I was reminded about our MacBook Air conversations (including the comments on a recent post from Walter) by seeing it as one of the minor stories on the cover of Laptop magazine. So I did some poking around the web to see what platform neutral and PC-oriented pubs had to say about Air.
By far the most often-cited reason to love it is how cool it looks, and how much fun it is to use. "An undeniable sexiness," says Gizmodo. PC Magazine tested it running Vista under Boot Camp, and says it's "hard to pass up." The reviewer at Ars Technica says, "I won't be able to go back to a MacBook or MacBook Pro—despite the Air's other downfalls."
I found a bunch more along these lines, and planned to keep going along the "pull quote and link" style, but got a little bored. The fact is that EVERY review I found said that they either wanted them, or had already bought one with their own money...even after much of their reviews were quite explicit about Air's shortcomings, including some you've never heard about, like the discovery that watching movies in iTunes destroys battery life.
These aren't consumers. They're people who work with computers for a living. Of course the one thing they had in common is, not a pro app in sight. And they ultimately love Air.
Which brings me back to my peeps at Laptop magazine. Look, there are a million ways and places and reasons to use a laptop, and the folks in our neck of the woods count for about a dozen of those million. I love Laptop's assessment because it very much agrees with my own -- why else?
This work of art is worth considering for corridor warriors who attend lots of meetings, as well as for commuters who do a fair amount of work while traveling to and from the office.
The last company I worked at was barely mid-sized, around 2,000 people worldwide, maybe a tenth the size of a corporate giant like Apple. And I saw scads of people spending their own money on super-light, super-small computers that they preferred to the corporate issued dogs. Not one of the disadvantages of Air mattered a whit:
All software was on the network, and even the wireless was fast (g speed then, probably up to n by now) and accessible (the only place in the buildings you can stand without being in sight of 2 AirPorts was in the bathroom).
I personally loaded software from disk TWICE - one was Final Cut Studio. That feature where you connect to another optical drive, Remote Drive, works great even if the computer you're connecting to is a PC. Connects automatically when there's one in the vicinity. You can even use the option key to BOOT from a Remote Drive. And that's without buying the $99 USB DVD drive. Which, by the way, can't be used with any other computer, including those from Apple.
Which also reminds me, I'd be more interested in an ethernet adapter than an optical drive. Oh wait, THERE IS ONE, and it costs $12.99. Pushes up to 100BaseT full speed through a USB 2 port. Did I mention that it's only $12.99?
The biggest benefit, as noted above, is the crazy portability. It wasn't unusual for me to be in meetings in 6 or 8 different rooms in a DAY, or that many CITIES in a WEEK. (No kidding. Sometimes more.) I'd have freaking KILLED for a computer like Air. If you think that cutting the thickness AND WEIGHT more or less in half doesn't make all the difference in the world, it's because you haven't gone through this.
Oh wait, one more reason. Every technology company, including the couple I worked for, is paved wall to wall with gear lust - cars, home theater and on and on. Laptop envy is darn near the top of the list, and tiny was always prized over powerful because, frankly, for business, they're all plenty powerful. This tiny computer would make any corporate weasel carrying it the absolute biggest of gear lust dogs.
And why buy a Mac at ALL if this isn't part of the reason you do it? 'Fess up. You know it is.
I can think of a whole bunch of other use cases scenarios where Air is absolutely ideal, but that's the one I lived in. Did I mention that I'd have KILLED for Air? You can find other scenarios at Amazon, where all 9 reviews so far are 5 stars.
Heck, if I had $1800 laying around, I'd buy one. Of course I'm very happy with my MBP, and there are a bunch of things I'd rather spend that kind of money on, all the rest of which my wife would enjoy every bit as much as me. Still, I don't mind being alone again -- naturally -- in my opinion on this, but after chewing on this for a couple of months, I think this is the most interesting Apple machine since...
...well, since the Cube. This ain't anything like that, but I'm just saying. Apple gets big when they do small, and I think this one's a lot likely to be bigger for Apple than smaller.
