I have to agree with Sony here. Too many compromises were made in getting the Air to be so thin, and as a result you end up with a computer whose market is difficult to pinpoint.

For $1800, you would expect the air to function as your only machine, should need be, but it is just not capable of filling that role.

Looking at his comments about thinness sacrificing usability, I still can't help but think this can apply to the TZ, which at least for some people does sacrifice usability with its especially small keyboard and screen; personally I've always found the SZ to be considerably more usable. The TZ certainly has its place in Sony's product line, and the important thing for them of course is that they offer both the TZ and the SZ. But it really does strike me as odd to identify thinness as the primary cause of sacrificing usability more than the TZ's smaller keyboard and screen compared to something like the SZ (or the MacBook Air).

@regnez:

I don't know that I'd look at the price alone as determining that it should function as your only machine. You could apply that same reasoning to the TZ, and there's plenty of reasons a TZ is also more of a companion "on-the-go" machine than something someone would depend on as their sole laptop.

Regarding the lack of optical drive, I don't think this has really hurt the ThinkPad X61.

The air is a toy. Those that can afford it will enjoy it, but it will never replace any kind of...purposeful item.

@Zadillo: Great points. These are tradeoffs. It's like the SZ has an amazing bullet point list of features, but that doesn't measure the benefit to the screen or keyboard's size. On the other hand, what does thinness do for any of us when we're using a laptop? And that lack of 3G is really annoying to me.

Could use another USB port too. What if i wanna hook up my iPod and my USB fridge at the same time?

I will take the TZ any day. From the first time I saw it, I could hardly contain myself (homage to Stimpy). The Air does not make me feel that way and the optical drive is a must.

It isn't a meant to be a main machine, and isn't meant for heavy production work or business use. But maybe, and I could be wrong, this machine isn't targeted at major road warrior geeks but the average light computer user who wants something to bring around with them casually. In that way, it may be more successful than any subnotebook in grabbing consumers. We'll have to wait and see.

@Gumby31: You all know I am not a windows guy. Put OS X on both machines, and you have a very good fight. And the SZ would win for me because of insane battery life and 3G.

I've been waiting for Apple to release a replacement for the ever-so-popular 12" PowerBook G4, which I own. I was hoping the MacBook Air would be the one. Nope. Too many compromises to be truly useful. The Black MacBook is a much better machine for a slightly lower price. Now if Apple will just release the LED backlighting LCD and a backlit keyboard for the MacBook, it would be almost perfect. Although the base MacBook Pro 15" is probably the best deal out there.

Just the fact that Apple only offers a glossy LCD on the MacBook Air shows that they know it's a machine geared towards the consumer market (like the MacBook).

Come on Giz, admit your Mac fanboyism.

So that the Mac fanboy within me can connect.

But also so that the Windows fanboy within me dance a lap of victory over making you admit your fanboyism.

And the Linux fanboy in me simply laugh when we take over the world.

I usually fall hook line and sinker for all the stuff Stevsie trots out.

However, I don't find the MacBook Air very appealing.

You could get the lower end 24" iMac for the same money, or a MacBook for about half what it costs.

It's obviously meant to be a "secondary" computer (as you need another computer to use an optical drive share dealie) but I could not see justifying that much money for a secondary machine.

Go buy yourself a MacBook, an iPhone, and a Happy Meal and still have some left over.

X505... New Azgard-Human hybrid design?

Sorry, been watching too much Stargate...

@Brian Lam: If this was a convertible I would get it in an instant.

@Brian Lam:
Anything wrong with using a USB EVDO modem? It's nice to have it built in but that of all things shouldn't be a deal breaker? I've also always thought the 3G usb modems should have their own battery so there is no drain on the laptop but that is just my wishful thinking...

to be honest, impossibly thin devices aren't my favorite either. my first mac is going to probably be an MBP, the air isn't appealing to me.

Sony has it right here, IMO. The MBA is pretty, but that extra half-inch doesn't get you anything in practical terms. All the other ultra-portables are thin enough, and in the really important measure for ultraportables (weight) the MBA is nothing special.

Plus, with a GMA 900 graphics card, the Air is seriously hurting for any of Leopard's cool special effects. I am not surprised at all that Giz's experience with editing pictures was draggy.

Honestly, put a built in 3G modem in the MacBook Air and at least at some sort of capability to have additional batteries, maybe little places to hook in an external battery into the mag safe port on the bottom and I'd be all over it.

I have a 3G cellphone on AT&T specifically for tethering to my MacBook Pro, it sucks.

I'm just baffled at why they would build the MacBook Air without a built in 3G modem, I could even most likely forgive the battery with a built in 3g modem, but come one, at least build your own external Bluetooth 3G modem that works flawlessly with OS X, that's the least you could do.

