Defending Apple's MacBook Air 52 comments
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Blogs worldwide are moaning about the MacBook Air's deficiencies, ranging from its slow processor, its lack of an optical drive and wired ethernet, its lack of a user-replaceable battery, and of course, its high price. All we need now is someone predicting that it will be the death of Apple (AAPL) and the second coming of Microsoft (MSFT), and the moaning will be complete.
Frankly, it strikes me that these people who about the feature set are a bit like the thsose who complain that Ferraris don't have enough trunk space. Apple's going to sell if not a gazillion, at least a few million MacBook Airs in its first year. Why? Because Apple has identified an untapped and very profitable market niche for the MacBook Air that will expand its market share: fashion designers and luxury hospitality companies.If you're an executive at Ralph Lauren or Prada, the ugliness of carrying around a Dell laptop would give you hives. For these people, style and design isn't a luxury; it's an essential job requirement. And its a category of people whom the computer industry has not served well to date with boxy designs, techie jargon, and a general rejection of the value of fashion. Said another way, how many computers look good with an Armani suit?The same could be said for the concierge desk at the Four Seasons, or the reception area at the W Hotel. In the hospitality industry, there are two types of products: those for the front of the house (customer-facing) and those for the back of the house (production). Most computers are designed for the back of the house. But you could put a MacBook Air on a glass desk in any one of those front of house environments, and it would fit right in. It's a product designed for this market.To give you a better concept of this target market, let's do a quick rundown of the published MacBook Air deficiencies with a synthetic fashion executive who is looking for a new laptop, and has admired the design of a MacBook Air:- Slow processor: "Seems fast enough to me. I have people who can do spreadsheets if it doesn't suit my needs."
- No optical drive or wired ethernet: "I don't want to have to lug around extraneous baggage, and wires and physical media are so last century."
- No user replaceable battery: "If I need it replacing, I'll send it out. I like the fact that the Apple store will service it for me."
- High price: "Expensive? It costs less than my suit."
Fashion isn't about gigahertz and feature sets. It's about design, elegance, and lifestyle -- said another way, it's about focusing on a few, essential and beautiful things, and leaving everything else out. And for the fashion industry -- and the hospitality industry and TV shows and countless other image-driven businesses -- the MacBook Air will be right at home.
Disclosure: Author is long AAPL.
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This article has 52 comments:
Thomas A. Gaughan
The MacBook Air is not for the common man, it is a specialty product that goes well with a BMW and it will do well in it's market.
Do I need or want one? NO.
But I will be buying a new 3.0Ghz MacPro in the coming weeks, it fits my specialty needs and is not for the common man.
Apple has the unique ability and vision to identify markets and build a better mouse trap than anyone else for that market, that is why they succeed and why the Bloggers envy them.
This just adds another choice for the Apple consumer and penetrates another market for Apple.
The entry point is $1699, making it compatible with Sony's (et al) offerings for a sub-notebook. Why people insist on pretending this machine can only be had for $3000 is beyond me. Take 5 minutes and check Amazon.com. It's right there for pre-ordering, and happens to be 2 of the top 10 best selling notebooks already.
You are fresh air in the midst of all the nay-sayers! Although I am sure you are a little tongue-in-cheek about made for fashion designers, the frequent flying executives should love it.
Still - I have to say that I am disappointed that there is no firewire. I understand that this is not necessary for the crowd you mention, but it is for the vast majority of other potential customers. FIRST, it is it necessary for downloading video, and after all, Mac is supposed to be THE multimedia machine. Second, it is also an important link in system migration process, With Wifi this is terribly time consuming - id you happen to not have a 11n system, you are in trouble here.
Finally, firewire provides a Mac with an alternative boot solution. (I don't think you can boot from a USB drive.) This is really a critical function if your machine gets damaged.
My daughter is little. When she goes off to school next fall. there is a good chance I will get her one of these (especially if the price comes down). But I will really be unhappy about this particular shortcoming.
