MacBook Air, The not quite sub-notebook

I have to hand it to Apple, when rumors abound they usually manage to exceed expectations. Lots of suggestions had been made about the new macbook and most of them were wrong. The new portable is certainly a marvel of engineering. Anyone who disagrees with that is certainly just a begrudging sour puss. To cram a full speed core2 duo in to that size of a machine is incredible, and kudos to the engineers over in Cupertino.

There is certainly a lot to like about the new MacBook Air. And apparently there is a lot to complain about too. People who have never changed their laptop’s battery or had need for the ethernet connection on their existing portable are crying foul about the Macbook Air’s lack of ethernet or removable battery. Clearly some people do not get the point of an ultra portable. Unfortunately though, In a way, Apple seems to have missed the point to a degree as well.

During the keynote, Steve Jobs commented that other manufacturers compromised on things to make a small laptop and that one of those compromises was often screen size. I think they fudged that one a little. The small screen size is what many want in an ultra-portable. For many a smaller footprint is more appealing than “slim enough to fit in an envelope”. People had been crying out for a sub-notebook and instead they got an ultra light full sized laptop. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The Air is a fabulous product in its own right and I am in no way complaining about it, but it will not, unfortunately silence the requests of those people who want a smaller laptop from Apple, or those who think the first lot of people should be content with what Apple gives them because Apple knows best.

Now, about that iPod update……