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+15 [19 votes]
It seems that in the long run the MacBook Air hit the exact niche that Apple was aiming for, an executive notebook. The reason for this is largely due to the high price, people are still very interested and intrigued by the notebook, so the desire for it is still up, but demand is down due to the lack of means to purchase, a.k.a. cash money.
Piper Jaffray did some research and found that 60% of Apple resellers are seeing less demand for this notebook than they did for the latest iteration of the MacBook. So, this isn’t a MacBook replacement or killer, due solely to its price its been moved up into the same category as the MacBook Pro’s.
The same analyst says that across the board sales from the Christmas quarter will drop 18% for Apple, but that the MacBook Air will still be a fair 16% of all Mac sales by the end of this year. Would I take a MacBook Air that costs $1700? Yes, would I pay that much for it, no, I’d go with a MacBook.
[via PCPro]
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Penryn MacBook Pro or bust!
I suggest that poor sales are not due “solely to its price,” but also due to its limitations: no FireWire connectivity (at all; not even FW400 by add-on; ergo no video capabilities), no built-in Ethernet, maximum 80GB HD storage, etc. My wife was thinking this would be a slick, lightweight machine, but now she has to travel with an extra power brick (iGo has no magsafe adapter), a powered USB hub (with its own brick), an Ethernet adapter, a portable external hard drive and all cables; she has more to carry now than with her old 12″ PowerBook G4 (and she’s not happy about it).
I bought a MBA because I am on the road all the time. I have a Macbook Pro already that I use for business AND personal use (Photoshop, etc) but the MBA is great for the traveler and worth it. Think about it – all of the whiners about this machine just don’t get it. How may peripherals do you have plugged into your laptop at any one time? One, maybe??? And are you going to use it for high end stuff like Photoshop, the MBA is not for this. It IS a niche notebook, generally for the road warrior that already has one.
I splurged on this because it was so light and perfect to carry around, and I have news for all of you – once you try it you’ll forget about the price. IT’s worth every penny. Remote disc works great (I bought the $99 superdrive but I don’t need it). Time machine backups are made to a large ext drive at home connected to my MBP – wirelessly with no problems. And I have the ethernet dongle as well – but I never have had the need to use it yet! And is this laptop powerful enough? ABSOLUTELY. Forget about the 1.6 gHz and the 4200rpm HDD – it works great.
Apple did not release this thing to sell like the MB and MBP. I think they knew darn well what the expectations are for this. So forget about the naysayers and the ANALysts’ claims. The MBA will do fine. Worst case they drop the price a bit and there will be more buyers.
I’ve noticed Apple sometimes practices price skimming, I’m guessing that within a few months of release they’ll announce a price drop for the Air. Sales would tick up a bit, but I still don’t think it’s ever going to be a runaway success, I’m an Apple fan but I think the whole thing is a bit of a mistake by Steve Jobs.
I went and looked at one the other day.
While it would not work that well for me right now, it would be a great machine for many people.
It is an awesome machine for execs because it is a high end luxury model and yet is not the fastest machine out there.
If these were cars it would be like this:
Macbook: Minivan
Macbook Pro: pickup
Macbook Air: Mercedes.
Can you do more actual work with a truck than a mercedes car for the same or lesser price? Sure.
Can you even do somewhat more in a minivan than a Mercedes car for a lot less? Sure.
But would we want the car industry to be limited to only a few general use models? Of course not.
I just got my MacBook Air a few days ago, and I absolutely love it. I bought it without the external CD/DVD drive, and I admit that it is a bit of an inconvenience, but the inconvenience is a very small one. Remote Disc works well. The laptop is gorgeous and a lot of fun to use, and I really like Apple’s philosophy of relying primarily on wireless technology for networking and data transfer. Although some people criticize this approach now, like with many of the decisions that Apple has done, I am sure that the industry will follow suit within a few years once Apple is proven correct yet again.
In my opinion, the MacBook Air is the best laptop ever built by any company at any time. If you don’t believe me, I suggest going to the nearest Apple Store and playing with one yourself.
i don’t beleive you and i was at MacWorld playing with it when it was launched
its nice, really nice, but the best ever built, not hardly
mba sucks moose ballz. it’s a way over priced ipod. Actually it’s not an IPOD..ipod holds more
I’m not convinced by this analogy. Not for nothing are Mercedes a favourite brand with taxi drivers – they’re built like tanks, and carry a lot of stuff in comfort and without fuss. The extra cost goes into extra build quality. They’re not reduced-function cars, by and large.
A Mercedes is to a minvan more like a high-end desktop mac is to a commodity PC, I’d say.
The car analogy I’d use for macbook vs. MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air would be something like Ford saloon vs. Mercedes luxury saloon vs. something like a gold-plated Tri-King.
Even the two-seater sporty Mercedes models lean more towards all-round practicality than a MacBook Air.
But sure, if you *like* it, buy it, why not? People buy sillier things as an indulgence or for posing about. As others have said, it’s a niche product – perfect for very few, but those very few are gonna love it.
The rest of us, who need to do a variety of things with our computers, will stick with “computers for the rest of us”.
For two grand, I’d buy a MacBook pro instead of an Air any day. If manilla envelopes were my laptop carrying solution of choice, I’d buy four MacBooks, rather than an Air (plus UB superdrive, a USB hub, an ethernet adapter etc.) and I’d have firewire, decent battery life, vastly more storage, higher speed and fewer overheating issues, all as special extra bonuses.
But that’s just me, I’m not running down anyone’s choice here – I’ll cheerfully spend money on out-dated camera equipment, say (which others would deride) just because I *like* it – it’s personal preference – if Apple have a market for this thing then good luck to all concerned, s’not doing me any harm.
I am a big fan of Apple also, however, MacBook Air is one of those bleeding edge flops that characterize the company like Lisa, eMate, Macintosh TV, Power Macintosh Cube, Newton, and tthe 20th Anniversary Mac. Every so often Apple lays an rotten egg.
What Apple should have developed and released in 2008 instead of MacBook Air is a touchscreen tablet with built-in video camera, wifi, flash drive, and video chat/conferencing. By contrast, the MacBook Air is just a stripped down MacBook Pro and and serious executive or creative professional would but stupid to buy Air and not a MB Pro with all that cash.
Macs Suck Balls Period.