I think MacBook Air is a sign of time that Apple is being exhausted in its endeavor to come up with something new every year.
Well, it was bound to happen like it happened to Microsoft. In the 90's, every time Microsoft came up with newer and better OS and technologies, people lined up to get their new OS. I remember having had to visit a few computer stores before I could land my hand on their new OS. But, after XP, people are yawning at any new OS from Microsoft. XP is a pretty darn good OS. There is not that much Microsoft can do to improve on the existing pretty much perfect OS, XP.
Any web, email, word processing or spreadsheet user is not going to notice a difference in performance between the Air and even a current MacBook Pro.
I think the fuss is mainly about jealousy and desire. Those of us who will buy MacBook Pros will be unhappy there's a system in Apple's line that will produce more admiring glances. Those of us who will buy MacBooks miss the cool lines of the Air.
But if there are people who are jealous of this thing, and its price is not miserable, I'm sure there are even more people who will buy it. I need the big screen of the MacBook Pro, but it it wasn't for that I might well get one. I last used my PowerBook's optical drive a couple of months ago, and for that I could easily use remote drive, and I strongly suspect many others are in the same boat.
D
Then it appears that the market is much bigger than the complainers ever dreamed, that people who see one of these things have a "gotta havit" lust for it, and that, quicker than everyone expected, the price comes down, the feature set seems just fine, and Apple has once again set the bar for all other tech companies.
Admittedly there have been some counterexamples, like the Cube, but not many of these misses compared to the hits. People thought the original iMac was nutty; Apple sold a bazillion of them and ushered in a new age of desktop computer design. The iPod was ridiculed as a gadget for a market that didn't really exist; Apple sold 100 million iPods. The Apple TV has been slammed as a product that consumers don't understand or want; Apple sells more downloaded video than anyone else.
Go to any mall or shopping area where there's an Apple Store, and look inside -- every time I do, the place is jam-packed. The Apple Store in my local mall has about five times as much traffic as any other store in the mall. The MacBook Air will pull even more people in, even if they're gawkers who can't afford it. Michael Dell would be so lucky to have hundreds of millions of young people lusting after one of his products, even one they can't afford to buy.
And a handful of people are COMPLAINING about this picture? Give me a break!
As usual you are right on the button. Why do they all like to see and assume the worst?
The Air is just the next installment in what has become a legacy of fantastic tools provided to us courtesy of Apple . Apple never has and never will kowtow to corporate America. If companies want to buy Apple products, bravo. If not, Apple could really care less.
Why do we discuss Apple so much on these sites? Why is there so much speculation about what Apple is bringing to the market next? It's because Apple gives us a view into the future that no other company comes remotely close to doing.
Was there someone critizing it?
I find that hard to believe - Apple making something that wasn't perfect? Say it isn't so!
Even a casual reading of business, lifestyle and technology stories on Dell over the past six months -- most recently coverage from this year's Consumer Electronics Show -- amply demonstrates that there is a sizeable audience of "fashionistas" eager to obtain and prominently display sleek, colorful Dell XPS and Inspiron notebooks and the elegant XPS One all-in-one desktop.
This is is a secondary computer and cannot be the only computer for a person since it lacks an optical drive. But, who these days need two computers? I am a serious computer user. I have only one laptop that I use both at home and at work. These days, people just need one laptop and a docking station equipped with a full monitor, a keyboard and a mouse at home and at office. That way, they just plugg in/out their notebooks at each place and sacrifice nothing when using their notebook. Desktop is a thing of the past unless you are a serious game player.
And, MacBook Air is no Ferrari. Ferrari is equipped with an uncompromised powerful engine, top accessories, etc. The MacBook Air's components are ordinary and just less. It's more like Honda decided to make a one-seat Accord using same components as normal Accord but getting rid of back seats, trunk space, etc. And, here is the Apple way. They decide to sell the one-seat Accord at the same price as a 4-seat Accord. You might ask: it must have cost less to make the one-seat Accord than a full 4-seat Accord, how come charge the same price? Apple's reply is because we are Apple.
