New Macbook Air

[nikster]

Apple just introduced the next generation of laptops - all laptops will look like this eventually; I think sooner rather than later, actually: Flash storage, no hard drive, no optical drive, instant on, 7 hours battery, thin and light. On-board flash storage saves an incredible amount of space compared to a hard disk box enclosure. High res screens too (about time!).

They're priced to kill at $999 and $1299 - amazing prices if you consider that these include 64 or 128GB of solid state storage! SSD has finally hit the mass market.

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

Externally, it's even thinner and lighter - but not toooo different from before:

Internally, you can see where all the innovation went: Battery, battery, and battery:

If they made a 15" version I'd have ordered it already. I guess I'll have to wait until the next MacBook Pro refresh. But I have to say this is exactly the reason I haven't updated my laptop in the last iteration - a Core i7 would have been nice, but I don't see why I should schlepp around a DVD drive that I never use, or a hard disk that's largely useless.

Prices in Thailand are close to US prices, within about $100 if you consider US prices exclude taxes. I am getting one for the wife, that's for sure, just what I've been waiting for as her 7 year old iBook is nearing end of life.

[negreanu]

Macbook Pro's got a quiet option for 2.8ghz i7's as well as the existing 2.66ghz i7. Expensive tho!

[nikster]

Macbook Pro's got a quiet option for 2.8ghz i7's as well as the existing 2.66ghz i7. Expensive tho!

Didn't see that... but... as long as it's got a spinning disk of any kind, it's not going to be my next notebook. What I need is a 15" MacBook Air with high rez display... core i7 (ULV?) would be nice too.

Don't know how the core i7 ULV stacks up compared to a Core 2 Duo (no ULV)... I know the standard Core i7 blows the Core 2 to pieces, but the ULV versions are traditionally way, way slower.

[negreanu]

No spinning disks in my 17" i7 MacBook pro not even optical spinning disk

Drive 1: OWC mercury extreme pro 240gb

Drive 2: Intel Gen2 80GB X25

Problem with the new MacBook air no user replaceable SSD and a huge downer even more the memory is soldered on. Bad bad. IFixit gave it a 4/10 in repairability.

Seems Apple want to tie up the loose end of people buying cheaper and most times better drives and memory elsewhere.

Won't buy a product that I can't upgrade those 2 items in the future. If they do this wih the MacBook pro it will be a marketing disaster in my opinion.

Edited October 22, 2010 by negreanu

[nikster]

No spinning disks in my 17" i7 MacBook pro not even optical spinning disk

Drive 1: OWC mercury extreme pro 240gb

Drive 2: Intel Gen2 80GB X25

Problem with the new MacBook air no user replaceable SSD and a huge downer even more the memory is soldered on. Bad bad. IFixit gave it a 4/10 in repairability.

Seems Apple want to tie up the loose end of people buying cheaper and most times better drives and memory elsewhere.

Won't buy a product that I can't upgrade those 2 items in the future. If they do this wih the MacBook pro it will be a marketing disaster in my opinion.

Well your MBP is a hack, just like mine (SSD in the optical bay + HDD).

The soldered on Memory is a result of making this as small as possible - like previous MacBook Airs, this is a radical design. Unlike previous models, it's also at a very aggressive price point. The 13" has a 4GB option which would make it adequate for my needs.

The Flash memory is apparently on a removable board so 3rd party upgrades are possible.

That said let's see how the MacBook Pro ends up.

What I'd want is: A 15" MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD. That would be big/good enough to last me 2 years, and I wouldn't be concerned with upgrading it in the least. Mainly I don't want to spend $3000 only to then have to go and replace the DVD with a SSD tray. So this is as much a critique on the current lineup as a hope for the future

[nikster]

Rave reviews for the new machine - this TechCrunch editor is giving up his MacBook Pro i7 with SSD - because the MacBook Air is faster(!) not because of size...

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/26/13-inch-macbook-air-review/

Like I said the 15" version will be my next notebook if and when it comes... and pretty sure it will come...