@Brian Lam: I agree totally it is a decent machine for someone who doesn't want to do much w/ it. It is being marketed as an ultraportable. Even if you think it is too big to be an ultraportable, it is what apple wants it to be. This isn't a macbook pro. But it is better than an eee or other ultraportable (not so much after that very large Apple-Tax)
Well nonetheless i want it and I don't care if others think it's stupid

If someone offered me the Air for free, I'd probably crap my pants. On the other hand, dropping 1800 for it, I would want it to be my one and only computer. Not just laptop. I think something like this is aimed at Sarah Jessica Parker (sex and the city) type people. Don't really do anything "important" with their computer, but always want to look stylish and meander around acting like they are working.

Damn you write a clean article Lam. as stated before in a blog amidst the flame war..the X505 was a sexy sexy machine but did not deliver the juice that consumers wanted at the price it was being sold for. I agree 100% with both the statement that Sony is 4 years ahead of Apple in knowing what the consumer wants AND with Apple's defense of a wireless and no optical drive ultra thin making more sense now than it did 4 years ago.

Some day we will be rid of hard media and everything will be done via download (I shed a small tear for Blu Ray's future here)that day just is not going to happen in 2008.

PS: even 4 years prior to the Air's release the X505 is a way sexier machine IMO

I love the SZ line of Vaio notebooks - but the only thing Apple has over them is price - A fully spec'd SZ is over $3k which puts it far out of reach of most consumers...

If a comparably spec'd SZ came out to compete with the Air (Same CPU, Ram, though of course bigger hdd and dvd) at a similar price point - I think the sheer value of the Sony would beat out the Air's only competing factor - thinness.

I have an older S-series Vaio - and I still think it's the perfect size.

@Brian Lam: I agree, but that's why they make $400 laptops. For $1800, it better come with a happy ending.

I was actually looking forward to this lappy, but the lack of an optical drive is a complete deal breaker. I've already been down that road with my 7 year old sony z505 (which still runs 24/7 to this day). It's just too much of a pain.

I think we can all agree that some people will buy it for looks and some people will just buy it. In the end people are going to buy it anyways.

As I have mentioned in other posts, I really don't think a market exists for a device like the MBA. I really think Apple is going to take a hit on this. Investor confidence doesn't appear to be too high either as Apple's stock has fallen roughly 11% since close on Monday.

I have never heard of an actual human buyer of laptops making a decision based on competing products' thickness. A remarkably thin laptop makes for exciting copy, but unless there are people out there dying to put their computers into manila envelopes, thinness doesn't benefit the end user terribly much.

Jobs said during the keynote that he thought the TZ's weight (3 pounds) was a "good weight." Apparently that is code for "we couldn't beat 'em on that metric, so, uh, look deep into my eyes... you are getting sleepy... you care passionately about thinness..."

Everyone complaining about the lack of 3G is obviously using the wrong phone. Any decent WinMo phone or the excellent S60 devices out there will allow you to use Bluetooth to give you that 3G net access you're jonesing for...and for less than a dedicated data-only plan.

Simply

wait

for

the

vaio

and

eee

updates

coming

very

soon.

@mferrari: I will probably get it and just use it the way I use my 12 inch powerbook.

I think this is a computer for the rich. it would nicely complement my pc or mac desktop as something I could surf the net on the couch with. I dont have a car(living in tokyo) but carry a lot of shit around. having a nice lite notebook that complemented my home computer would be nice but until I can afford it I will just lug my regular MacBook around.

it isnt a mass appeal product like the ipods and macbooks. it will suite some people perfectly and it is a beautiful laptop so this is another mac success in my opinion.

The problem is whether to go with the heart or with the head... For the average Gizmodo-reading geek, this is easy because they're both the same thing. Even when a geek talks about the desirability of the MBA, they quote weights and measurements.

I was hoping they'd release a 13" MacBook Pro, but not because I needed any extra power (I have a Macbook at the moment), but because there is something special about the design and about the materials they're made from that makes it a nicer object to own.

That's what the MBA is about. You can compare it to the TZ all you want but the MBA will always be desirable, while the TZ is just a spec list crammed into a small box.

(That being said, that X505 is a thing of beauty. If I'd had the money when it launched, I'd have gone over to the dark side and bought a Windows machine without looking back)

Also, you have to hold it and use it first to really understand its allure.

The macbook pro needed 3g 2 years ago. every other major brand name offers it. also the macbook air needs a wired LAN connection. dropping the ODD makes sence. Manufacturers have been doing it for ever. Apple just needs to come out with some sort of dock or port replicator so people can still have an ODD.

