Responding to their customers’ garish ineptitude in trying to outprice the $999 MacBook Air, Intel has decided to do notebook makers’ work for them and put together a reference bill of materials on how to build cheap ultrabooks capable of competing Apple’s superslim ultraportable.
Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Air might look just like last years model, but don’t let that fool you the insides have been almost completely replaced. Powerful new processors and upgraded internal components make Apple’s powerful and ultra-portable notebook computer even better than last years model. I called it blazing fast last year, but this year I have to say it’s smoking fast. Its performance leaves some MacBook Pros in the dust.
I’ve spent two weeks with my new 13-inch MacBook Air putting it through all kinds of real world tests, using it daily for a variety of tasks like word processing, web surfing, image manipulation, and running various applications including Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit and Mac OS X Lion virtualization.
I’d like to share with you what I experienced during the first 14 days I used this new 13-inch mid-2011 MacBook Air.
Remember a time when people still talked about an Apple tax with a straight face? It’s been laughable for years, but with the debut of the iPad, became a self-evident joke: if Apple overprices their hardware, why the heck can’t the competition make an equally specced, sub-$500 tablet?
The disparity between what Apple can make and sell a product for and what the competition can has only grown more pronounced since the debut of the $999 MacBook Air.
It’s such a big disparity that Intel has launched what it calls the UltraBook initiative to help laptop makers release capable MacBook Air competitors… but even with Intel’s help, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that any first-gen UltraBooks will be able to beat the MacBook Air in price.
According to Digitimes:
The sources pointed out that Intel’s ultrabook concept is not a brand new innovation, but a design to allow first-tier notebook players to quickly catch up with Apple’s advances in the ultra-thin segment and help the notebook industry recover from the impact of tablet PCs. The sources pointed out that the new MacBook Airs are priced at about US$999-1,599 with rather strong demand in the US; however, designing an ultrabook based on Intel’s technical suggestions will still be unable to reduce the machine’s price level to lower than the MacBook Air’s unless Intel is willing to reduce its prices, which already account for one-third of the total cost. If Intel does reduce its prices there is a chance for vendors to provide pricing below US$1,000.
So the so-called Apple Tax, in the case of the MacBook Air, is actually an Apple Discount: they’ll sell you a $1299 top-of-the-line ultraportable with unparalleled build construction for $300 cheaper.
Expect this disparity to only get worse as time goes on: Apple’s using its cash hoard to build up a portfolio of future products that the reactionary competition can’t even hope to touch.
As you stare lovingly at your new MacBook Air before you go to bed tonight, caressing its smooth aluminum shell, know this: its Thunderbolt port is inferior when compared to that of its cousins.
Having watched Mark Malkoff’s hilarious video earlier this week, we now know it’s possible to have a pizza delivered to your local Apple store, take your pet goat to check out the latest Mac minis, and get your iPhone repaired while you’re dressed as Darth Vadar. But will a real Apple store help you troubleshoot your knockoff MacBook Air?
This is one in China did!
The MacBook Air has ushered in a new era of powerful netbooks that function more like prosumer computers. In our review of Apple’s latest 2011 MacBook Air, it’s obvious that the Air now packs a punch and accompanying price tag that most notebooks of similar size haven’t been able to dream of for years.
The PC market is looking to level the playing field between the Air and its competition, with Intel announcing a new platform called the “Ultrabook.” The Ultrabook is the PC industry’s proposed MacBook Air killer, but these upcoming notebooks will also have an ultra-price tag that’s higher than the Air’s. Apple’s entry-level MacBook Air retails for $999.
Do you have plans to purchase one of Apple’s brand spanking new MacBook Airs? Well then you may want to hold off on ordering from Apple’s online store.
Amazon is currently offering the entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air at a 5% discount off Apple’s retail price, so you end up saving about $50. Also, there’s free shipping.
Did you just get a beautiful, new MacBook Air? Apple’s new notebooks are super-slim, and they work great with OS X Lion.
However, installing Snow Leopard on a 2011 MacBook Air may not go over so well, as Apple’s older cat doesn’t apparently play nice with its newest notebook. Luckily, Apple has published a KnowledgeBase article to help you fix Snow Leopard on your brand new MacBook Air.
If you haven’t already, stop reading this and check out Buster’s awesome review of the new MacBook Air. The machine is absolutely gorgeous. And powerful, too.
One of the MacBook Air’s main draws is its lightning-fast solid-state hardrive. An SSD outperforms traditional hardrives because all storage and data transfers happen virtually, instead of having to travel across a physical platter.
Apparently, Apple is shipping some of these brand new MacBook Airs with the same SSDs from older notebook models.
Apple’s new 11-inch MacBook Air is simply incredible. Of course you probably already knew this puppy was light, and gorgeous, but the power that this tiny machine packs is truly breathtaking. Optimized for speed and portability, the new MacBook Air improves on its predecessor to prove that it’s the best notebook computer Apple’s ever made.