PC Guy with a Mac

Alright, MacWorld has come and gone, and even though there are one hundred and one things that could be discussed relating to all of the new products, services, features and updates that Apple is planning for 2008, I wish to set my sights on one of the bigger product announcements, the MacBook Air.

On paper, the MacBook Air sounds great. It sports an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 13.3″ diagonal display (which I hear looks great), an 802.11n wi-fi connection, a built-in iSight camera, an optional solid-state hard drive, a purported 5-hour battery life, and an integrated self-satisfaction generator called iSmarmy™ that will automatically elevate its users to the front of the tech-chic herd.

As purported by Mr. Jobs and the Apple Fan-erati, the MacBook Air’s primary selling points are its vertical dimensionality of .76″ and its weight of 3 pounds. To adhere to this footprint, sacrifices had to be made, such as..

• No integrated CD/DVD/DVDRW drive – A “Super Drive” can be purchased separately or you can use software that comes on the Air to leech optical drive use from a networked Mac or PC.
• Limited expansion ports – 1 audio output, 1 USB port, and 1 Micro-DVI connection is all you get
• No ability to change out the battery, but an Apple store is happy to do it for you for $129
• Limited hard drive sizes – An 80GB PATA drive or a 64GB SSD (solid state drive) is available at this time. Any other sizes would require an external solution.
• Your wallet health – $1799 starting price ?!?!?

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would purchase a MacBook Air in order to fulfill a need. The only reason that I can see anyone would want to buy one is to fulfill a desire, and that desire is to be the coolest kid on the block with the latest toy everyone wants. Too many compromises were made in order for the MacBook Air to be the “thinnest, lightest laptop on the market today” and the argument that it was made for the business traveler is ridiculous.

I agree that the unit’s weight won’t be a burden to lug around to meetings or on an airplane, but a business traveler still has to carry around an extremely expensive device that is 12.8″ wide and 9″ deep. Vertically, you gain about an inch when compared to other laptops on the market, but horizontally, you’re still lugging around an expensive plank of technology that has no advantage over a standard notebook.

And what about the business traveler that wants to watch a movie? Well, if the movie isn’t stored on the Air’s hard disk, you’re going to have to carry around the Super Drive, which throws the whole intended purpose of the unit’s portability out the window. And the Air’s 5-hour battery life? All of the reviews I’ve read up to this point are stating that real-world use of the product (Internet access, playing audio, etc) brings this number down to a more realistic 3 1/2 hours. With other systems, the long plane ride can be compensated for by carrying along another battery, but this flexibility is not allowed with the MacBook Air.

So, the only real plus that I see in owning a MacBook Air is the unit’s weight. In my opinion, there are way too many sacrifices being made at the altar of “cool” for me to ever consider purchasing this system. My prediction: the Air will be an overall disappointment to Apple sales in 2008; however, when MacWorld 2009 rolls around, the same design concept will be modified and improved upon, which will spur a resurgence of the Air’s sales and ultimately prove me to be an idiot.