All Points North

Charles Arthur asks the only question that really matters:

(Super-thin laptops? Why?)

Could be because they can. The comments, complaints and compliments seem to be focussing on the product’s shortcomings, perceived or otherwise. What’s more interesting is why make another laptop? Perhaps it’s a return to the days when Apple had a large range of products. You remember; laser printers, digital cameras, inkjets, PDAs, games consoles (nearly). When Jobs returned to Apple the company began streamlining its offerings, probably because they couldn’t afford them at the time. Recently Apple has reintroduced the peripherals and now it seems it’s extending its computer hardware. This can only be a good thing.

*

The product matrix of Desktop, Laptop Consumer/Pro is growing and why the hell not Apple has a bazillion dollars to spend.

Can I just add that if you think a removable battery** is essential to your portable computer experience don’t buy a MacBook Air. The majority of complaints I’ve read on blogs and elsewhere seem to be from people outlining why they use their laptop in x way so the Air will never sell. I don’t suppose the 17in MacBook Pro is a major seller either but Apple still makes it. Why?

* Remember that give or take this was ALL the hardware they made and sold for a while.

** Insert your own preference here.

P.S. Have you tried resizing the new iTunes Window? From the bottom left corner?

Technorati Tags:
Apple, Keynote, MacBook Air, Macworld 2008

Of course the cool thing to say is that there’s nothing surprising and that the MacBook Air lacks much and costs more than it should. I’ve yet to see one in the flesh but not one of the limitations fazes me.

No Optical* Drive? The last software I installed from DVD was Leopard before that erm … Tiger.
One USB Port? Never, ever, have I had more than one USB port in use on my PowerBook. Fact.
No Ethernet? Not used it in ages.
No FireWire? If you *really* need FireWire you’d never consider a sub-notebook anyhow.
No user replaceable battery? I have a spare battery for my 12in PowerBook on the shelf at home somewhere, used 3 maybe 4 times
Only one speaker?? Audio on your laptop? Seriously?
Soldered RAM? The 12in PowerBook has the same RAM configuration as the day I bought it.
Desperately trying to justify the price tag? You bet your ass I am.

However, if you need all the stuff mentioned above you could stop complaining about what the MacBook Air lacks and move right along to the the MacBook/Pro pages where you’ll find a machine that fits your need perfectly.

The thing is Apple doesn’t design products that fit the mantra of ‘it has to have’ They design products and fit in what they can. This approach doesn’t suit everyone and the MacBook Air certainly won’t but then not all products Apple make do suit everyone. Nor do all Apple products prove a resounding success. I think the proof of the Air pudding will be in the reliability. If complaints are minimal it’ll do well but if it overheats or warps or, worse, snaps then it’ll be a tough sell.

* Bet your ass that Apple will be selling software by download soon.

Technorati Tags:
MacBook Air, Macworld 2008, Apple