PLUSES
-multi-touch

-led backlight (I should think so)

-nice enough design, just...

-usb bus-powered external disc drive is great, there are plenty of them but finally this one is good looking.

MINUSES
-lcd is an apple studio display of yore

-reflective display, dear god why!?!?!?

-battery life is poor

-mechanical drive is standard; this is 2008 right?

-the black keyboard (ie non-matching) just feels spiteful

-the hinged ports look like a failure point, can't be too sure though

-IS THE BATTERY EVEN REPLACEABLE!?!?

-It does not even appear to be upgradeable, so it's more of a 'device' then a 'computer'?

-the specs would be acceptable if it had the looks of a shrunk-down MBP, but this is simply too curvy, I'm disappointed with it. I mean yes it does look nice but imagining a ultraportable, slim MBP (with a *symmetrical* profile)... just makes this feel like second-best.

Sorry Steve. I was looking for a MBP with an SSD -- even just 8GB would have done!(with expandability) and this simply isn't that. I'm simply sick of dying hard disks! I'm not waiting for any redesign. I'm going to keep my money in my pocket for now and wait for vaio updates; at least they are sharper-looking.

The shark. Steve has jumped it.

Who says Gizmodo never bashes apple products?

is the 5 hours with the pata hard drive or the SSD?

Wow, that sucks.
I guess you're stuck with the options you pick when you buy it.

Aw come on. Two days before everyone gets their in mail some geeks will have it cracked open like a walnut just like any other gadget.

damn... /me still wants

This is a big disappointment. I understand the thinking behind it (force you to upgrade through them) but it runs counter to the whole point of having a computer. If this were a low-end model like the ASUS EE, I'd get it, but for $1800, it should be at least nominally upgradeable.

This thing is next to worthless. You will get NO mileage out of a laptop with integrated components. Just wait until they have battery problems and rather than go into the apple store, you have to ship it away for a fix. Mark my words this laptop will be an Apple customer service nightmare.

Selling devices that are not owner servicable is the Apple way. This should not come as a surprise, even if it is the iPod mentality now invading Macs.

Currently Apple's stock is down about $14 on the day. Some of that is due to a down day on Wall Street, but most of it is likely due to disappointment in the announcements. I think the MacBook Air has to be the most disappointing of all of the announcements, mainly because it could have been so much better.

5 hour batteries FTL

@BurkePrefect: with a voided warranty

I was just thinking this same thing. Really, the Macbook Air is like one of those girls who says "UR HOT LOL" to you before she even knows your name. The Air seems nice at first, but then you realize it's just a pretty face and a good body and ultimately costs you too much for too little. The most powerful Macbook is still less than the least powerful Macbook Air, so I doubt the Air will last very long. Plus, a laptop where you can't take out the battery is just stupid. I don't expect this to sell a lot.

Also the memory is built in so you couldnt swap it out anyways. the hdd is placed no differantly than the macbook pro. you have to open the case to get to it. now the battery that was a dumb move. wtf??? what about haveing two batterys?? SOL.

@distantbody: "It does not even appear to be upgradeable, so it's more of a 'device' then a 'computer'?"

That is the most concise critique I've read about this yet.

Apple: All style, no function.

"Obviously a slew of services and devices will fill this battery replacement gap"

I translate that into... "Hey sweet! now you can buy an external battery to match your external optical drive!"

So when will the MacBooks see the LED update? Steve promised LED in all LCDs. I am thinking about getting a MacBook to replace my 12" PowerBook. It was going to be the MacBookAir, but there are just too many compromises to make it a decent value proposition. I am not a fan of glossy screens either, but I can learn to adjust. I think the MacBook is almost perfect except for the integrated graphics (much improved in the latest release though) and the non-LED backlighting.

FAIL

I really think this is the most beautiful notebook I have ever seen in my life, but the flaws you guys mentioned are absolute dealbreakers.

I will then go for a white MB and upgrade it to 4GB and 320GB HD by myself.

Gorgeous laptop, totally impractical.

Jesus.. Youd think Apple would know not to do things like this by now...

I can sort of understand the concept of putting an ipods battery under lock and key... There is even a vaguely plausible argument for locking the iphones battery away.

But come on, this is a laptop thats *designed* to be with you *everywhere*. And that includes places without a power point.

Youre likely to upgrade/break/loose and ipod or iphone by the time the battery dies.

If youre using the Air as its designed to be used, youre going to be putting the battery through a serious number of cycles. It *will* die at some point.

I like Apple products. Shit, Im typing this on my MBP, and I love it. But the two things that put me off Apple products are 1) Fanboys and 2)Stupid decisions like this.

