For the price of the Air, I could buy an Eee for everyone in my family. I don't know if it's really fair to compare them. Try comparing it to a Vaio x505, which is only .06 inches thicker.

more screen, less height

The EEE is an ultra portable. THe air is not. 13" is too big to be an ultraportable. As soon as I can get something like the EEE with a 10" screen(maybe 11") I'll buy one.

Isn't anyone else extremely disappointed that the Air doesn't have a built-in ethernet port?

How about a comparison to the dell m1330?? That would be interesting. I'm guessing its a much better (okay so this has nothing to do with size).

Crumb, you can always get a USB Ethernet dongle, but 802.11n is faster than 100Mb, so unless you're running Gb, might as well just get an N router and ditch the cable.

To be honest, the VAIO has a built-in optical drive (without a stupid f*cking attachment), nice keyboard, 2 USB ports, Memory card reader, media controls, VGA out (without a stupid fu*king dongle), removable battery, upgradable ram, ethernet port (without a stupid f*cking dongle), firewire, modem port, express card slot, mic and headphone connectors and at a sacrafice of 400MHz and a higher starting price (because of the 32GB SSD. Im sure a 64Gb version will be out soon at a price competitive with the MBA). And it has 7 hours battery life.

Im sorry, that seems like a much greater feat than the MBA; by far Apples most disappointing release yet (and the Apple TV was bad).

I would be happy with a 13" ... so would most guys :)

Or try comparing to the sadly now extinct Sharp Actius MM20, which was about exactly the same thickness. But Sharp DID manage to put ports in theirs AND a PCCard slot AND a removable battery.

"Isn't anyone else extremely disappointed that the Air doesn't have a built-in ethernet port?"

Yes, I was looking forward to buying a laptop and then keeping it shackled to my desk.

No, seriously, there's a USB->Ethernet adapter. Dry those tears.

@crumb: Not really, wireless is pretty much available everywhere. If they did put an ethernet port the system would likely be thicker, and renamed "Macbook".

Vaio TZ>>>>>>>Macbook Air in my books. I rather sacrifice screen size and that extra little thickness for all that's included.

@scoobydoo: You mean you can't even remove the battery from the MacBook Air!? HAHAHAHA! Classic.

@scoobydoo: Or how about the Toshiba Portege R200. That was even thinner (.7 inches) than the Macbook Air. World's thinnest my ass! If Toshiba had kept the R200 line in production at that size, the Macbook Air wouldn't look lie much right now. Plus it had more port and a REPLACEABLE BATTERY!!

TEll me Apple, HOW TO DO YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH NOT HAVING A REPLACEABLE BATTERY?!?!?!?!

@crumb: i was for about 10 minutes. then i realized since i got an N-capable machine i use ethernet (on my laptop) very very very rarely these days. and for those few times i do need it... i can just buy the USB adapter and leave it connected to my otherwise rarely used ethernet lead.

@ssjmichael: Like I said above, the VAIO is substantially more impressive considering what it has in it compared to the MBA, and i mean substantially more.

The VAIO is the ultra-portable others should be comparing itself to. The MBA doesnt come close. It wanted thin in size, and it also got thin in usefulness.

This is the same sort of talk that was around when the first iMac landed without a (GASP!!!) floppy drive. Turns out that was a pretty good call. The world is going wireless. I'll not miss having to plug cables and peripherals into my machine whether it is Dell, Apple, Sony or other (have all). I've had my present laptop for 15 months now. Use it at home, the office, on the road. I've plugged an ethernet cable into it TWICE. At a hotel that also had wireless and at our NY office because a co-worker couldn't remember the WiFi password offhand. In another year, this will be no big deal.

This computer sucks. NEXT!

All these feature comparisons are fine and dandy, but you're all leaving one very important one out...the MBA runs Mac OS vs. the others running Windows.

For some, that doesn't matter, but for plenty, that's a deciding factor.