[negreanu]

Macbook Air 1.4ghz Core 2 Duo with 3mb L2 cache intel chipset 4GB ram and 256mb SHARED intel non dedicated 320M graphics is faster than: Macbook Pro i7 2.66ghz Dual core with 4mb L3 Cache with 512mb DDR3 Dedicated graphics 330M GT

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Faster. haha

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/26/new-benchmarks-show-13-inch-macbook-air-rivaling-its-macbook-pro-counterpart/

Edited October 27, 2010 by negreanu

[gisjames]

Anyone know when it will be on sale in the shops thailand? (not the online apple store)

[nikster]

Probably as soon as they're actually shipping. But I think there'll be yet another supply issue... this will be one hot top seller, and the shipping time in the online store Thailand has gone up from initially 10 days to now 2 weeks...

[RKeith]

Saw the benchmarks and user impressions! Snappy little buggers! I'll guess Thailand stocks to be end of November though. Does anybody know how much LOS customs will charge me if I'll have a friend FedEx one from the US?

[nikster]

Saw the benchmarks and user impressions! Snappy little buggers! I'll guess Thailand stocks to be end of November though. Does anybody know how much LOS customs will charge me if I'll have a friend FedEx one from the US?

Don't try it... there shouldn't be any tax, but once they have the machine hostage you have to give them what they ask. Should be here soon enough, 10 days in the Apple online store? If you're eager to get one, order it now at http://store.apple.com/th - I can't imagine these to be anything but a huge hit world-wide so wait times will get much worse before they get better.

[RKeith]

Saw the benchmarks and user impressions! Snappy little buggers! I'll guess Thailand stocks to be end of November though. Does anybody know how much LOS customs will charge me if I'll have a friend FedEx one from the US?

Don't try it... there shouldn't be any tax, but once they have the machine hostage you have to give them what they ask. Should be here soon enough, 10 days in the Apple online store? If you're eager to get one, order it now at http://store.apple.com/th - I can't imagine these to be anything but a huge hit world-wide so wait times will get much worse before they get better.

Cool. Thanks for the input.

[RKeith]

Update. Called iStudio Copperwired and the manager told me they're expecting stocks by Tuesday or Wednesday (base specs). I asked how the process would take if I'll have BTO configuration and he said we can work it out to my convenience. Sounds too good to be true. Hoping BTO order shipments will be shift since to my knowledge all SEAsia stocks come straight from China. 

[nikster]

Update. Called iStudio Copperwired and the manager told me they're expecting stocks by Tuesday or Wednesday (base specs). I asked how the process would take if I'll have BTO configuration and he said we can work it out to my convenience. Sounds too good to be true. Hoping BTO order shipments will be shift since to my knowledge all SEAsia stocks come straight from China. 

Stock next week? Pretty cool!

BTO always takes longer, even in the US Apple store. You basically have to order it online at that point, or have the iStudio guys order it for you - same thing in terms of delay.

[negreanu]

For BTO just use the online store. BTO through a dealer takes FOREVER in my experience.

Just ordered a BTO Mac Pro on Friday and its prepared for shipment already so guessing it will dispatch tomorrow.

Online store is the best and quickest option for BTO.

[nikster]

For BTO just use the online store. BTO through a dealer takes FOREVER in my experience.

^^^^ Good to know!

[RKeith]

Got a call from iStudio just now. Just base specs models but stocks just arrived at Siam Discovery.

Oh, and I like this article. "Goodbye, MacBook Pro. The New MacBook Air Is That Good."

Edited November 1, 2010 by RKeith

[negreanu]

Picked one up just for fun in Hong Kong yesterday. 13" 1.86ghz Core2Duo 256gb SSD.

Very impressed with it actually! Performance is pretty awesome even with just the basic 2gb memory. Would recoommend it to anyone thinking about a lightweight mac.

The SSD makes so even if you Page out with the 2GB performance is not hit as the swap file is written and read to so fast from the SSD.

Don't be put off by only 2GB on the base machines - its really fine feels no different from a 4gb running mac os x.

Much better than the white macbook pro the macbook pro 13".

Just a well constructed machine. Won't beat many performance records but feels snappy none the less and the size is just awesome.

Edited November 11, 2010 by negreanu

[nikster]

Picked one up just for fun in Hong Kong yesterday. 13" 1.86ghz Core2Duo 256gb SSD.

Very impressed with it actually! Performance is pretty awesome even with just the basic 2gb memory. Would recoommend it to anyone thinking about a lightweight mac.

