Gizmodo
Here you have the first MacBook Air unboxing: iPhone-styled tiny packaging, minimalist and all smooth black. What's even more important, you'll see it compared to a Windows laptop: a Sony VAIO (fight!). Akiko Wada, a Japanese blogger, got invited to a special event hosted by Apple Japan, and she very kindly let us use her photos in Gizmodo. Her thoughts, complete mega-gallery, video and the Air vs. VAIO side-by-side after the jump.
Update: Akiko has shared with us her opinions about the Air, from the perspective of a thin PC user from Japan. Update 2: Inexplicably, Akiko was asked by Apple Japan to remove the old video. She replaced it with a new one.
Obviously, they allowed it because this particular model of VAIO is thick enough to make the MacBook Air look as thin as paper. The event was celebrated by Apple Japan on the 19th. Akiko, who is a PC notebook user, have shared her particular perspective on the MacBook Air:
Jesus Díaz: What do you think about the MacBook Air, from a point of view of someone used to thin and tiny PC laptops?
Akiko Wada: Wonderful! To tell you the truth, I was a little skeptical before the event. "Thin" is very important for a laptop and many Japanese people are looking for the smallest and thinnest and lightest laptop all the time.
But at the same time, the toughness is important for me. I thought: "The MacBook Air is thin, but may be not tough."
I was wrong. At the event, I felt the MacBook Air is tough enough.
Now I use three computers, Sony VAIO Type R master, MacBook, and Pansonic Let's Note R3. The Let's Note Series is a very popular mobile laptop in Japan.
I am a Windows user and I love my [Panasonic] Let's Note, but I have to say that I love the MacBook Air. It completely charmed me.
JD: So what do you think will be the reaction to this in Japan, a country obsessed with light and thin in consumer electronics?
AW: My guess is that many Japanese people will switch to Mac this year. Before, the Mac's laptops didn't appear in the popularity ranking. But now... I am very surprised. I think that many Japanese will accept it just the same as iPod (once I heard some young Japanese girls talking about a Sony Walkman. They said: "Wao! It's a Sony iPod!" Now, the iPod is something like General noun in Japan.)
The original video is no longer available at the request of Apple Japan to Ms. Awada. A new video has been published:
Head to her site to learn more about it and watch the video in high resolution. [WADA-blog — Thanks Akiko!]
Comments
Damn. From the last shot (here), the MBA in its entirety looks to be thinner than just the screen on the Vaio.
Yeah, the Air does look amazing - I'm getting one in April when I go to Japan, it costs a whole lot less there than it does here in Italy. I was going to get the TZ, but it's just too ugly.
*snap* (snap as in break not snap as in ..whatever street related 'oh neat' term it means today)
At least they could've use a Vaio SZ Premium and not a Standard. The Premium series(and I have one) have the best of two worlds, they're fast and light and they're not so fat like the Standard model.
In my opinion the VAIO beats the Air in 80% of the features.
@Zach:
Euphemism for shit, as in:
Oh snap! Your $1800 laptop just snapped!
Sony or Dell... shit, even I could make a thin laptop if I didn't actually have to PUT ANYTHING INSIDE IT!
Also, does anyone remember the cracked screen issue with the iPod Nanos? Remember this comment a week after they start shipping.
Aside from being thin, there is absolutely nothing compelling about the Air. And considering some of the serious quality issues in past MacBook releases I have to wonder if people plonking money down on the Air are suffering from some kind of memory impairment.
Dont know about you, but I would prefer the handy DvD-RW, 3 USB Ports, Ethernet Port etc. that you would get with the Vaio over the Air.
personally, i think its fugly.
It just drives me nuts that I have to choose between a $350 Eee or a $1800 MBA or other high-end ultra-portable, Where the hell are the $800-$1000 "mainstream" ultra-portables? I love the MBA. Everything on it is perfect except the price and maybe the screen resolution.
It looks cool and all, but that manila envelope thing is just retarded.
Can someone explain to me why someone would want to put their laptop in a manila envelope?
And why being thin makes a mediocre laptop better?
blood rushing away from brain...
so hawt.
@Grangoire: Well, see, it's what we call a 'gimmick.' Nobody would really put it in the manilla envelope, but that doesn't mean you can't.
Its like saying "Its so easy even a caveman can do it." You see, cavemen don't actually exist, and if the church has anything to say about it, never did. Saying that even a caveman can do it is what we call in the marketing industry a paradigm shift vis-á-vis the caveman is like a manilla envelope in that they both represent the complexity that is the human psyché.
What was I saying? Oh right. Manilla envelope.... Those aren't really made in Manilla, are they?
And so the endless complaining continues...
@elliotness: Gotta balance out all the praising and plugging.
@recklessinoz: True! no reason to praise over thinness when a lot of features have been compromised.
....yeah... is everyone just getting distracted by how thin it is?
OK, it's thin, we get it... but will it blend!
