When his Steveness announced the MacBook Air I did my usual excited scurry for the wallet. Yes, the credit card is always at the ready around Macworld Expo time, and this year was no different (sad I know). Then I took a step back and studied the offering...
The MacBook Air in my opinion really does look the business. Its sleek lines and gorgeous thinness jump out at you, in an understated way of course. This is what Apple does best, and the design of the Air really is superb. This really is laptop for users who travel a lot and want to travel light. It is not for the masses, we have the standard MacBook to fill this need, nor is it for the professional who goes out and about once in a while to visit a client, the MacBook Pro jumps in here. So why did my credit card go back into my wallet untouched?
Well, the Air lacks a few things that it really should offer the mobile pro, especially when Steve compares it to the likes of a Sony ultra-portable. Don't get me wrong, I am a fanboy, but a Vaio of some description comes with an optical drive and a damn site more USB ports, and that is just for starters. For the Air to come out and about with me on every single trip it needs at least two USB ports, a card slot, an optical drive, security slot... oh, and a 12-inch matte screen. The MacBook Air is just too close to the regular MacBook, which is a lot cheaper by miles. So my money would go in that direction. I already have a MacBook Pro, so the Air just did not tempt me. Why would I take a speed drop, feature drop all for the gain of thinness and a lighter weight. I think that the MacBook Air is the first Apple product that hasn't swayed me... it is all puff and no grunt if you ask me!