@SirIsaac: If Apple is cutting edge in wireless technology then why dont they have an internal 3G wireless solution built in like the sony and my crappy, cheaper Dell Latitude?

I can get online even when you dont have wireless, which is common in many industries where security is paramount (which is any real enterprise).

Its kinda unfair to try and compare it to the sony since the sony is smaller overall and has many more features.

While we are at it I should compare my D420 Latitude to the Macbook Pro. Mine is as thin, lighter, and much cheaper. So therefore Dell Latitude > Macbook Pro.

@SirIsaac: So does this MBA handle wireless USB? No?

Can i connect it up to a Sprint card for free-roaming data access? No? Does it have EVDO or HDSPA built in? No?

Can i use my MBA without making the decision of having a flash drive in "or" a Superdrive?

Can i bring a second battery with me? No?

Do i always have to travel with my power adapter in case the battery runs out? Do i have to bring my ethernet dongle with me all the time in case there is no wifi (like at my work)? Do i have to bring my VGA or DVI dongle with me all the time in case i want my laptop hooked up to a projector to enjoy big-screen movies? Yes.

The MBA with all its external accessories is the largest ultra-portable out there.

Shenanigans Gizmodo! show the TZ with the small battery, not the one that runs it for 7+ hours.

Look:
[www.jp.sonystyle.com]

@mullingitover:

Exactly my thoughts, the X505 first came out in 2004 and is actually lighter than the MacBook Air and is basically the same thinness. It was priced around 3,000-4,000 USD but that was FOUR YEARS AGO Apple.

Check out the Sony X505:
[www.usatoday.com]

If the MacBookAir came with WiMax or some kind of broadband wireless than we're talking.

@diabolusunknown: The VAIO has a horrible keyboard.

@ismotethee: Or one of the hundreds of variations of Linux, or OSX86, if your so inclined.

PC != Windows.

This is an awesome product. Thin is in. The MacBook Air will fit most perfectly in my work bag and be a very friendly companion on my biz trips. Wow I am very impressed. Oh yea, I ordered one.

The Air makes no sense in terms of technology... but people (idiots) will buy it cause its apple... I rarely vouch for sony... but any sony is much better then this...

EVEN my OQO is way better then what this is (and even the sony UX)

MacBook air will go down as a poor machine and in the (very few) apple blunders of recent...

PLUS WAY TO RAISE YOUR 7 or 8% market share... I can almost see it go to 9%...

@zeezrom82: Thats entirely your feeling. I thought it was nice.

Are the VGA, 2 USB, expressports, Ethernet, Modem, MMPro Duo, DVD+-RW, and firewire ports on the VAIO horrible too?

I think the lack of optical and the lack of most ports are pretty non-issue for me. I never use the ones on my MacBook. But the price-for-specs kills this for me. With that Intel graphics chip this is a glorified web surfer and document reader, and you just don't think a Intel Core 2 Duo and all the other stuff for that.

The Asus EE PC really is a fair comparison, I think, because I'm not playing any games on either of these and I can check Gmail and Google Reader just fine on the Asus.

Man I am sick of these stick thin, anorexic computers setting unrealistic standards of beauty for young laptops.

for the price, a serious user would get a very loaded MacBook or a MacBook Pro!

Personally, I never use ethernet with my MBP at home, and only occasionally use it on the road (when the wireless options suck). Assuming you have a hub at your desk, I really don't see the drama (having a single connector would actually be an advantage). A single USB + micro DVI minidock would be a nice 3rd party accessory.

The Vaio's optical drive is not built in -- go check for yourself.

I'd like to see real world battery life. Apple tends to give out more conservative figures than other companies, so 5h may be OK.

Not being able to replace the battery is annoying but understandable. I wonder what their replacement policies will be ... $100 or so to replace the battery would be perfectly reasonable.

Not building in 3G networking is an other obvious bummer.

