the SSD model is just over $3,000. I'd rather have a Macpro or a kick ass macbook pro with one of those new nifty 8600GTs in them and 2 gigs of ram and a way faster processor.

I don't think solid state out performs regular hard drives that much greater to justify the costs at this point in time.

yeh.... on the UK store its £2028 for a laptop with a 64GB hard drive!!!!! and that doesnt even include an Apple Remote!!!!

okay... I am gonna shut up now... I think everyone here can sense my annoyance and disappointment..... :D

Harddrive space aside, I think comparing what it doesn't have to any other model is missing the point. It's like when the shuffle first came out, everyone was saying how it doesn't have a screen, and I can get a Chinese-whatever brand one with this and that and the other. But the point was, it did what it did really well, and it served a niche. Like runners for example, nobody wants to be scrolling through track listings or looking at screens while running along a road. For everyone else there's the classic and the nano, and now the touch.

Likewise, this is for extreme "Road Warriors" who are always on the go and have been begging for an ultra-light portable for years. There's the EEEEE PC or whatever, and now there's Macbook Air. For everyone else there's Macbooks, and Macbook Pros and desktops, and iPhones etc etc.

It's really not for me either, but I think the only question is, is it small and light enough to warrant someone not getting a full featured Macbook?

I agree completely. For somebody on the road all the time, the SSD alone is a big deal. It means no more worrying that a little jostling is going to wipe out your data/drive in the middle of a trip.

I have an iPod nano (III) of the 4GB variety. I don't really plan to watch videos on it's 2" diagonal screen, but I do like the screen menus. 4GB isn't enough to use it as a data depository (I use three thumb drives), but for what it does and how it sounds, it is perfect for my requirements. (I have a Belkin FM transmitter for it because I prefer to listen to it on my car's excellent stereo rather than via earbuds.)

I view the "Air" in the same light -- it could never be my main machine (which is a dual-core G5 with two screens and two hard drives) -- but it would be a perfect take-on-the-road machine; easy to tote, convenient to use, able enough for what I actually do on the road. For me it's in the same ball park as the nano.

Anyone notice how investors have weighed in negatively on this one? It's a far cry from last year, with the announcement of the iPhone. Apple stock has dropped significantly today.

I don't see where there's much of a need for the MacBook Air at this time. Glad they didn't discontinue Macbooks and Macbook Pros.

Meh.

It's the 1.0 release of a new product line. I remember what I thought of iPod 1.0.

By this time next year we'll all have one. :D



By the way, I'm pleased with the iPod touch update despite the $20 surcharge. Looking forward to that SDK more than renting movies.

I played with this machine today. It's a great machine. Remember when the iPod mini came out with 4GB and people wondered why anyone would buy a Mini when they could get a 20GB iPod for $50 more? It's the same thing.

As have most stocks. Apple has been volatile for a while now, and today was just a bad day to be in the market period. Besides, the first big release since the iPhone is sure to be a let down to investors. You can't have an iPhone-esque release every 6 months, right?

I honestly thing Apple is way ahead of the curve with this one. When technology like this becomes of the utmost importance in 2 to 5 years, Apple is going to have a stranglehold on the market, and no one else will have any practical experience in the field.

Lets not forget how many products have been way ahead of the curve and have failed miserably. I could sit here and list dozens, but I am sure you are aware of this.

It's a Newton Cubed. :D N^3

Naw, it might do well when (if?) the price drops.
Right now it's more of a $tatus $ymbol for CEOs.

...yeah, sadly that's the one doubt that keeps consistently raising itself in my mind. I think the world is heading towards digital content in the next 2-5 years--there are a good number of people who do. But is there a large enough percent of Apple buyers out there who think that same thing?

In some ways initial reports are good, pre-orders have been so good that Apples server ran into a bunch of hick-ups early on. But what happens when all the early adopters have already got theirs? All I know is that taking over someone elses optical drive had better work like magic, or this computer is sunk. And, add on to that, Apple had better come up with one heck of a sweet and simply way to replace the battery...

The one thing that remains to be seen, and that I'm very very curious about, is just how big of a difference the SSD HardDrive makes. I searched for a review but couldn't find one. Apparently none of the "on the spot" reviewers at MacWorld had the good sense to figure out if their model had the SSD HD, then just turn it off and turn it on to see if it makes a big difference (you know, at least $1200 worth of difference).

But yeah, Apple is ahead right now, dare I say "precariously ahead". They need to start doing more to convince people that a purely wireless system is the future, or this boat will sink, technological marvel or not :(. To sum up, as a piece of technology I love the MacBook Air, but as a business move I am not so sure.

a hard drive the size of an iPod classic? I thought the iPods had an issue that if they were used excessively for disk mode, the HDDs in them would eventually overheat and burn up. Imagine Leopard pounding that thing into oblivion. And a ton of people will argue that the 4200 rpm isn't enough.

One thing I failed to see on the Air is a audio out jack. IMO, that's a dealbreaker to me, next to the SuperDrive.

And the specs are way too tame. If it runs that slow, it better be cool to the touch. I don't want a lap scorcher like the MBP but running as slow as frozen ketchup.

It's too bad you failed to see those things. Take a closer look: http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

Well, it seems to be not great at all... I like the idea of ultra thin MacBook, but as someone has said, I'd rather get a MacBook Pro with uncut specs for that money

Only 1 USB-port is really not enough!

A few things:

@Anti--all early reports make it sound as if the MacBook Air is a remarkably cool device, don't worry about overheating.

@specter--one review I read complained that you would have to look forward to a "bag of dongles" to go along with this thing. A valid criticism it would seem. You can, if you want, split the USB port into four. You'd just have to carry more stuff is all...

That's what I didn't like about Air.
I think people that visit this place are not ''target audience'' for this Macbook. I think it is more ladylike - stylish and beautiful: no matter how well it works and what's USB dongle:D
For example, my girlfriend said: 'I want it' and started clapping hands. 'Are there any other colour variants apart from grey' she asked after I explained the drawbacks to her:)

Jobso certainly has an eye for the aesthetics, eh?

I've been off these kinds of discussions for months now and had forgotten how quickly people make excuses for just about anything Apple/Jobs does.

Every article I read on this yesterday indicated that investors were disappointed in the Macbook Air. It's cool, all right, but will it make money for Apple? Is it another G4 Cube? Were people complaining about their laptops being too thick and heavy? Those where the kinds of points being made, and they're good ones, I believe. Apple's stock will come back, I'm sure, but right now its drop isn't merely about general market trends.

Personally, I would be set back if I traded in my 2004 iBook for this new machine (unless I'd sell it). My wi-fi connectivity everywhere I work is limited by 10-base T ethernet routers; I'd have to buy an optical drive; I'd even have to buy a modem for some of the places I go. All in all, the changes are much more radical than eliminating a floppy drive on the first iMacs.

I will be curious to see how well this machine does in the East Asian markets. My guess is not as well as if it were an 11" display, but you never know.