Apple ream the punters by putting the coolness markup on all their products. Asking them to bend over a second time when the battery dies just takes the piss

/cue fanboy attack

Who is this for? I mean other than Apple-as-lifestyle fanboys who need their latest rounded edged totem to attract the stares of the masses.

@Shabbis: SLAMS RULER ON DESK! PAY ATTENTION!!

It may be a minor issue for most of you, but: Is there a Kensington-Lock?

I'm looking at making the change from my vaio ux to a mac - the air is close, but I'll wait until it has a 160gb hdd at least.

Lets be honest, most of us were turned away when we noticed the hideous black keyboard.

This is Steve Job's dream computer. He loved the eMate so much that attempted to build a business version, the bMate. I just don't think he ever got over the idea of super lightweight laptop with solid-state storage.

I'm actually not over it. I'd rather carry this around than my MacBook.

Dayam how much Kool Aid are they expecting you folks to drink anyway?

Dont. Just dont. If youre going to get a Mac (and there is no reason not to) then just buy a MBP and be done with it. A proper PC that (as much as you can in any laptop) upgrade and keep alive...

Instead of making the front edge rounded so they culd brag about being .16" thick a meaningless number given the geometry), they should have kept the whole profile .76" and put it a 7-8 hr removeable battery.
Plus the rounded styling looks like it pays homage to the toilet-seat ibooks. Come on now.
1998 projection of style in 2008: Swoopy is the future
2008's response: Hard edges and clean lines are the future (See: All cars, Mac Pros, Macbook pros)

My best guess? Any redesign that would allow a removable battery would make the thing

a) thicker

b) more prone to failure due to the tight build tolerances this thing needs in order to be super-model thin

I'm guessing that they wanted it to have some decorum of reliability and anytime you make things removable...

It won't matter. Every freakin "cool" college kid who wants a new laptop will get this damn thing and it will sell. Then everyone will start copying its design. Then all of our laptops phones and media players will all look the damn same and i will be able to SCROLL PICTURES by moving a finger. And when it comes time to change my battery i will pay money and ship it off. WHO THE HELL DECIDED SCROLLING THROUGH PICTURES WAS SO DAMN IMPORTANT? CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME? WHO SITS AROUND LOOKING AT PICTURES THAT AREN'T ON THE INTERNET ALL THE DAMN TIME. WTF IS WRONG WITH CLICKING A NEXT ARROW.

I think I could live with an external battery add on. I carry an APC USB charger in my bag for my phone, ipod, and DS, something for the macbook air could work on the same principle . When I carried my powerbook around (aka when I could carry my powerbook around) I had two batteries in my bag in addition to one on the 'book. They could easily make an external batter the size of one macbook pro/powerbook battery. Make it so you can daisy chain the power supply, external battery, and Macbook Air.

@strider_mt2k: You don't want to know, seriously.

BTW: Nominating distantboy for "Best Comment On The New MBair".
(Actually only the part about the MBair being merely a device to enhance your existing home-computer.)

What geeks want that Apple failed to deliver:

1) SSD standard
2) swappable/removable components
3) Built-in optical drive
4) Matching Keyboards (no deal breaker)
5) Some standard wireless slot that will take any cell carriers wireless modem.

Even if you have to add a few millimeters...offer this at a 1500-2000 price tag and watch the masses flock. Is that formula extremely difficult to comprehend?

One other little thing missing: Firewire. This is the first Mac in many years to lack any way to hook up a camcorder.

Agreed! This thing is lame, but it looks good. If it was $800 with a 80GB hard rive I'd be interested. If I cannot update any parts the damn thing better be cheap so I can replace it after a few years.
I think a lot of people will look back at this thing and laugh. Year 2010: "You bought a 64GB SSD drive for $1000? Holy shit man, my canon powershot has that much built in memory and I paid $200 for it."
Like I said in another post: I'll by the 8.9 inch eee pc before this thing. Maybe I'll buy three for the same price as the base model. Air... Should be the MacBook Fart.

And another thing missing: Ethernet.

I suspect Apple or other parties will offer an external battery that plugs into the AC port. Since you'd be lugging a second battery anyway if you need more than 5 hours' life, if they keep the thing small and light it should amount to the same thing as carrying a spare.

waaaaaah, I can't replace stuff, waaaaah

buy a desktop if you want real upgradability - surely we all know that by now

as far as the battery goes, replacement will be covered by AppleCare, and after 3-5 years anyone who can afford a device like the Air will have a new computer anyway.

hey I think its nice as a secondary computer, especially if you got the cash...I can't believe how sad people are about this.

replaceable battery: its nice to know you can, but I have never, ever, in my college and graduate program EVER know ANYONE who replaced their laptop battery rather than charge it. And I dont know anyone with an apple who had laptop battery problems either (excepting recalls).

if its covered free under warranty when capacity drops below 70% I think its good deal.

