MacBook Air Introduced as World Thinnest Notebook

On Jan 23, 2008, at 3:21 PM, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:

> I just don't get the MB Air. Does anyone really care about
> "thickness" of their laptops? When the laptop is sitting on a desk,
> most people really don't care about saving 1/4 inch of thickness. And
> when toting the thing around, even if the laptop is 3/4 inch thick my
> briefcase is still 3 inches thick.

I think the thickness is simply a correlate of weight. To make it
light, they made choices, which resulted in the possibility of making
it thin.

Kirk

At 6:21 AM -0800 1/23/08, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:
>I just don't get the MB Air.

Then don't buy one.

OTOH, any multi-national company has a number of folks who essentially travel all the time. Meetings with local staff, customers, suppliers, etc. Reviewing plans, results, proposals, contracts, and the like. Generally, their computer horsepower needs are quite modest: email, web, office productivity. But being constantly on the move means that they are constantly carting around a computer.

I had a Powerbook Duo when I was in that kind of role and it was perfect. (And, yes, you can infer that it was a few years ago.) At the airport, folks would come over and just about wet themselves over how small and light it was.

Does it meet everyone's needs? No. Does it fit a certain group of people. Exquisitely. Hint: what do you think His Steveness does day in and day out?

Craig

On 23-Jan-2008, at 07:21, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:

> Swing and a miss for Apple.
>
> I just don't get the MB Air. Does anyone really care about
> "thickness" of their laptops?

Lots of people.

> When the laptop is sitting on a desk, most people really don't care
> about saving 1/4 inch of thickness. And when toting the thing
> around, even if the laptop is 3/4 inch thick my briefcase is still 3
> inches thick.

People who care about the size of their laptops to this extent do not
carry briefcases.

> And in order to achieve this, they had to use costly parts, sacrifice
> useful things like ports, and an user swappable battery. (A laptop
> that doesn't allow me to swap batteries is a deal breaker.)

For you, sure. For many other people, they don't even know they can
swap the battery on their existing laptop and have never done so.

> A lot of people do care about the size (not thickness) and weight, and
> a 13 inch screen and 3lbs is pretty chunky for an ultralight laptop.

Have you seen one? There is nothing chunky about it.

I wouldn't buy one, but I know tons of people who this machine would
be perfect for.

--
It was long ago and it was far away / And it was so much better than
it is today

On 23-Jan-2008, at 07:21, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:
>When the laptop is sitting on a desk, most people really don't care
>about saving 1/4 inch of thickness. And when toting the thing
>around, even if the laptop is 3/4 inch thick my briefcase is still 3
>inches thick.

The thickness plays a role in how much space in a bag the thing takes
up, in how many more papers can be carried in the same bag.

My wife has a very nice briefcase that I got her for an anniversary
gift, but she often can't use it because it is too small for both her
computer and the papers she needs the bring on the road or to court.

--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

I'd like to second Alex Hoffman. I'm a historian, and I spend a lot of time in the summers visiting archives and libraries. I'm pretty happy with my MacBook Pro, but it is heavy to haul around with a few books and some notepads and other miscellaneous stuff. If I could shave off three pounds, I'd be more inclined to haul my computer around for a few hours after work--which, when home is in northwest Paris and work is in the southeast at the Bibliothèque Nationale, would contribute a lot to my quality of life, even if the weak dollar eats into it a lot.

I'm pretty happy with my desktop and have no need for a laptop since I
very rarely travel.

But when I went to Japan in the spring of last year, I really wished I
had one. All I wanted to do was to browse the Internet to pick up the
latest news and check my e-mail. I felt like I was going through
withdrawal. But the last thing I want to do is to haul a heavy laptop
around. The new Air with will fit my needs perfectly. The thing that
breaks the deal for me is its high price.

By the way, according to the article in today's (Jan 29) Washington
Post, Apple is already taking orders for the add-ons such as an
optical drive and an Ethernet adapter.

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012901222.html>

--
____________________
Ryoichi Morita
Coarsegold, CA
http://www.rjmorita.com

--
Michael
----------------------------------------------------------------
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

cuz I find it funny

Brian Ogilvie sez...

>But when I went to Japan in the spring of last year, I really wished I
>had one (MacBook Air). All I wanted to do was to browse the Internet to
pick up the
>latest news and check my e-mail. I felt like I was going through
>withdrawal. But the last thing I want to do is to haul a heavy laptop
>around. The new Air with will fit my needs perfectly. The thing that
>breaks the deal for me is its high price.

In that situation you might consider the iPod Touch (or iPhone). While
travelling through Europe in November and December I used the iPod Touch
to connect via WiFi to my ISP email through web-based mail. Also checked
on my favorite Mac news web sites. The Touch is even lighter and
cheaper than an MBAir.