PS. The "Why is there air?" title is a reference to the 1965 classic comedy album by Bill Cosby of the same name. It's easy to forget today that he won an unprecedented SIX consecutive comedy Grammies, and he did them all IN A ROW. This one starts a run of truly indispensible discs that include Wonderfulness, Revenge, and To My Brother Russell With Whom I Slept. Not really a comic but a storyteller, he was the best at it since Will Rogers, and maybe since Mark Twain.
PPS. Look at the picture for Mr. Cosby's take on the answer to his own question.
Digg it
Yep, the one thing in common...
Tim Wilson pointed out: "Of course the one thing they had in common is, not a pro app in sight."
And that is such a small thing, after all...
Voting with dollars: Air's going to be huge
The fact is that it's selling so fast that, even with daily shipments from Apple, they simply can't keep up with the demand for Air.
Ars Technica has a great story about it. They called dozens of Apple stores around the country, and found the same story: sales came out of the gate fast, and are accelerating. My italics throughout.
Just as with the iPhone launch, Apple is restocking nearly every day, particularly in major markets....
Just as with iPhone, eh? I'm telling you, Air is going to be big. I'm not sure it's going to stay at this level of demand...but I'm not convinced it's not, either.
A recurring theme in our discussions with the folks at the Apple Store (who just love to gab, it must be a job requirement) is that the MacBook Air is a switcher device.
I was GOING to say in my earlier piece that I predict Air will make more new Mac computer customers than any computer they've introduced yet. That seemed a little strong, even for me, Mr. Hyperbole -- after all, the iMac was pretty big, too. But with just a little push from Ars, I'm going with my original inclination:
Air will create more new Mac computer customers than any computer they've introduced yet.
The perception that this puppy is the leanest, meanest portable there is has road warriors starry-eyed.
I just finished saying that the other day, as I had when we were first talking about this in January: this is the ultimate road warrior machine... even if the only road is down the hallway of the office. Road dogs, predominently Windows guys thus far, are going to fall over themselves to get their hands on this.
There are plenty of 'doze computers that offer better price performance than MBPs....but once you factor in how EASY Air is to travel with, it's absolutely the most attractive computer on the market. Not just because it's pretty, but because it's practical.
That's the point I'm going to keep coming back to. For millions of potential customers, there's never been a laptop more practical than Air for the lives they lead.
When we feigned amazement at the product being out of stock in multiple locations, we were told time and time again that demand for the Air is increasing as people see it in action, in person.
Gear lust, baby. Never underestimate it. Not just for business users of course, but especially for business users, and especially among business users in technology fields. They know how easy it is to address any perceived limitations (like the $12 USB-ethernet adapter), all of which pale in the face of the overwhelming advantages that Air offers.
...according to the Apple Store sales rank widget, the MacBook Air has been the top selling Mac since before the middle of February, outselling the MacBook, the iMac, and the MacBook Pro—this, despite week-long shipping delays.
Selling more than iMac.
More than MacBook.
More than MacBook Pro.
Me, I LOVE saying I told you so. :-) And hey, Jobso told you so before I did.
Update: St. Paddy's Day: Not that 2 weeks is a trend, even in internet time...but Air is still on top. In addition to them other computers, it's also selling more units than LEOPARD is right now. Leopard's admittedly last year's news, but it's always cool to me when hardware moves more units than software...and, especially with hardware that can also run MS OSes, a sign of what's ahead.
'tain't fer the kid...
Apple has now proven that they can earn a bunch of money with a machine whose benefit-per-cost-dollar must be the highest in years -- just so I can say that I have a small one, eh? Great. But it isn't for me and I doubt that I'll ever buy one. (I won't say never because I've learned that's a word best avoided.) ;o)
God bless Pro Apps and machines that can run them -- conveniently.
Best value on the market? Air.
NOT the pro apps market. THE market.
73% of ultraportables are bought by business.
Sony's ultraportables start at $2199, none larger than a 12-inch screen. I'd buy a computer with the same specs...except for a 13-inch screen, for $400 less, wouldn't you? Best value: Air.
Sony's top of the line ultra-portable is $3700. Same 12-inch screen. Top of the line Air? $3100, a SIX hundred dollar advantage.
Fujitsu Lifebook is the cheapest ultraportable on the market at $1000-ish, but has a teensy keyboard and a FIVE INCH screen. Air adds a screen that's more than twice as big, a faster processor, a full-size keyboard, a battery that lasts twice as long, and a hard drive that's twice as big....for a lot less than twice the price. Benefit per cost dollar value: Air, in a cakewalk.
