Randmness

The Macbook Air is now available through Apple’s website and I have to admit that it does look sleek. The problem I have with the laptop (referred to as the ‘MBA’ by Mac lovers) is that it isn’t meant for everyday laptop users.

The $1800 stock MBA unit comes with a 1.6 GHz processor, 2 GBs of RAM, built in Bluetooth, backlit keyboard, and built in 802.11n wireless connectivity which is just over the minimum for what someone would need in a laptop nowadays. It’s also very small; just over 12 inches wide, 8 inches deep, is less than 1 inch closed, and weighs only 3 pounds. It even has an estimated battery life of 5 hours with the wireless connectivity enabled. All of this sounds great right?

Well here’s the catch. To make the MBA so surprisingly small a few things had to be removed. For example there isn’t any Ethernet port, CD/DVD drive, firewire port, and only 1 USB port. Luckily Apple has thought of solutions to most of the hardware removals and guess what? THEY ALL COST MORE MONEY!

Apple makes a handy dandy USB to Ethernet connector for the low low price of $30. I guess Apple figured that most people already had a wireless network. Apple also makes a slim USB DVD SuperDrive for $100. It doesn’t need any external power because it pulls what it needs through the 1 USB port on the MBA but I’m going to assume that it will also affect the battery life of the laptop if it isn’t plugged into a power outlet. Apple also offers a free solution to this problem by including an install disc to use a DVD drive from any other PC or Mac. This sounds annoying because the computer with the ‘host PC’ would undoubtedly have to have a wireless network for the MBA to be able to utilize the host PC’s DVD drive (a wired network could be used if the $30 USB to Ethernet connector was used). If the user needed any firewire support they’d be SOL on that one; Apple doesn’t have any tricks up their sleeves for that. I suppose a USB hub could be used to add a couple of USB ports but that takes away from the MBA being a small and portable unit as USB hubs take up space.

The MBA unit comes stock with an 80GB drive which seems a little small. A 64GB Solid State drive is available instead (for $1000) which means that less power will be used, extending the battery life, but cuts down on the amount of storage space. I’m not sure if this would be an upgrade or a downgrade; guess it depends on the situation.

There’s one last thing about the MBA that doesn’t sit pretty with me and that’s the battery. Sure it has a long battery life but it isn’t removable. That’s right - Apple didn’t learn from their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation iPod battery mistakes. This means if the battery runs out of charge or just won’t work there is no way for the user to replace it. Apple will be able to replace it but I don’t even want to think about how much they’ll charge for that one.

Basically the MBA comes down to being an expensive ultra portable laptop that is perfect for traveling or business use but there is little external functionality to make it an everyday machine. I’m also wary of the battery situation. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation iPods had problems with charging after a while and the cost to repair it through Apple was the equivalent to half of the cost of the latest iPod model. The fact that it can’t be replaced by the user just seems scary. I think that the Macbook Air is a great idea but I think I would wait for a couple of versions to go through before seriously looking at one.

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