I really think that Apple got the Air right. Thinness *is* the holy grail, but shrinking footprint costs usability. The x505 is gorgeous, but was a small footprint machine, therefore the usability sucked. The Air presents the same surface to me as my highly usable MacBook, but with much less weight and volume. To me, that's a win, and I'm thinking very hard about buying one.

I think what most people are forgetting is that this machine isn't replacing anything. Its giving another option so that people have more choices and apple has a presence in the sub-notebook market, and the sexiest model at that. The pro is there for the ones who don't feel the air is right for them but have that kind of budget.

In other words, if none of you value thinness over functionality, as most of you seem to infer, the MBP wins over the Sony hands down.

@Nintenboy01: If you need another USB port might I point you in the direction of the local tech retailer to look for a USB hub? :-)

Why is the remote drive sharing such a big deal? I've been doing it for years with my Mame cabinet so I can install things from CD without having to open the thing up (it's running XP btw)

Is 1.6 ghz really all that slow? And is the ssd significantly faster than the standard hdd?

I run a small video production company and also serve on on the City Council in my hometown. I was all set to get a new, decked-out MacBook Pro, but with the release of the MacBook Air I am seriously reconsidering that. I'm now considering getting a MacBook Air for taking notes in business and City Council meetings, email, instant messenger, internet, and light video editing, and then also getting an iMac for my desk at the office.

For my specific situation, the MacBook Air and iMac model might work better than simply getting a MacBook Pro. I am going to wait a couple of weeks, however, in an attempt to reduce the I-want-the-newest-coolest-thing bias.

This isn't new.
Let's just go back in time for a moment... remember having really small desktops that you could carry anywhere... but for that you'd have to sacrifice external Sound Card and 3D Graphics card for integrated (and shitty) ones?

This is very close. I'm shure there are people out there that will buy Macbook Air and love it. Much in the same way some people bought Asus Eee PC and loved it.

It all depends on how you're gonna use it. Both of them are useless and a waste of money for me, personally.

I don't think Air is a bad move from Apple... there are lots of people who buy Apple stuff for it's looks and because it's practical.

You know, people who don't do much other than checking e-mails, browsing, and some other basic stuff.
The Air will be plenty satisfying to those.

You can never be too rich or too thin? I have to agree with a couple of posters that the Eee makes much more sense as an ultraportable -- unless you absolutely can't live without (legal) OS/X. For that kind of money, I would want something much more powerful.

I bought an Eee for myself and for each of my two sons for much less than the cost of the Air. Heck, I also got a used gaming laptop with a 17" 1440 X 1200 screen resolution, used, on Ebay, to serve as a portable desktop replacement. None of them individually beats the Air, but the aggregate price and computing power (and lack of contention for devices), means that I'm much further ahead. Sorry, the MBA is a beutiful machine, but just doesn't make much sense to me, except for bragging rights....

It's apparently marketed at people who don't do much but want to spend a lot. That makes no freakin' sense. Heck, an iPhone does EXACTLY what people might use the MBA for and it's WAY more portable.

The MBA will still sell because it looks "cool", but I think the general consumer will be disappointed that it costs so much and does so little. In fact, it would have been a lot cooler if they had slimmed down both the MacBook and MacBook Pro while keeping those features. That'd be something worth clapping for.

@Brian Lam: Granted it's not for geeks, but could you imagine my mom trying to rip a CD to put into her ipod WITHOUT a CD/DVD drive? Do you really think users who are not really tech savy can go ahead and do that easily? I gotta say, my mom is pretty technologically handicapped, there's no way she could figure that out. So if not for people who really need the basic stuff (surf the web, send emails, do word docs, and use itunes), then who?

I'm not for or against the mac - although I think the lack of replacable battery is a big negative unless they have a way of using an external battery as backup.

I also haven't heard anything about the processor in the mac air. If it is 2GHz or faster and a Core 2 processor - then the specs are impressive but if it is anything less - I won't be very impressed.

I believe the holy grail for me would be a 2-3lb laptop that has a Core 2 2+Ghz processor and build in DVD. Preferably with a 13+ Inch screen - the 11" ones usually have keyboards too small for my clumsy hands to type on.

I'm the target customer for the Macbook Air. I have desktop computers in the house, but mostly use laptops on the kitchen table at every meal or whenever to browse the net or connect to my home server for pictures or music or videos. I've been using a Sharp PC-MT1-H1 for years now, it's small, lightweight and perfect for the task, although getting slow. I bought a Macbook last year, and although the screen real estate is cool, it's too big and heavy, we can't even pass this laptop across the table without pinching our fingers or ripping the table cover! I believe more and more people want to have a portable "terminal" type of laptop, no need for wired ethernet or optical drive for that.