Apple Introduces Their Answer To Netbooks

Apple has a very low opinion of netbooks, so I am pretty sure they will take issue with people calling the new Macbook Air a netbook. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the Macbook Airs introduced today are in fact Apple's answer for those who want the capabilities netbooks provide. In other words, to those who are considering buying a netbook Apple says, consider the Macbook Air. The problem with Apple's solution is price. Part of the appeal of netbooks is that they cost around $300 and run Windows.The lowest cost Macbook Air costs $999, but for that you get a 2.3 lb Macbook that is as thin as 0.68 of an inch. The Airs design narrows to 0.11 of an inch making it a very thin, if not the thinnest notebook computer. The $999 model comes with a 11.6 inch LED display and a 64 GB flash memory disk, which are the two technical features that set the Air apart from current netbooks and notebooks. The combination of the flash disk and Mac OS X should provide much faster boot and resume from standby times than existing Windows based netbooks and notebooks. The Air's remaining technical specs are on par with netbooks. The cheapest model comes with a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of RAM. I find Apple's specs on battery life to be interesting because they say the Air will have 5 hrs of run time with wireless connectivity and up to 30 days of standby time. We'll have to wait until devices get in to reviewers hands to find out actual battery times. There is hope for optimism because Apple has a history of under stating battery life numbers and then exceeding expectations. On face value the Air's 5 hrs of run time is lower than many netbooks currently on the market. Apple's Macbook Air announcement today was actually a launch of a new product line because the $999 model I have been describing is joined by three other models. A second Air with a 11.6 inch display and a 128 GB flash disk costs $1199. The Air line also has two models with 13 inch displays, one with a 128 GB flash disk costs $1299 and the other with a 256 GB flash disk costs $1599. Both of the 12 inch models have 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors and 2 GB of RAM. All models of the Macbook Air can be upgraded to 4 GB of RAM and have 2 USB 2.0 ports, a mini display port, headphone jack, 802.11n WiFi, and Bluetooth. All models of the Macbook Air are available for purchase now from the Apple Online store.

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Apple Introduces Their Answer To Netbooks

Frank McPherson

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