How much did you pay for it, and can it be upgraded to 4GB? I know they support 4GB ...

Gonna get one as soon as they make a 15" - but I am itching to have it. I saw the 11" and the 13" in the store. The 11" is just like you would expect - tiny!! - although it's quite possibly the only laptop of this size to feature a full size keyboard. Screen looks perfectly usable too.

I have now read that Apple is using a plain old Toshiba controller for the SSDs - a bit disappointing. This should be an enormous opportunity for them to make their own kick-ass controller chip, not bound by any legacy protocols or form factors. Well at least we know they're now optimizing the OS for SSD use - I imagine that's why these little Airs feel faster than they should given the specs.

[HalfSquat]

34,900.00 baht for the 11 inch 65gb drive one is pretty good I must admit.

Does anyone know of a Windows laptop that is the same size or close to it?

Thanks.

Edited November 12, 2010 by HalfSquat

[negreanu]

I got the 1.86ghz 13" 256gb SSD in HK for 12488HK which is 47900THB. Thailand price for the same machine is 55,900THB

HongKong is now the cheapest place to buy Apple products in Asia. you could get a return flight on air asia buy the macbook air in the terminal come straight back to BKK and still save 3000thb on the thai price.

Memory on the new Macbook Air's is not upgradable as its attached the logic board. SSD is changeable but restricted to which one for the form factor.

Very impressed actually it really does fly this machine and seems way faster than what the specs state it should be!

Edited November 13, 2010 by negreanu

[GooEng]

after years of second rate microsh*t based platforms i am lusting foolishly after the 11" airbook.....

in saudi at the moment earning the bucks to buy one......

anyone know what a top-spec'd (128GB SSD, 4GB RAM & 1.6GHz chip) unit in thailand will cost??

[negreanu]

Since that config is a BTO chances are you wont find it any retail store. You will have to order it through the retailer or the apple thailand online store.

You can see the Thailand prices at store.apple.com/th

[kpmsprtd]

34,900.00 baht for the 11 inch 65gb drive one is pretty good I must admit.

Does anyone know of a Windows laptop that is the same size or close to it?

Thanks.

Yes. It's the Acer TimelineX AS1830T. Here's a link to CNET's prize fight versus the MacBook Air.

http://reviews.cnet....3121_7-940.html

Disclaimer: I have not yet seen or held the Acer. I did get to play with the 11-inch MacBook Air. The speakers are weak, but the screen is stunning. The speakers on the 13-inch Air are equally weak, even thought I thought they might be better because of the larger size. The 11-incher is fantastically light, but the 13-incher doesn't feel light at all. It feels like any netbook to me. (Perception only. Perception not based on actual weights.)

Whereas you can use your 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro as an entertainment station in an apartment/condo, neither of these MacBook Airs will work for that with their weak speakers and small screens. If portability is primary, the 11-incher is a good choice, so long as you don't mind carrying around a thief-tempting target. I would rather travel around with a throw-away unit of little value. You would too if you were as forgetful as I am.

[negreanu]

I have a MBP and the 13" Macbook Air, and there really is no difference in quality between the 13" Air speakers and 15" speakers on the MBP.

When at home connect up any of the new Macbook Air's to the Apple 27" Cinema Display and actually you have an awesome entertainment system - and when on the road you have a ultra light portable machine.

[GooEng]

Since that config is a BTO chances are you wont find it any retail store. You will have to order it through the retailer or the apple thailand online store.

You can see the Thailand prices at store.apple.com/th

thx. BTW wot's BTO ... ?

[negreanu]

Built To Order.

[GooEng]

Built To Order.

yep, thx mate. have priced it thru the apple store as suggested - comes out at a shade over B48,000 - a tiny bit cheaper than the uk.

useful that the apple store in thailand's site comes up in english and also offers the option of the international english keyboard along with english user handbook. nice!

now all i have to do is work out how to justify spending a grand (yikes!) on a netbook i don't need and avoid having to buy two (the other one being for mrs ekkamai who needs it even less than i do .....)

Edited November 14, 2010 by joe ekkamai

[negreanu]

go here store.apple.com/th-k12 to get it even cheaper. You are a student right

[nikster]

Sure. I am an English teacher! Or I could be, right!