Certainly not an amazing announcement. I won't be buying one. But I suspect the same crowd that queued for iPhones will love it. Looks great in a Louis Vuitton handbag, no?

Wow, Macworld 08 was such a let down, they should have had more flat screen televisions, like CES. Or more pranks, perhaps.

BY MULLINGITOVER AT 07:38 PM
No, seriously, there's a USB->Ethernet adapter. Dry those tears.

To bad the adaptor is 10/100!!!! Time to start crying again.

Who cares how thin this thing is when it is missing basic features. Most hotels use ethernet in the rooms. Those that use WiFi often have really crappy coverage. You'll need ethernet if you are a road warrior.

Most hotels use ethernet in the rooms. Those that use WiFi often have really crappy coverage. You'll need ethernet if you are a road warrior.

Word. Yes, lots of place "have WiFi". Yes, almost every hotel "has WiFi". But that doesn't mean it's usable for anything beyond basic browsing. I stayed in a pretty fancy place on a business trip recently, and the WiFi was horribly slow and inconsistent; I could browse, read blogs, check email, that sort of thing, but downloading anything took forever, and forget about streaming video.

"To bad the adaptor is 10/100!!!!"

Unless you're transferring big files over the LAN, you're not going to notice...unless your internet connection is faster than 100Mbps. But hey, this is America, not some modern country. You won't run into that problem here.

The Sony TZ keyboard looks exactly the same as the Mac's.
Also, you're not sacrificing screen on the Sony - it actually has a slightly higher res at 11" than the Mac does at 13", and it has proper widescreen, rather than some weird middle ground which isn't 16:9, nor 4:3 (= black bars around whatever media you're watching).

BY MULLINGITOVER AT 08:15 PM
"To bad the adaptor is 10/100!!!!"
Unless you're transferring big files over the LAN, you're not going to notice...

Absolutely, and since this thing doesn't have firewire or an external drive, networking it via ethernet to your desktop makes a lot of sense when you are at work or home--er, unless it's Base 10/100 Ethernet from the 1990's!! There's no excuse for not offering the same Gigabit Ethernet that has been standard on all macs for years.

I have worked on a the vaio TZ and I wanted to rip my hair out after 3 minutes. Had to type a letter and look at web content at the same time. A simple common task. But the screen size and keyboard design made it like working on a cell phone.

I don't know if anyone else noticed it, but from photos and the way the thing is angled, the Macbook Air looks like a pen.

The haters are hilarious.

Sigh. I was afraid of this. Americans just won't pay for an ultraportable.

'As to the 13" is too big for an ultraportable' crap, Hitachi got this right more than a decade ago when they tried to sell notebooks here. Those machines were incredibly thin for the time, but had full size keyboards and large screens.

The footprint of a notebook is largely unimportant, but making it thin matters a lot. This is much easier to slip into a folio or notebook than an Eee.

I'll be all over this. I'm just trying to decide if I want to spend for the CPU bump.

Sony TZ for me........ oh wait, I already have one ;)

Why hasn't anyone compared it to the Sony Vaio X505 yet?

My other question is how do I plug it into a projector when I want to do a presentation?

DVI--> VGA adapter??

Screw it. I'm getting a moleskine.

@gravity: Hmm, that's a good question.

I am normally an Apple everything lover but this laptop disappoints. The shape is too round and the laptop does not offer enough connectivity to suit me. I prefer the Sony Vaio over this or would much rather have the MacBook Pro Duo. Why would anyone today want dongles!!! Keep this freakin laptop!!!

The MBA serves no purpose for me. I would have been much more excited if Steve-O just brought an updated 12" Powerbook out of the envelope; it probably fits in a Manila too!

Too Inflexible without a removable battery... AND, what professional would buy a $1800 notebook just to surf the web?!

This is why I hate when Apple launches any new product. Every post's comment turns into a stupid Window fanboy vs. Apple fanboy argume