A new one costs $129 and apple will replace it for free.
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/16/new-macbook-air-battery-129-installation-free-at-apple/
How often do you need more than 5 hours of mobile battery life between charges? I know I hardly ever.
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Apple Introduces MacBook Air
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A new one costs $129 and apple will replace it for free.
http://www.tuaw.com/2008/01/16/new-macbook-air-battery-129-installation-free-at-apple/
How often do you need more than 5 hours of mobile battery life between charges? I know I hardly ever.
Like most of what was launched yesterday, it's only true effectiveness is realised when you're living in a country where wireless connection is consistently wide and broadband is cheap.
The iTunes evolution of rental DVD's in collaboration with all the studio's is truly amazing, and will have more impact and generate more earning for apple than any other product in the long run. We'll probably never be able to use it though, and if we could, with our broadband costs would mean that the downloaded DVD would probably cost as much as a physical DVD
The iTunes evolution of rental DVD's in collaboration with all the studio's is truly amazing, and will have more impact and generate more earning for apple than any other product in the long run. We'll probably never be able to use it though, and if we could, with our broadband costs would mean that the downloaded DVD would probably cost as much as a physical DVD
SlinkyMike
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Super very sexy but there seems to be more and more 'lock in' with each new Apple product. The lack of an optical drive means that buying a MBA means truly drinking the Kool-Aid as you can now only get media from ITMS: movies for your Apple TV (so why would you need a DVD burner) and music for your iPod (so why would you need CDs).
Thats just a heck of a lot more control over my digital lifestyle that I'd like to hand over.
Its not to say that thats has to be your only machine though but at that price point its hard to think of it as a toy to stuff around with whilst commuting.
Thats just a heck of a lot more control over my digital lifestyle that I'd like to hand over.
Its not to say that thats has to be your only machine though but at that price point its hard to think of it as a toy to stuff around with whilst commuting.
What rubbish. Firstly, they are selling an external optical drive for $99, secondly they have released companion software with it that allows you to use any PC or macs optical drive that is on the same network as your laptop.
True, but for the many users, swapping batteries can be very important.
My point is that you shouldnt need to compromise so heavely in so many ways for a premium product with a premium price.
In many ways this product is like the 1st gen iphone. Potentially great, but with a couply of obvious warts which could and should be ironed out by the second or third gen.
The macbook air is a peak into the future of mobile computing, thats for sure, but sadly it is clear apple didnt have all the tech at this point to fully realise the idea. They should have compromised on the size of the body a little, imho, and made it fully functional.
Im thinking, unless you rich, avoid for now. If the price was much lower, then the problems would have been less serious, and it would have made much more sense.
What i would love to see now, is a macbook pro without the optical drive. Most of the features of the macbook air, but just a little bigger and with a 15.4 inch screen.
Now that would be a winner.
To be honest I don't see the need for it at all but that doesn't mean that others wont find its form-factor appealing.
The battery issue is clearly a compromise they made to get it that thin and I think most people won't find it to be an issue at all.
As for pricing, its cheaper than its rivals.
Still not for me though.
Indeed - that and batteries have a finite lifespan - it would be a shame to have to surrender your laptop for an indefinite period of time while they replace the battery. IMO there isnt much to fault about the machine apart from the battery.
SlinkyMike
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mmm hmm... I remember those laptops with the external optical drive - from like 10 years ago.
Being able to use a networked drive is hardly a feature, come now.
The fact is that apart from greatly reducing power consumption and size, not having an optical drive also reduces the number of practical applications the notebook has I don't believe that anyone can sincerely argue that.
I often burn CDs and DVDs with my laptop and I have 2 laptops; an iPod; a media centre and about 2 terabytes on assorted external drives - an optical drive is something that I use despite all of the other options / workarounds.
The MBA could never be your only machine - its most likely not intended that way in any case but this brings you right back to the price. Do you really need a dual core PDA with a big screen and keyboard?
To get that form-factor the optical drive had to go. You might miss it but I'm guessing most wouldn't. I hardly ever need mine.