Ferrari of notebook is a Dell XPS. That thing is really equiped to perform. But, dang, too expensive for an average Joe like me. Last time I checked its price with components I liked, the XPS cost more than $5000.00. I look at people with XPS with envy.
Gizmodo looks at comparative specs:
gizmodo.com/345574/is-...
The Dell is pound more. Among comparable weight products, The Sony and the Toshiba are MORE PRICEY.
The MacBook is the ONLY one that offers a decent OS standard.
And the "touch" gestures are way cool.
gizmodo.com acknowledges that,
"It (XPS) bests the MacBook Air in nearly every single category, delivering about 30% more processing power, 50% more memory, over 300% more hard drive space, plus a dedicated graphics card"
Dell XPS is a notebook that screams performance with a style while MacBook Air is emphasizes looks while sacrificing performance.
Another reason that I stay away from a computer that has a MacBookAir type of technologies is that I don't want to be bombarded with intense electro-magnectic waves coming from all those wireless technologies. With cellphones and cordless phones, I get enough of that every day.
"MacBook Air is emphasizes looks while sacrificing performance."
Have they actually been benchmarked or are you just spouting nonsense? Don't forget: Vista is a REALLY pokey OS.
"don't want to be bombarded with intense electro-magnectic waves coming from all those wireless technologies"
The Dell doesn't have wireless??????
You don't need benchmark when things are so obvious. Compare the components used in the gizmodo site link. Apple even used 4200 rpm hard disk. These days, it's hard to find a new laptop with such a slow RPM. I bought mine 3 years ago, and it has a 7200 RPM.
"Vista is a REALLY pokey OS"
I never used Vista, so I don't know how pokey it is. I use XP which is a darn good OS. I really don't see any need to upgrade to Vista. Why upgrade when I already have an OS which I am happy with. Most XP users feel the same way, I heard. Microsoft's Vista's biggest competitor is its predecessor, XP.
"The Dell doesn't have wireless??????"
You don't have to use wireless if you don't want when using Dell. With MacBookAir, you don't have a choice. You have to take a electro-magnetic shower every time you have to access an optical drive. What people don't realize is that every time they remove a cable, they replace it with intense electromagnetic wave showers through their body.
Well, what people do for looks and style.
I can't say. Every previous Mac allows you to turn off the wireless when you are nor using it, and easily. I have no idea whether wireless is harmful, but it low on my list of potential things that might kill me, in the absence of convincing data.
4200 IS slow for a hard drive, but, no doubt, means better battery life. Again, the slowness of the hard drive might be made up for by the faster OS. That's why benchmarking is needed.
That said, the key feature of the MBA is "thin and light". If these aren't your key issues, the MBA is NOT for you.
All laptops:
Apple has 4 of the top 10, including #1-3. #5 is the new Air ($1794 model)
The very first laptop over $2000 is #14- a MacBook Pro ($2500) At #61 The MacBook Air with 64GB SSD ($3093)
—-
Laptops $2000 and up:
Mac takes the first 4 spots, the Air with 1.8 GHz and 80 GB drive is #2 ($2094) and
At #4 is the ($3093) Air with the SSD.
The next over $3000 computer is the Sony VAIO VGN-TZ195N/XC 11.1″ Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600, 2 GB RAM, 48 GB Flash Drive,
This is only 1.2 GHz (where are those folks screaming about proc speed) - has a smaller screen - and a smaller SSD (flash drive). It DOES have a lot more ports, and a DVD drive. BUT at 8 pounds it weighs almost 3 times the Air and costs $300 more ($3383)
—–
POINT IS:
No one has even SEEN one of these things (MacBook Air) and it is already a best seller!!!!
Customer service? I know a friend who sent his Dell back 5 times before it worked.
C;unky crap.
