I'll give my 2 cents. Apple failed to deliver on the much
anticipated ultra slim, ultra portable notebook.
The TLDR (Too Long, Didn't Read) version is:
Pros - Slimmest notebook ever, nice Remote Disc Feature
Cons - No swappable battery, fixed HDD/RAM, too large footprint,
sacrificed on ports, esp ethernet, lack of optical drive might be
troublesome for students with one com.
Remarks: The true innovation came from Intel, who shrank the C2D
package by 60%.
Yes, they delivered the thinnest notebook ever, but they
compromised on too many aspects. If you tossed Dell or Sony a
similar concept, they can easily reach that form factor. Sacrificed
on ports (esp ethernet, no HDMI even), no optical drive, no
removable battery.
I believe the MacBook Air is too advanced for its time. If you
reside and mainly use this in major developed metropolitan areas,
then probably the ethernet port is not important. But for
travellers to and within Asia, an ethernet port is still greatly
required. Perhaps in another 5 years, an ethernet port could be
obsolete.
The poorest aspect for the road warrior is the fixed battery. If
you're caught on a plane, or stuck in an airport without an
adaptor, then you're so screwed with just 5 hours.
Footprint is too large. It's only thin, not small. For true ultra
portability, most people would like a smaller body, not only
slimness.
I do like the concept of a virtual optical drive via Remote Disc.
That is one saving grace. Indeed, I do agree that with such a
feature, most people won't be buying the external SuperDrive.
However, this could suck for students if they are having only one
computer.
In truth, the greatest innovation in the MacBook Air ironically is
not by Apple. It's by Intel. They managed to shrink the Core 2 Duo
package 60% to fit it. I doubt this is an exclusive arrangement
between Intel and Apple, so be prepared to see the competitors come
out with similar slim packages.
EDIT:
I see there is some misconception on the above remarks in this
thread. This notebook is not meant to be a powerhouse, with good
graphics. The MacBook Pro line is for that. This is to reach the
business traveller market who requires something extremely portable
for basic tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet, emails and
other business tasks.
Also, I guess the market isn't too positive on the MacBook Air.
Apple's share price dipped by 5% after this release. The truth is,
last year act with the iPhone is far too difficult to follow
on.