Hank

Re: MacBook Air Introduced as World Thinnest Notebook - the iPhone may
be the littlest

The iPhone has all but replaced my laptop. I didn't mean for this to
happen. I wanted an iPod and needed a handheld phone and I got a cash
bonus on a job all in the same week so I sprang for an iPhone, which
hadn't even been released yet.

Now I can't let the little bugger alone. The new update makes it able to
tap an eye in the maps and it locates me, then I enter an address I want
and it gives me step by step instructions on how to get there. I have
been lost and used this feature 2 times now. And I never used to take
photos everywhere I went.

Now typing in the notes when I want to write is a booger. I can do it,
but I do long for text edit on the iPhone.

Just saying....

Hal

Tomoharu Nishino wrote:
> Swing and a miss for Apple.
>
> I just don't get the MB Air. Does anyone really care about
> "thickness" of their laptops? When the laptop is sitting on a desk,
> most people really don't care about saving 1/4 inch of thickness. And
> when toting the thing around, even if the laptop is 3/4 inch thick my
> briefcase is still 3 inches thick.
>
 [snip of lots of reasons why MBA isn't a good idea]
>
> Instead, we get an over priced, sleek executive toy, which is
> effectively a stripped down MacBook for a $700 price premium. $700 to
> save 2 lbs and 1/4 inch of thickness, a whole lot of functionality,
> with less battery life? No thanks. (Okay, $500 if you bump the MB to2GB
> RAM, but still).
>
> I guess I will just be waiting for the LED backlit MB.

Not to pick on TN but I saved this in case the numbers showed different. Here's from the Wall Street Journal yesterday, March 19, 2008.

"The Air accounted for 20% of Apple's computer sales last month, Computerworld reports."

This is based on NPD Group data for February. And Apple's sales were also up compared to last year.

Swinging around to the Jobs replacement, his best gift is realizing that what he might personally want isn't what will sell. 20 years ago he couldn't do this.

David

On Mar 20, 2008 6:42 am, dr wrote:
> Not to pick on TN but I saved this in case the numbers showed
> different. Here's from the Wall Street Journal yesterday, March 19,
> 2008.
>
> "The Air accounted for 20% of Apple's computer sales last month,
> Computerworld reports."
>
> This is based on NPD Group data for February. And Apple's sales were
> also up compared to last year.

Not to keep rehashing this, but... given that so many people thought
that I was so off base back in January I thought the Q2 conference
call yesterday was interesting.

Apple doesn't release sales figures by model, so all this is mostly an
educated guess, but based on the numbers announced yesterday, the
consensus opinion seems to be that Apple sold somewhere between
100,000 to 150,000 MacBook Airs last quarter. This accounts for about
10-15% of monthly laptop unit sales, or 6 to 10% of monthly Mac unit
sales (adjusting for the fact that the MBA was available for only 2 of
the 3 months in the quarter).

I am assuming that the original 20% figure quoted by David was percent
of total sales, and given the price premium of the MBA, I would assume
that the percent of Mac unit sales was less than 20%. Even so, in
order to average out to 6 to 10% for the quarter after such a
blockbuster February, March sales figures for the MBA would have had
to been below the quarterly average. Of course, this may be due to a
number of factors, including the fact that the overall economic
outlook has gotten progressively worse over the last few months, and
fewer people can justify the price premium of the MBA. So we may not
know the definitive market verdict on the MBA for a few months yet.
But the numbers do suggest that now that the initial excitement has
died down, the long run sales prospects for the MBA is far below the
rosy February numbers, and below even the 2nd quarter averages.
(Which is what you would expect given the value proposition of the MBA.)

Tn

I've been thinking how the MBA really helps Apple:

1). Business user who has a Windows desktop machine or a typical 6
pound laptop. Business user wants a lighter machine for traveling.
2). Due to size and coolness factor, he buys a Macbook Air.
3). Profit!
4). Likes the MBA, but it isn't a replacement for his desktop. So, he
now buys another Mac (maybe a regular Macbook) as his regular machine.
5). More Profit!

No wonder Apple sales are growing so fast.

It would be interesting to see who buys an MBA and whether they
already have a desktop or laptop and whether that laptop is a Windows
machine.
--
David Weintraub
qazwartgmail.com

1) Business users really don't care about "coolness factor," so no. 2) When looking as a business, there's no reason to pay more for Mac when you can get Dell models for much cheaper 3) The IT desk doesn't like it 4) The majority of the programs that businesses use don't work with OS X. 5) In the end, it all comes down to investment vs. return, and in that terms, Apple is a terrible option.

No wonder Apple sales in business is basically at the same level.

Corporate executives don't use Mac. There's zero presence of Mac in financial services. When you are buying copies of 500 or 1000, it's always Windows.

On 5/12/08 5:05 AM, "samwise622" <tidbits-talktidbits.com> wrote:

> 1) Business users really don't care about "coolness factor," so no.