Shouldnt be mwntioned in the same space as the smooth and excellent Mac OSX and Macbook laptops, from the cheap Macbook to the 17" High level MacBook Pro which was rated as the fastest laptop to run Windows - LOL!
The Mac has them all beat - just accept it.
now i gotta get some "work" done.
i'd rather work on the "air" but the 20" screen iMac will still do today.
From Macrumors: "When Apple introduced the MacBook Air, they detailed a new feature called "Remote Disc" which makes up for the lack of a standard optical drive in the MacBook Air. Remote Disc allows the MacBook Air to wirelessly use a PC or Mac optical drive as if it were its own. Included with this functionality is the ability for the MacBook Air to wirelessly boot off of a Remote Disc shared drive. This means that if your MacBook Air requires an emergency boot or fresh reinstall, it can be done without the $99 external SuperDrive.
This added functionality required changes in the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) and is not presently available on other Macs.
The MacBook Air will be shipping to customers in the next two weeks. A discussion thread has been created for readers waiting for their MacBook Air to ship.
Update: We've been told that Mac OS X 10.5.2 will bring wireless booting to all Macs. "
the only thing you can't do is watch a DVD movie with it on the plane for example... but.. i bet this product will still sell like hot cake because Apple has already brain washed millions of people who is now in love with their products and not knowing exactly why but their stylish design and peer pressure
This is why the market is always undervaluing AAPL. The products sell because they WORK BETTER. The style is nice, but secondary. Just tell me right now: When is MSFT going to upgrade to a UNIX kernel? When are they going to get solid 64 bit support? When are they going to get security? When are they going to invent decent development tools? When are they going to acheive a good balance between consumer convenience and DRM? When are they going to sell XBox's that don't melt down?
People have this notion they can save 50 or 100 bucks by buying a Windows product and then suffer through a whole "upgrade cycle" of compromise and annoyance. Sheesh! Get a life!
BTW: You can DOWNLOAD a movie.
I bought my Windows notebook 3 years ago. I saved more than $1000.00 compared to a comparably equipped mac. I haven't upgraded it since and no annoyance.
Please wake up, this is a 21st century. You don't need to devote your soul to one commerical company. Though I bought 3 Dell notebooks, I am not bound to Dell or even Microsoft. If I think Sony makes a better notebook at a cheaper cost, I will switch to Sony next time. If Microsoft comes up with a newer OS that doesn't impress me, I will pass the upgrade. I make the decision.
Culturally, people in the US are moving backwards while the rest of the world is moving forward in terms of free thinking.
some folks just never learn… my 6400 from 1995 still runs
That would be one to use, one for a backup when the first one craps out, and the third is to backup the backup when ................. well you got the picture.
One hell of a shoulder bag you got there, three Dells you say, good on ya! I think the MBA will be a tad bit lighter and more dependable. But hey it's a free world.
I bought the 3 in the following order.
One with Pentium 2 chip in 1998
One with Pentium 3 chip in 2001
One with Pentium M chip in 2005
Sorry for the confusion.
I was wondering when the smug little US bashing shit would come out. What the flying F__k does this have to do with the US culture? Germany, GB, And a handful of other EU countries are some of the biggest users of Apple products.
And it sure the hell isnt MSFT thinking outside the box. And it sure isnt HP, Dell...etc throwing the dice on new ideas like;
Hypercard (not many recall what this way of doing things has lead to)
3 1/2 Floppy
FireWire
a Mouse
GUI (yes yes, not the first but the first for the Home market)
iPod
IPhone
IMac
On the BluRay developers board
Dump the floppy
Dump the old 16bit Bios that Windoz is still stuck with
Dump the CD
Fully adopt 802.11n
Apple TV
Come on....where is all the thinking forward ideas from Mfst, Hp, Dell...etc
p.s. Wasnt that Bill Gates who said.. "The average person would never need more the 640bytes of memory"? And this is the same core OS in use today.
They are not as mindless as people in the US. I heard that iPod shuffle sale is signficantly down in UK because UK people buy more Creative Zen Stone's there; it's no surprise since Zen Stone is less than half the price of shuffle and has more features.
