MacBook
Air might be too lightweight for serious users
by
Alan Zisman (c) 2008 First published in
Business
in Vancouver January 29-February 4, 2008; issue 953
January
is peak season for techno-lust, with three trade shows that set the
pace for what’s going to happen for the rest of the year. In quick
succession, the Las Vegas-based Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is
followed by the San Francisco MacWorld Expo, followed by Detroit’s
International Auto Show.
MacWorld always gets coverage
outweighing the Mac’s relatively modest market share. At the 2007 show,
Apple CEO Steve Jobs got headlines introducing the iPhone. This year,
the company’s news was relatively modest: movie rentals online, a
software development kit for the iPhone, applications for its iPod
Touch and much needed updates to Apple TV.
Oh, and one more
thing. Jobs introduced a new notebook model. Added to the company’s two
lines of notebooks – the entry-level MacBook, with a plastic case and
13-inch screen, and the more expensive, metal-clad MacBook Pro series,
with 15-inch and 17-inch models – was what Jobs referred to as the
thinnest notebook ever: the MacBook Air. Tapering from 0.76 inches to
0.16 inches at the front, and weighing in at about three pounds, the
aluminum-clad Air offers a 13-inch display and full-sized keyboard;
it’s a stunning design that fits into a mailing envelope. I think I’m
in love.
But wait: in order to be ultrathin, Apple had to treat the Air like a
supermodel forever on a strict diet.
Before
rushing off to slap down $1,899 (or $3,248 for one with a
no-moving-parts solid state drive) for one of these, pay attention to
what’s been left out.
To slim down, the Air is missing a number of things common in heftier,
but more capable models – even ones priced much lower.
For instance:
•No
built in CD or DVD drive. You can get an external one from Apple for
$99, but that’s one more thing to tote around, and awkward for watching
a DVD on a long plane flight. Alternatively, clever software let’s you
share the drive on a nearby better-equipped desktop or laptop (Mac or
PC).
•No ethernet. It’s WiFi networking or nothing. Bluetooth is built in,
though.
•Only one USB port, so plan on toting around a USB hub if you commonly
connect more than one gadget.
•No Firewire ports, unlike every other Mac model since about 1999.
•No
removable battery. When (not if) the battery starts to lose charge or
ups and dies, Apple will replace it for $169. If you’re in the habit of
carrying around a second battery to double battery life on the road,
don’t bother. (Though the Air’s promised five-hour battery life is
better than many laptops with two batteries.)
(afterwards: later info shows that the
battery is
removable; just unscrew 10 screws on the bottom of the case then
another 9 on the battery itself. Oh- did I mention that the screws are
of a variety of lengths? Pay attention to which goes where!)
•RAM is soldered in; the built-in two-gigabyte is fairly generous, but
if you need more, too bad.
•At
80 gigabytes, the iPod-sized hard drive is relatively modest in
capacity and relatively slow. The $1,000 extra solid state (flash
memory) drive is even smaller: 64 gigabytes.
With all those
limitations, it isn’t going to work for most users as their main work
computer. I know a number of disappointed owners of Apple’s very
portable (but long in the tooth) 12-inch PowerBook G4 who had hoped for
a more modern replacement. This isn’t it.
Instead, the target
market seems to be users who already have a capable and powerful
computer who can afford to compromise on functionality to get something
that is stylish and easy to carry around. There are suggestions that it
will be mostly bought by those looking for the technology equivalent of
a pair of Gucci shoes.
(To be fair, ultralight notebooks from PC
manufacturers like Panasonic, Fujitsu also include many compromises and
often cost $1,000 more than the Air.)
I’ve asked Apple for the
loan of one; maybe when I have it in my hands, my mind will be changed,
but for now, love isn’t enough. I think I need something with a few
more pounds. •