But if you do, you have options. So hardly the vendor lock-in you decried.
SlinkyMike
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True and I must add that its only a hassle if you're not into the whole Apple spiel ...if you like The Apple Lifestyle then this is obviously bang on and you want more of it. Each to hims or her own.
arf9999
MyBroadband Member
Rated battery life /= real world operation. A battery rated at 5 hours would likely last only 3.5 hours with any real application running. That said, removing/reducing many of the power draining parts on this notebook will reduce the power drain (No optical drive, LED backlight, only one USB).
My top of the range macbook pro does better than 3.5 hours and its over a year old.
arf9999
MyBroadband Member
It is a really nice looking unit, and Apple have done some really good miniaturising to get it to that size, but I do think that there are a number of real compromises in the process.
Sacrificing the optical drive is a killer for me, Sony did something similar a few years ago - and it was the thing that killed the model (maybe wireless tech has evolved since then, but I'm not convinced) http://www.trustedreviews.com/noteb...3/Sony-VAIO-VGN-X505VP-Ultra-Slim-Notebook/p1 . Another thing that I don't like is the reliance on external dongles for things like ethernet, DVI, VGA etc. And one USB port is not enough! Limiting the drive size to 1.8" also limits options with drives (up to 80GB on slow HDD, up to 64GB with SSD - for now anyhow AFAIK). The battery is obviously a non-standard shape to fit in the space in the casing which limits user replacement. Also... I can't see a firewire port (am I going crazy?)
There are more technically advanced Wintel notebooks out there with not much bigger dimensions and better feature packages at a lower price - so I think that the MBA is a bit of a victory of style over substance.
http://tacticalpenguin.com/index.php?p=22
Sacrificing the optical drive is a killer for me, Sony did something similar a few years ago - and it was the thing that killed the model (maybe wireless tech has evolved since then, but I'm not convinced) http://www.trustedreviews.com/noteb...3/Sony-VAIO-VGN-X505VP-Ultra-Slim-Notebook/p1 . Another thing that I don't like is the reliance on external dongles for things like ethernet, DVI, VGA etc. And one USB port is not enough! Limiting the drive size to 1.8" also limits options with drives (up to 80GB on slow HDD, up to 64GB with SSD - for now anyhow AFAIK). The battery is obviously a non-standard shape to fit in the space in the casing which limits user replacement. Also... I can't see a firewire port (am I going crazy?)
There are more technically advanced Wintel notebooks out there with not much bigger dimensions and better feature packages at a lower price - so I think that the MBA is a bit of a victory of style over substance.
http://tacticalpenguin.com/index.php?p=22
arf9999
MyBroadband Member
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Well the LED is probably the biggest contributor. The DVD doesn't spin continously in fact you may never use it at all, hence it won't consumer power. You can have a million powered USBs but if they don't form a million circuits they don't drain power either. It's like removing light bulbs at your
house and expecting a better bill than merely keeping the switches off.
StellenboschStudent
Expert Member
This makes an interesting read: http://gizmodo.com/345574/is-macbook-air-worth-the-money-five-slim-laptops-face-off
Although the MacBook Air does not come out on top, I still believe it will sell real good. Just look at the iPhone, no GPS, MMS, keyboard... and a lot of other features missing, but still 4 million were sold. Just once again shows, anything Apple will sell, because it is cool. But $1800 could be just to much... Only time will tell.
Although the MacBook Air does not come out on top, I still believe it will sell real good. Just look at the iPhone, no GPS, MMS, keyboard... and a lot of other features missing, but still 4 million were sold. Just once again shows, anything Apple will sell, because it is cool. But $1800 could be just to much... Only time will tell.
I must say, from watching the introduction to the Macbook Air that it is something that will sell like hotcakes. No optical drive might be something for some to get used to, but it is perfect for folks who love wireless...
It is beautiful..
It is beautiful..
It is sexy, but there are many short comings. A slow 80 GB HDD when there is no optical drive. Coupled with a non replaceable battery. 1800 USD is a little steep for what you get. Apple should've stuck in a bigger (capacity wise), faster drive.