First off, Apple stock always goes up before the announcement, buoyed by the hype and rumour. After the announcement, the stock goes back down again.

People have become used to laptops being portable desktops. Many people have laptops as their only computer, and they expect to run Pro Tools, Photoshop, Maya, etc on them.
The MB Air takes a different viewpoint. It is not a replacement for your MacBook Pro.
I've seen criticism that the MBAir doesn't have Ethernet. It doesn't need Ethernet: it uses Wi-Fi. Your desktop machine needs Ethernet.
This machine is targetted at people whose first consideration is to have something lightweight and durable -- over and above technical specs.

This thing is half the weight of an iBook, which was roughly the same weight as the original PowerBook 150.

The problem that I see among the posters in this thread is that for many of them, a laptop is either their "main" machine (I know a successful indie developer who does all his work on an MBP), or their IT jobs involve the requirement for a very powerful portable. This is, after all, a somewhat select crowd.

Now think for a minute like a lawyer, consultant, banker, sales rep, etc., who has a central server or proxy at their office to which they VPN for all their interactions from away. I have consulted for law firms in which there was always a wi-fi connection in the conference room so the conferees could pass PDFs around or work on a Word doc together. We could also get an external connection through a proxy that bypassed their secure internal servers to reach our own (Timbuktu for me in those days). The "Air" might well be the ideal device for them.

That's exactly how I see it NovaScotian. And Leopard has a built-in feature that make the Air ideal for this purpose--Back to my Mac. This is the perfect tool for staying in touch with your data on the more powerful machine at home or work.

Apple is great at integration, and they don't just integrate hardware. Witness:

Time Machine and Time Capsule
MacBook Air and Remote Disk
MacBook Air and Back to My Mac

For the record I am not a fan of everything Apple makes, thank you ;).

I suppose I should further explain what I was trying to say. Apple stock dived 9 points on the day (12 at the most) because the market was bad. My guess is it would have dropped 4 or so if the market had been better. Whenever the market goes south one of the first stocks dropped is a hot tech stock, of which Apple is one. And, for the record, one bad product does not ruin the stocks value, most advisors are still saying you should buy Apple stock. Yes, the original oddness of the announcement would have driven the stock down regardless of the market, I'm just saying it would have been drive down less.

But, despite my slightly more lengthy explanation, I can't disagree with your reasoning. I had mentioned a few posts ago, the MacBook Air is a great technological exercise, but I question it's viability as a marketable product. Along those lines I think the last two posters had it correct, the MBA is really intended for a specialized market. Something I don't think any of us have seen Apple do with any real success...again, dubious.

If Apple does intend it for a wider market they really need to start convincing us that a purely wireless environment is truly the future (which I believe) and that the future is now (which I'm not so sure I believe.)

Again, bottom line: I think it's a wonderful piece of technology, and I'd like one because I'm a geek like that. But I have to wonder how Apple is going to market it to the general population.

I don't think Apple expects the Air to be their top seller. It's a way to create a market for SSD drives so that prices can come down. The days of hard drives are numbered. This is just the beginning of the beginning of their replacement.

For the perspective of one of the leading Mac developers (Wil Shipley) on the MacBook Air:
http://wilshipley.com/blog/2008/01/m...k-my-dick.html

I don't disagree with that blog at all, but what I do want to know is that:

1) How much better performance and battery life will you get out of the SSD? I would like to see actual real world comparisons, of the same user doing the same tasks on an Airbook versus a Macbook Pro

2) How hard is it to take apart. Again we are seeing soldered RAM to the logic board and a non user replaceable battery. This is basically a disposable computer, which I am against. We already have millions of electronics that we see as disposable in our society and they are just filling up land fills and making more of a mess. If Apple keeps this model just like their iPods, you will see the trend of someone buying one, using it for two years, it having an issue, the user just tossing it and buying a new one.

3) Price versus performance. Compare how that a top of the line Macbook Pro is the same cost or less than the Airbook. Even though I think the Airbook is ultimately in a class of its own, but I don't think I can justify the costs for myself over the lack of performance and less options and lower specs all for a thinner laptops (which is like what 1/4 inch less than a standard macbook pro) all for SSD and less hardware.

I guess I can see how people would want it who travel a lot or like the blogger mentioned about just using it for one or two simple functions. However, really how much more battery life will you get, and at what cost to performance?

I am on the fence with the Airbook, I would have to test drive one for a month to get a full picture of how I feel about it. I think the lacking features and the price tag will hurt the product's sales. Most people will just buy a Macbook Pro I think over the Airbook. I also think that Apple will do their common trend of introducing a product, limiting its features, releasing a new one every 8 months to a year, and then trying to get more people to upgrade or buy into it. I get the ipod trend feeling with this product. I know people that buy a new ipod every year because they just want the newest one, and they see it as a disposable device.