And who wouldn't prefer 12 inches to 5?
Toshiba's entry level ultraportable: $2150. Buy Air, save $350. Oh yeah, and get a bigger screen.
Of course, Toshiba is the one vendor I found with a model that gives Air a run for its money at the top end: same solid state drive, but a smaller screen, less battery life and a slower processor for $2699. Pretty nice if you're willing to live with the compromises wrt Air.
Fewer compromises with Air? Yes. The recurring theme here. You make fewer compromises with Air. Pay less? Better value? Are we really talking about Macs?
Yeah, except that Apple customers have never been interested in the rock bottom price performance...or we wouldn't be buying Macs.
All kidding aside, Air is not only in the ballpark, but with that exception that I've found so far, Air is a better value...and just flat out CHEAPER...than anyone else in this class.
I'm not asking rhetorically, I'm just asking: has Apple EVER offered the CHEAPEST computer in its class? Even in the top 5? I'm happy to be corrected, but I can't think of any right off hand.
But more important, even when compared pricetag to pricetag, Air is not only cheaper, but a much, much better value. This will not be lost on the business users who make up 73% of the ultraportable market.
BTW, the SECOND largest market for ultraportables? Students. You think they wouldn't buy a Mac if they could? Now, they can.
Of course, that's if they can find it. I swung by apple.com to see if Air is in stock at my nearest Apple retailer. Turns out that Apple can't even tell me!!
I could keep going, but it's only fair to compare apples to Apples. The ultraportable market has never seen a value like Air. They've only occassionall even seen a PRICE like Air. Add the ability to choose ANY OS, and I honestly can hardly imagine why someone in this market would buy anything else. It's an exceptional value and yes, even an exceptional price, by any standard. Even Apple's.
Except you forget one important thing, Tim...
...I am not in the consumer market.
I do not care one twit what consumers do or do not do as I have my own set of needs for what my machines must do and so I will end this by saying that no matter how much of a value an Air may seem to someone else, it really has little value for me.
Your mileage obviously varies...
PS: I am happy that you like the Air just as I like the iPhone but you have yet to embrace that one. In the same way, I find the Air of little interest to me and once I saw one, it failed to make me want to write another check or pull out my plastic.
All business
The iMac is for the consumer market. Air is aimed at business and tech professionals who are willing to drop $1800-3000 of their own money on a computer even though their company gives them one for free.
We agree that Air is not for Pro Apps. Apple never claimed it was and neither have I.
My point is to dispute -- strongly -- that Air makes no sense for Apple, or that there's no market for it, or that it's overpriced and underfeatured. It makes total sense and is a great bargain....for its intended audience...which isn't the pro apps customer.
Professionals yes. Pro apps no.
The reason why I also say "consumers no" is that a consumer can buy a PS2, Xbox, Wii, Apple TV AND an iPhone for the cost of a top of the line Air, and still have enough left over to take a family of 4 to Disneyland. No kidding. You can look it up.
That's also why I keep coming back to the market that Air is intended for: the 73% of the laptop market that are business and tech professionals.
Did I mention pro apps? No. I get why pro apps people are dismayed that Air was the big MacWorld announcement...
...but fans of Apple in general should rejoice. As I write this, the stock is down 80 points to 121 just since January, removing billions in valuation. The theory I've read in the financial news is that it's due to underperforming iPhone sales, but I think that's more a reflection of financial pundrity than financial reality. Either way, Apple will do just fine, thanks for asking. But they could use some good news to balance this kind of bad news, and I think Air is it.
I think Apple will survive if you and I don't buy one though.
If I were a carpenter...
...who needs to track invoices, check emails and maybe do a little web surfing, I would likely get an Air. But I live in the Pro Apps from Apple, Adobe, Avid and a few others, so I will have to hedge my own enthusiasm but will agree with you that it is quite a shoulder saver for businesspeople on the road alot.
So, for me based on my own personal kind of math, tracking this computer's benefits-per-cost-dollar leaves me with a chill in the Air.
Sorry I couldn't pass up that last one, Tim.