World's thinnest? I don't think so. The Sony X505 was 0.75" thick. And it was released in 2003. Of course, the specs aren't as good but that was 5 years ago! It also weighed 1.85lbs. What's more, it offered 2 usb ports, 1 firewire and a PC card slot. Should not be legal for Apple to claim world's thinnest when they were beat by 5 year old technology. Can't remove battery, upgrade memory and hard drive. Screen resolution is weak and no blu-ray option. I hope they go iPhone route and drop the price after a few months of release because at $1,800 starting price they can stick it where the sun don't shine.

Regardless of its flaws, would someone please still fetch me some tissues? Damn that thing is sexy.

I think I'd still prefer the OQO E2, though - sadly I'll get neither, my new desktop is going to burn a pretty deep hole in my pockets :).

Toodles.

@WYMEA:

If they were smart they would design a port that could accept any wireless carriers modem, but also had an adapter for ethernet.

You know, I have a dell inspirin 8600 and I've had it for four years now. I have not one time upgraded it.

I was actually going to run down to Fry's today and pick up some cheap ass notebook memory (2gb corsair for 42$ ?? ) and upgrade it for the first time.

Still using the same batter, HDD, RAM, cpu. The mobo was swapped in the first six months (it failed for no reason) but has since been solid and this thing still ticks strong.

The only thing that worries me about this all is the horrible track record of Apple's gadgets vs. their computers.

@distantbody: It does not even appear to be upgradeable, so it's more of a 'device' then a 'computer'?

Or an "appliance". The 1984 Mac just won't die.

Well at least you only have to carry ONE device; The Macbook Air...
oh and an external superdrive...
and an external hard drive...
and a USB hub because there is only one USB port...
and the power brick...
but at least it's only ONE device!
oh wait i have my iPhone too...

flaws like this never stopped anyone from buying an iPod. Hot like the sun, useful like a hole in the head...Damn they are going to sell a lot of these.

@dorylomorphs: Being perfectly honest here: I like the black. @nwaringa: Replace the word "geeks" with the letter "I", unless you are the official geek spokesperson.

This device isn't made for upgrading; furthermore it doesn't need to be upgraded. It's the complete package "as-is". I know how much you fanboys love modding and upgrading your stuff but come on - it's ready to go out of the box. 2gigs of ram not enough? This is an ultraportable machine, remember that! It has been designed for people on the go. Buy a desktop or a MBP if you want to add a bunch of junk to it. This is exactly what alot of people have been waiting for, including myself.

@WORKINGONYOURINVOICE: You must have missed the vote.

Well that sucks.

---everyone knows Apple isn't about hardware or numbers, IT'S ABOUT THE LOOK & FEEL BABY!---

It's very "in between:"

Mediocre performance numbers

Mediocre (bad) portability

High price

Innovation is pretty low (multitouch mousepad? yawn.)

Disappointed in DC

That is terrible news. It's a deal-breaker for me.

I can't believe nobody has pointed out what I think is the fatal flaw... most people will be getting the 80gig HD. The 4200RPM, PATA HD! That thing must be a turd performance-wise. I'll wait for the 3rd-party benchmarks.

So if you want an Apple laptop that you can upgrade and swap out the battery, then this is not the computer for you. If you want an Apple laptop that uses the bare minimum number of parts, then the Macbook Air is the right choice. All of those hinges and doors take up room, and they wanted to make it small.

I personally want one. I need a very small laptop for travel, and this is the right thing for me. If I were looking for a laptop as my main computer, then I'd consider one of the others instead. The Air only adds to the product line - it's not taking away from what's there already.

It's funny because I recently spent a couple of months traveling, and all I wanted was a very simple, lightweight, stripped down Macbook.

i love the new macbook air... i'm a huge apple fan. BUT.

what i'm not stoked about is;
wtf on the black keys option?! they're going away from consistency...

and the glossy screen pisses me off to no end. you have no idea. as a graphic designer (and i understand that you probably couldn't put a whole lot of cs3 on here... MAYBE just photoshop, but still), the glossy screen is an eyesore. whatever happened to matte screen? you can't view your laptop outside if it's sunny out.

but all in all, it's about time they release something like this. i'm just excited to see the new lineups for the towers (ie. G6; even though they dropped the number/name series). i love the mac pro's. but i'm waiting for something jaw-dropping...

I wonder if this thing will turn out to be a flop for Apple... Like the G4 Cube or Nintendo's Virtual Boy.