Apple invented Mouse? It's like Al Gore claiming he invented internet.
"Come on....where is all the thinking forward ideas from Mfst, Hp, Dell...etc"
Frankly, I don't care. I am a consumer. I don't like separating from my money. I demand companies to provide me products at a cheaper price with more features.
"And this is the same core OS in use today."
No. The current Windows OS has nothing to do with the DOS OS Bill Gate's Microsoft released at the time. The Windows XP and Vista originate from DEC VMS OS. The engineering team behind the venerable VMS OS moved from DEC to Microsoft and built a new Windows OS from scratch.
and
"They are not as mindless as people in the US".
The US doesn't have an exclusivity on mindless people, I am sure they can be found in every country including my own, Canada.
If you don't like the MacBook Air and it's features DO NOT BUY IT!
If you don't like Apple's products and their business plan DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS.
It's very simple DO NOT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS, then you'll have no reason to gripe and no one will miss you. It's only a computer.
I guess sophisticated Europeans prefer to buy from that bastion of civilization, Texas* (Dell, Capitol punishment for minors, George W), rather than California (Apple, Intel, wine).
"Apple invented Mouse?"
That would be Doug Engelbart. He was at MacWorld:
blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/...
"The Windows XP and Vista originate from DEC VMS OS"
Still isn't UNIX; thus the poor multitasking and stability.
_________________
*Not to totally trash Texas; they also have Austin,SXSW, and "Hot Club of Cowtown".
i am giving away the 10 disc "Planet Earth & The Blue Planet Seas of Life" Special Collector's Edition DVD set to whoever can get the most people to join, and right now the leader has 1, so basically, if you spend 10 min of your time, you will be in the lead to win this $120 10 dvd set...if i saw this i would be like is the catch, but i am telling you there isn't one...good luck...
scott w
growthportfolio.ning.c...
I have a feeling there are tough roads ahead for Apple. iPod sales are slowing, which is a huge revenue stream for Apple. The iPhone is doing well, but not exceedingly (iPhone is 3 features from essentially being the perfect device) And with the coming woes to the US economy, Apple's computer line will be priced out of reach for 90% of consumers.
Currently I own a white MacBook. MacBooks are cheap, but price really isn't that important. Airs weren't in production when I bought this one and Pros were a bit too big, so I settled with MacBook for an interim time until a lighter ultraportable is out. Previously I used ThinkPad which is believed to be the best Windows ultraportable laptop (that's why I bought it), but the problem is that Windows is very inconvenient and insecure system, so I decided to switch to MacOS which I liked much much more. Now, when the Air is on the shelves, I think I should go for it. Apart from MacOS X which I consider a hugely superior system over Windows and which is a must for me in a laptop, I don't need anything else. Actually the Air seems to be the closest to ThinkPad in terms of power, portability and durability, but without all that unnecessary legacy ports, slots and connectors which I don't need anyway. If I need extra ports, I'd buy a port replicator and if I need a DVD drive (I actually don't) I will buy external one.
Air is an ultimate business machine to those who can afford choosing the computer themselves. Because you know, many can't do that, as some 'corporate IT policy' dictates what computers are being issued. So, if the laptop is 100 bucks cheaper this is an argument for them. For me, this is just eating out once, so I don't care at all about the price. And I use Macs not because it's cheap, I use them because they are just BETTER. It really matters to me what quality of worktools I use since it affects my productivity. Those who are using equipment that was 'assigned' to them - I just feel sorry for them.
But if you only need computer to check email and make Microsoft Office docs, than maybe some discounted PC with Windows complete with cheap keyboard and mouse and inferior display will do just fine and if you don't care about viruses and malware or don't mind reinstalling Windows every three month cause you have time or can ask someone to do it free... well, why not. If you don't have money to buy a new car, than your dad may buy you a 15-years old Corolla. Really :-)