Um...they sure as heck do, especially when they travel. People aren't using
Vaios because they're the technical best choice or easiest to maintain. This
idea that somehow "business" doesn't care about design is not only a myth
but silly. You think people buy Aeron chairs because they read anatomical
studies?

> 2) When looking as a business, there's no reason to pay more for Mac when you
> can get Dell models for much cheaper

Dell is cheaper than HP too, yet people buy HP. Funny that. Price is not the
only consideration.

> 3) The IT desk doesn't like it

No, *some* IT desks don't like it. Quite a few of them do, especially with
the VMWare / BootCamp support. IBM is looking at them quite closely for
users where it makes sense.

> 4) The majority of the programs that businesses use don't work with OS X.

In what industry? What programs? You say "business" like it's a singular
entity, and that's just not the case. It is true that for the business user,
Microsoft Office is, as it turns out, a rather dreadful choice, however, the
other options are attempting to catch up on the Mac, (Dear OpenOffice:
AppleScript. It's important. Really.), and there are always things like
Remote Desktop, (more popular than you might think. Terminal Services make
desktop management much easier), VMWare, etc.


> 5) In the end, it all comes down to investment vs. return, and in that terms,
> Apple is a terrible option.

Really? As bad as "proper" business laptops released post-vista that weren't
able to properly run an OS they were labeled as compatible with?

As well, a 3 to 4 year old Mac, especially on the desktop, is still able to
handily run Mac OS X 10.5. Care to run Vista on a 3-4 year old "proper"
business machine?

Oh wait, that's right, businesses are staying away from Vista in droves. So
they're holding onto a *7* year old OS.

>
> No wonder Apple sales in business is basically at the same level.

Again, what level of business.

>
> Corporate executives don't use Mac. There's zero presence of Mac in financial
> services. When you are buying copies of 500 or 1000, it's always Windows.

I used to work for a financial services company. The word for your claim is
"wrong". Macs are not a *huge* presence, but they are in fact there.

--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

On 12-May-2008, at 03:05, samwise622 wrote:
> 1) Business users really don't care about "coolness factor," so no.

You must be joking. Businesses may not care about 'coolness' but
business users certainly do.

> 2) When looking as a business, there's no reason to pay more for Mac
> when you can get Dell models for much cheaper

There are many reasons, including the fact that Apple's have much
fewer repair issues. There is also the simple fact that the Mac Book
Pro is consistently the best preforming *WINDOWS* desktop on the
market. And let's not forget than an equivalent Dell doesn't exist.

> 3) The IT desk doesn't like it

The IT desk doesn't like anything that isn't Windows XP.

> 4) The majority of the programs that businesses use don't work with
> OS X.

Simply untrue. Outside of niche market specialized apps, the Mac has
just as many apps, and in some businesses, the Mac has more options.

> 5) In the end, it all comes down to investment vs. return, and in
> that terms, Apple is a terrible option.

You base this on what?

> Corporate executives don't use Mac.

Corporate executives use Blackberries, web browsers, email, and not
much else.

On Mon, May 12, 2008 at 5:05 AM, samwise622 <tidbits-talktidbits.com> wrote:
> 1) Business users really don't care about "coolness factor," so no. 2) When looking as a business, there's no reason to pay more for Mac when you can get Dell models for much cheaper 3) The IT desk doesn't like it 4) The majority of the programs that businesses use don't work with OS X. 5) In the end, it all comes down to investment vs. return, and in that terms, Apple is a terrible option.
>
> No wonder Apple sales in business is basically at the same level.
>
> Corporate executives don't use Mac. There's zero presence of Mac in financial services. When you are buying copies of 500 or 1000, it's always Windows.

Wow! Is this a troll or what? Five terse Anti-Apple/Mac statements
without much discussion. Just declarations.

I'll bite: I know what I see in the Big Apple: In the financial world
on the desktop, it's all PCs -- usually Dells cause they're cheap.
However, I am seeing more and more Apples as corporate laptops. Not a
majority, but definitely on the upswing. And, this is in fiscal
corporate environments. Now, in the non-corporate world where Windows
doesn't necessarily rule, I see a lot of Macs. Technology companies
are full of them and for a simple reason, they do Unix and they are
user friendly desktops. And, when users are given a choice between an
Apple notebook and a Dell or HP notebook, they opt for the Apple
notebook by a wide majority.

IT departments -- even in the financial arena -- are also telling me
that they now have to (despite their protests) to make room for Apple
on the desktop. I take that to mean that some upper level managers are
beginning to insist on Apples which probably mean that you'll start to
see some on the desktop. I also see people bringing their own Apple
laptop to work, and using that instead of the big fat PC that is
sitting on their desk.

MacBook Air is very popular with almost all business travelers. A full
size notebook that weighs only three pounds? Something you can pack
with the rest of your carryon items instead of needing a separate bag?
Now, that's hot!

Apple isn't dominating the business world, but many purely PC shops in
the past are certainly opening up to them.

--
David Weintraub
qazwartgmail.com