, period. "

Seems like a fanboy comment. My 5 year old Toshiba Portege R100 is lighter (2.4 lbs), lasts 7.5 hours on batter with "strap-on" battery, smaller (but just a bit thicker), built in LAN, built in modem (yes it is true that when working on the road, sometimes you end up at hotels with no internet connection - modems are still good to have), AND it fits in an envelope!!! Ooohh, ahhh, eeeehhh! It fits in an envelope! It must be great!

I put my hands on a macbook air a few days ago. I thought, oh god, heavy, big, and overpriced. I can get my r100 nowadays for $850 CDN.

http://cnet.nytimes.com/laptops/toshiba-portege-r100/4505-3121_7-30425845.html

And check out the new Toshiba Portege - UltraThin WITH DVD/CD onboard!!

http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?section=1&group=1&product=7170

Toshiba Portégé R500

R500-02G
? One of the world's lightest notebooks
? The world's first notebook with the slimmest optical disc drive
? The world's first notebook with transflective LED
? One of the world's thinnest notebooks
? One of the world's longest battery operating times

It also fits into an envelope, onboard DVD/CD and all!!!

With LAN, wifi, bluetooth, and still ONLY 2.4 pounds (less than the Macbook AIR). 120Gb or 160Gb HDD, OR 128Gb SSD.

So, I wonder about your statement, "nothing touches it". Really out of line.

And if you want to bash the fact that it has windows vista in it, you can always upgrade to linux or move sideways to OS-X. (Yes, if you REALLY want to, you can install OS-X in a PC.)

D.

[witheredmind]

The thing I find funny is that there are two kinds of anti-fanboys for the Air. One set constantly bemoan the meager specs while the other set constantly compare it to other laptops in the ultraportable category with far weaker specs.

The Air isn't there to be the be-all-end-all to mobile computing. Desktop-like performance comes in those 9+ pound desktop-replacement laptops.

As for other laptops in the same category, if they come with an optical drive then they almost certainly have a ULV 1.1/1.2 Ghz processor with 2 Mb cache and cost at least $2,000 (like the mentioned R500). Half the cache and a 30-50% slower processor for $300 more just to have an optical drive? Quite the trade off...

[twyrick]

Regardless of how the Macbook Air "stacks up" vs. the other ultra-portables, it IS the only one of them that can legally run OS X. Ultimately, THAT is why some people will choose one.

Despite being a pretty avid Mac user at home, I didn't find the Air very compelling for my needs. (I vastly prefer using a desktop system whenever possible, because I want things like a big 24" LCD display, more drive space and better video capabilities - plus a full-size keyboard that's easy to type on. When I do take a portable with me, a Macbook Pro fits the bill much better for me. I want something that's reasonably light-weight and thin, yet can actually be considered a "desktop replacement/substitute" in as many ways as possible).

Still, I can see a definitely niche for the Air. It's not a good "only computer" or "main computer" for almost anyone (at least at its price). It's possibly a great 2nd. computer for someone (especially a Mac user) who uses it as more of a complimentary system to their main desktop.

[Joliet Eddie]

$1700 for a lightweight super portable laptop when the new netbooks are $400 and less? Gimme a break. Apple sucks you in again with overpriced one-source hardware. Open up Apple, it's the 21st century and we don't need to go single-source-supplier anymore.

[witheredmind]

A "netbook" is called so because it is best at doing that one thing: getting on the internet. I don't think a 1Ghz processor, 8Gb Hard Drive and 256Mb of memory lets you do much more than that. For $400, I think you get what you pay for.