I never thought I'd say this ... but the new Macbook Air is just unnecessarily thin.
The thinness really ruins the product - it has only ONE usb port, NO cd drive, and a TINY hard drive. It is slow. This really reduces its usefulness a great deal. One of my friends has been holding out on getting a new apple and now he's just dejectedly looking at the older macbook line.
Now I've got nothing against Apple. They are making products that look like they belong 20 years in the future - I speak specifically of the iPhone and the iPod Touch. And the Macbook Air does still pack 2GB of Ram, a multi-touch pad and 5 hour battery into something as thin as a finger. And of course, tons of people are still going to lap it up.
But reducing the functionality that much makes the Air reminiscent of Palm's worst decision ever (aka the Palm Foleo). It's got the sweet Apple coverings, but is that enough? Are you going to get a Macbook Air? Do you know anyone who has?
Comments (5)
If I were a freshman, I would definitely buy it - I use my laptop for class notes and I've always wanted one that is lighter and easier to carry around in a messenger bag with other stuff in it (books, etc). It's not a worthwhile investment for me now, since I'll soon graduate, but for four years of easy note-taking? Could be worth it. I would just keep the extra HD and CD/DVD drive at home so I could use it more substantially there to watch movies, store data, etc.
Posted by Sarah | January 20, 2008 1:24 PM
Posted on January 20, 2008 13:24
Thin as it may be, I see the MacBook Air as the classic Apple product: all style, no substance. It's gorgeous, but has many shortcomings, some of which you've mentioned here. But the battery replacement issue is not totally resolved to me (it is supposedly replaceable in a few minutes' time) but I think when push comes to shove there are better products out there, such as the Asus Eee.
Posted by christian | January 20, 2008 5:57 PM
Posted on January 20, 2008 17:57
Seriously, the Asus Eee? It has a screen that's only 7"! I wouldn't feel comfortable taking notes on that, let alone doing anything multimedia (which is the main complaint regarding the DVD-drive-less Mac Air). Yes, it's light, but it also has shorter battery life, a smaller screen, and Linux instead of Windows or Leopard.
Posted by Sarah | January 20, 2008 7:40 PM
Posted on January 20, 2008 19:40
I think it's too thin also. Americans, at-large, are getting fatter and so are their fingers. They demand bigger keyboard to accommodate us. We also demand that we get another steak because we said "Rare!" This is clearly medium. Q.E.D.
Posted by Brad | January 26, 2008 4:56 PM
Posted on January 26, 2008 16:56
And another thing, I think cars these days aren't big enough either. If I don't get one then next year you'll see me driving around town in a tank. Wave and I'll share my fries with you. Just kidding. HANDS OFF!
If you'll excuse me there is a jar of peanut butter with my name on it. My name is Jiffy.
Posted by Brad | January 26, 2008 5:00 PM
Posted on January 26, 2008 17:00