Seriously? Comparing MBA with a Vaio SZ? Thats like comparing the iMac with a Mac Pro. =P
In the end of the day, the thing I care most is the weight. If I'm in the go, then I'll want to be as light as possible. And when I can get a hell lot more futures with the SZ6 with an extra pound... Hell with MBA...
I will buy one so I can annoy people around me and browse while having a nice coffee... Oh wait, I don't live in the US with wifi in every corner... I'll use 3g then... on wait... well at least I'll look like a postmen carrying my envelope!
@strider_mt2k: Agreed. That's cheesy, especially for Apple.
As much as I like to carry a cool laptop, I will never get past the issues of non-user-replaceable critical components (e.g., memory - which can go bad; battery - which is just plain stupid I always carry an extra battery "just in case" I don't care if it claims 10 hours of uptime; HD - these go bad, too, plus it's always nice to be able to take advantage of faster, bigger or solid state at my discretion).
BTW, I currently use one of the small AlienWare laptops (don't remember the model) - it has kept me happy for quite awhile and it's looks are still "cool". Oh, and I did my own memory upgrade of course.
@XINT, for a minute there I thought your post said "Will it bend" that thing sure looks like it would bend.
Lots of gadgets give me "gadget envy" I'm proud to say this one does not, I cannot believe something that thing would be powerful or durable. I'm new to laptops in general, (thanks Santa) but man, I'll keep mine happily. I'm with someo of the other posters, it will be interesting to hear how well these hold up.
I don't know what the haters have convinced themselves they do with their computers that requires more power than this offers, but clearly "bitching on the internet" is chief among their needs, which I'm pretty sure this or any other computer on earth can handle.
@Grangoire: No one, but it's more an illustration of how thin it is... that's all...
I think the main draw of MBA is it's ultra-portable-ness... everything has its target audience. If it's not targeted at you doesn't mean it's no good at all... Have an open mind!
And sorry all, I can't seem to type this morning or spell.
I don't hate that thing, I just don't want one, and it's actually "targeted" at me. And no, I'd need more power! :)
i want her cellphone :P
I'm a fanboy. I won't use anything but a mac, but no matter how much i want to love the MBA, i can't. It doesn't impress me. Put an optical drive in it and impress me..
God help us... were all obsessed with skinny. Girls and gadgets..... Thin to win!!!
--> Still waiting to hear what has been "compromised."
Pretty sure it comes standard with more RAM than the MacBook, and is the *only* Mac-Top that has an option for a SoldStateHDD.
What are you missing out on? An Optical Drive? For what? To listen to a CD? Watch a DVD? As if people even own those anymore.
What the crap do you need an optical drive for, on a day to day basis, that can't be done by a thumb drive?
And its priced completely un-ridiculously between a juiced up MacBook and barebones MacBookPro.
...All things aside, I'd break it in half unboxing it, but that dosn't mean its not cool. =)~
Toshiba R500 FTW!
Seriously, Macs never cease to impress me, but then, I never really stress a machine. To Huygir (sorry, not meaning to pick but), have you ever replaced or upgraded memory on a Mac? Compared to the same operation on a PC, it's a doddle. I turned to look at a Mac promo on a PC screen today while at my web designer's office. After watching for less than 30 seconds I turned back to a colleague who, in that time, had the keyboard from a 7 year old Mac notebook out and could well have upgraded or replaced the memory in that time, and had the keyboard back in place after doing so. I stand corrected if the current Mac Air doesn't have this ability too - I've not known Mac to make too many backward development steps.
If only the Sony Vaio TZ Series would Run OSX. Then we'd have a real comparison, and a superior machine! Physically the TZ Series is superior in every way, but its OS sucks.
I have a Vaio -- just got it in december. who cares how thin it is...the vaio that I picked up rivals the Mac desktop. Keep your frou-frou MacBook...thing's for fashion posers anyway.
@rhew:
So the 3# weight, optional SSD, backlit LED display, wireless n with BT + EDR, and .16" thickness *isn't* impressive, but an optical drive *is*? Really?
On a day to day basis, what do you use an optical drive for that can't be substituted with a thumb drive?
It's 2008, tell me the last non-software "purchase" you made that required you to pop in a CD?
@kingsnake:
Right, Apple fanboys are fashion posers, but Sony retail stores are called "Sony *Style*" stores.
All alliteration aside, (damn!) You don't think that selling purple hued laptops, and advertising pretentious lines like "Vaio" "Wega" and "Bravia" is any less art-school dropout than Apple?
Akiko Wada? O RLY?
@squirgle: Well lets see...
I play quite a few games on line that I'm not sure the MBA would even support. Setting aside the fact that even after I spend over 3k for it the 1.8 GHz MBA processor, it won't even run the games.
Even I can see the benefits of an ultra-thin lap top but when you factor the complete shit internals the MBA has for the price, along with having absolutely no unique features other than its skinny physique, and having a few extra detriments as well, you come to a harsh truth that Sony already knows:
"Thinness is not the holy grail. Making something that thin and sexy costs it too much usability."
I can't get over how funny people who completely miss the point and say "put in an optical drive" are.