Shipley is right on from my POV, Hayne. Worth the read. Thanks for the link.

Nah! It's a recyclable computer. Didn't you read the tech specs?

I think you miss Shipley's point. You're not "Most people", TL.

No, I think that as a consumer people want the best deal for their dollar. They are going to see a built in super drive, firewire 800, a larger hard drive, and better video card and processor and the ability to add up to 4 gig of RAM. For the cheaper than the Airbook, which is not upgradeable, and lacks those standard features.

When people buy things like computers and cars, and things like that, they look into all the features they get for their money. I am not even talking about technical abilities. I am talking about being a consumer. They will see more features on a cheaper and more powerful laptop over the Airbook.

I think Apple released this prematurely and the market isn't ready for it. If the SSD airbook, with its less features was more priced towards an entry level macbook it would probably sell more, IMO.

I mean it doesn't take a genius, let alone a tech guru to figure out that a macbook pro is cheaper and is better spec wise, and a more powerful machine. The Airbook is going to hit that niche market of users who want a device exactly like that.

That doesn't mean that it will be recycled. How many iPods just get tossed away each year? I tried looking it up but got lots of conflicting results. However, I personally know people who have gone through like 6 iPods and have thrown all their previous ones away. I mean I personally know at least a dozen people that have had multiple iPods and have just tossed their defectives or old ones away. They think its broken but just needs a firmware reset, so they toss it and get a new one.

Just because Apple states it is recycable does not mean they actually recycle it, because recycling costs lots and lots of money and is not a very efficient to get materials, plus it consumes just as much power if not more in some cases to recycle certain materials.

The way technology is moving, of say in 5 years they could make a mac book air with the same specs as a mb or even a mbp i think at least the macbook line will be discontinued

Some people do this. I know quite a bit about cars (it's my other hobby), and I know for a fact that most people don't know the difference between a carburetor and fuel injection. And you know what, they couldn't care less.

Most of us here are, as Shipley mentioned, people who know a whole heck of a lot about computers. We do care about a lot of the things that you mentioned, and we will weigh those in the balance.

But, as a former Apple Salesman, let me tell you the amount your average Apple customer knows about computers: zilch, nada, nothing, they could not tell you the difference between the HD the CPU and the Logic Board. And they don't care. I usually spent the first ten minutes of most of my sales explaining all of this to people because I felt it was important to their decisions. But, I know I'm a rather severe minority, most salespeople don't do that.

Point being. People may compare computers, but they don't often compare the tech specs because they have no idea what they mean. A lot (not all) of people will say "oh, it's skinny and cool looking, and it's the latest from Apple", and they'll buy it.

Now, my only reservation is that I'm still not sure just how many will buy it because they think it looks good or think it's "cute". I am of the opinion that most non-techs will ask a techie friend what computer they should get, and that tech friend may or may not like the MBA. I'll be the first to point out that Apple is taking a gamble, and might have overestimated just how big the market is for this, at this time. Only time will tell.

I didn't this answered anywhere else on this thread; I apologize it it was.

The iPod Classics use a one-platter 80GB drive and two-platter 160GB drive. This makes the thickness of these two iPods different and presumably is the reason why there is no 160GB drive for the Air.

It was released targeting a very specific market and to collect feedback for the future. Apple does it at the right time, as now the reserves are full of cash.

In Singapore will do well, plenty of money here for the average young housewife to show it off as a status symbol... :)

I think 5 hours battery life is pretty lame for something that's supposedly wireless. Batteries are really the stumbling block in any mobile device IMO.

See that's the thing! I also think it's targeted to that side of the globe. Apple wants to grow its presence over there (just like every other Western company).

Agreed, and that was my main point. If the Airbook cost under $1,000, that would be another matter. Instead, it seems you're paying a high price for "coolness," which is obviously a marketable value.

Homer: Umm ... I guess I'll take that one.
Salesman: Well, do you need a paperweight? 'Cause if you buy that machine, that's all you're going to have, an expensive paperweight.
Homer: Well, a paperweight would be nice, but what I really need is a computer. How about that one? [points to a second machine]
Salesman: That technology is three months old. Only suckers buy out-of-date machines. You're not a sucker, are you sir?
Homer: Heavens no!
Salesman: Oh good, because if you were, I'd have to ask you to leave the store.
Homer: I just need something to receive email.
Salesman: [whistles] You'll need a top-of-the-line machine for that.