@Out2gtcha: How many ultraportables have game-worthy GPUs? Hell, the M1330 maxes out at a gimpy 8400M GS, and at its base config, has the same X3100 chip that the MBA has.
You're looking at an enthusiast desktop-replacement range to get anything resembling a gaming GPU.
LMMacAO - so many bitter and twisted people here trying to put down a product they've never seen/held.
Certainly looks to be an amazing piece of engineering, especially when compared to this Sony.
When the Macbook gets yet another processor bump and an LED-backlit display (either standard or optional), will any of this matter anymore?
Holy fuck, I can't believe haterz are still going strong with their bitching. What kind of Apple-related childhood trauma drives you people to come back and keep going on and on and on? Really interesting, from a clinical point of view.
Also, enough with the MBA=$3,000 crap. That's only if you get the 64GB SSD.
@jamar0303:
I'm pretty sure the Akiko Wada you're thinking of isn't a blogger ;-)
its sexy as hell, i will give it that much...and pretty lightweight. but i can't get over the shittiness of the hard drive
@Kaiser-Machead:
Yeah, I think it will.
Although I'm a current gen. MacBook user, and I love it, and won't buy this MBA because my MacBook trumps it, spec-wise, in almost all points, I'm personally ready to ditch the optical drive on my portable if it means it'll shave 1.5-2 pounds off the weight. In a year or 1.5 years from now when the Rev. B MBA will have higher specs than my current MacBook, then I will seriously consider it, regardless of how the MacBook would look like at that point.
@MrBlahBlah: This is probably the best argument against the MBA, as the only real compromise on performance that it makes is the iPod HDD. I have yet to see how this translates to a real-world performance hit but that criticism is pretty much the only valid one.
Seriously, if you are commenting, you probably already own a desktop/laptop that has enough power to play whatever games you want (except Crysis of course) so this would be a secondary comp to take with you on the go to classes/meetings/work. In those places, you prob won't be watching movies but even if you wanted to, the no dvd/drive built in is not that big of a deal, you know you bittorrent/rip videos onto your laptop anyway. Also Apple's SSD price isn't that bad, it's $899 with the educational discount. A 64GB SSD from dell costs $950. If you don't want it, don't buy it. Sending an email to Apple telling them what you want is infinitely more productive than bitching in comments.
This is more of a post-unboxing.
2nd gen eee ftw
@dearhaw: For me personally, I'd love to be done with the optical on a notebook, since it's just one less series of moving parts (and allows for upgrade options on the optical itself externally), but the issues I can't get around are memory upgrades and storage swapping. My current Macbook is better because of the fact that I can remove the battery, swap the memory, and swap the drive. The optical isn't even part of the equation anymore.
The envelope thing doesn't impress me at all. Can you fit the MBA along with its external optical drive in there? Comparing this thing to any other laptop is just useless. Sure it is thinner than anything out there but that comes at the cost of practicality. I don't care what anyone says if I can't have an internal optical drive I don't want it.
@HAGE
Wrong. I have an SZ, which they are comparing the MBA to on this page, and play plenty of games on it. Heck, I have a UX and play WoW on it in the middle of nowhere... can you do that on the MBA?
@Mini Driver
A piece of engineering compared to this Sony? Do you even *know* what the specs on the SZ are? It has two frickin' GPUs, a much better screen, a faster processor, the capacity for more memory, more HDD... and you'd compare them? The MBA looks pretty, and is pretty impressive for what it is, but comparing it to the SZ is boxing out of it's weight...
@rednecktech: Not everyone actually needs an optical drive while on the move. In the 2 1/2 years I've owned my MB, I have yet to actually need the optical while out and about. That said, with the low weight and volume of this machine, carrying that external, should you need it, is not much of an encumbrance. Anyway, if you DO require the optical often in most situations, Apple has not discontinued the regular Macbook line.
@wraith808:
Current SZs have the same X3100 GPU that the MBA has, with an external GPU option of a 8400M GS, providing that same gimpy upgrade if you want to use an external GPU. The 8400M IS a step up from integrated, but a modest step at that, I'd be hard pressed to say your gaming world would open up moving from one to the other.
Ya but can she COOK?
@Grangoire: Because Steve Jobs did. If you didn't copy him, you're a loser.
Stupid Macbook Air! What a waste of technology. They could have given Macbooks LED backlighting and give it Penryn processors. They would have been able to maintain the same price, extend the battery life by at least an hour and taken some weight and height off it as well, which is unnecessary because it weighs 5 lbs and is 1.08" thick. What were they THINKING? And don't even think about comparing a Vaio SZ to the Air because the SZ is ten times the laptop the Air ever can be, despite its cosmetic design and size difference.
@HAGE
True, the 8400 is not as big a step up as I'd like. But more than enough to play many games, i.e. WoW, Everquest 2, and others that I play regularly on my box. That's not really an option on the MBA. So no, it's no real comparison. And add the fact that the CPU on my SZ is much faster than the MBA, even the 3k .2GHz upgrade, and its more able to game than the MBA. That's not my primary purpose of this box, but that it's able to handle it is definitely a plus.