Apple has one of the cheapest options out there for a 64GB SSD.
About the resolution: I can see where you're coming from, but personally, I find 1280x800 to be the max for a 13.3" screen, higher resolution than that and I'll need a magnifying glass. This is also where the advantage of using OSX comes in: technologies like Exposé (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expos%C3%A9_(Mac_OS_X)), Spaces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaces_(software), and Dashboard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashboard_(software)) optimize your screen real estate by letting you work with layers, window scaling,and multiple desktops. Fonts and icons can be scaled, and the OSX file manager is more space efficient than that of Windows, with its Cover Flow, Source list-like sidebar, and slimmer window frames.
Alright, all three dimensions: Vaio is 93.2 cubic inches, MacBook Air is 52.6 cubic inches. This means that is absolute terms, no other conclusion possible, the Vaio is 80% bigger. And still Apple manages to put in a larger screen, larger keyboard, and larger trackpad. Hell of a lot cheaper too.
Might as well go all the way and get yourself a MacBook Pro, which is 20% thicker than the ThinkPad. Then you'll have a computer with MagSafe, DVI-out, multi-touch trackpad, full-size keyboard, Sudden Motion Sensor, built-in camera and remote control, auto-sensing backlit keyboard, auto-adjusting LED backlit display, FireWire400 and FireWire800, and a 2.6Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. There is no match.
I just took a look at that thing hoping to be able to answer your question, but I've got nuttin. I can see no viable explanation as to why that laptop came into this world, except that the guys at Lenovo must've had some really awful hangovers over an extended period of time. Who wants their laptop to look like a freaking briefcase? And in tan, no less. Ugh. I really hope they're not going to try to compete with Apple like this because I'd hate to start feeling sorry for them.
(BTW: I've always liked the ThinkPad, and even owned a few, but trying to make them look stylish or pretty is just a big big mistake. It simply cannot be done.)
There's DVI-VGA converters, cost about $3, so no lack of compatibility whatsoever. Only having a VGA port on your notebook, that's lack of compatibility.
Apple laptops have had DVI since April 2002, that's almost 6 years. Are you one of those people who still thinks the iPod is a fad, too?
Don't forget to take out an hour for the taxiing, take-off, and landing. But that still leaves you with half an hour of battery life too little, in case you wanted to use your laptop the whole time on your flight from Boston to San Francisco.
I understand that there's a whole tech thing going on in the Boston area and why folks go there. Personally, I never needed to be in Massachusetts, I just visit for the occasional holiday. From the city to Boston is just 1,5 hours, and a direct flight to LA is under 5 hours (but I always opt for a short lay-over, as I'm still a slave to the nicotine.)
There is no part of the MacBook Air where 0.6 or 0.7 of anything will fit, no matter the width. Remember, the MacBook Air is 0.16 to 0.76 inch thick, including the screen. I measured the base, the thickest it gets is 0.35 inch, near the hinge. On both sides of the computer these spots are already taken; on the left by the power connector, and on the right by micro-DVI, minijack and USB.
By the way, MacBook Air doesn't want to be your next "dull work notebook" or "corporate workhorse". The MBA is a computer for people with smooth hands. If you need a tricked out notebook meant as desktop replacement, try the MacBook Pro. Just don't compare that ThinkPad to a MacBook. The MacBook is a $1100 consumer laptop, the ThinkPad X61 is a $2000 mammoth tanker.
"Want more innovation? Shrink the size of those dang power bricks."
The MacBook's power adapter was already quite small, but the MacBook Air's power adapter is 50% smaller than that, more in line with the iPod's power adapter (which is teenie.)
I've never been on a domestic flight that took 5 hours, and I'm guessing that most of us haven't. And with transatlantic flights, there's always a power adapter in business class. (And why would anyone travel coach? That's just masochism.)
No, 10/100 Ethernet isn't all that fast. Apple doesn't really want you to use it either, that's why it's offered as an option, for those who absolutely must plug in. Apple wants you to use 802.11n, which at 30MB/ps is quite respectable. Since the standard disk in the MacBook comes straight from the iPod, at 1.8" and 4200rpm, it's not likely to be a great performer in the high speed transfer department anyways, so why bother with Gigabit Ethernet.
Perhaps more importantly, Apple wants you to keep your multimedia files on separate devices such as Time Capsule and Apple TV, so you won't be needing to transfer large files anyways;)
I checked it, and you're right. My bad.
I still don't see any need for carrying several batteries, though. 5 hours of real world battery life goes a long way, and with the SSD option, the MBA's battery life is bound to be even longer. If that isn't enough, Apple sells a MagSafe airline adapter for $49.
An ExpressCard is 0.2 inch thick. With the MBA being 0.16-0.76 thick, it'll be quite a feat to fit an ExpressCard interface in that kind of package. Apart from that, the electronics in the MBA are even tighter than the iPod's, there just isn't any room to spare.
It does however involve unscrewing the MBA's bottom, so it's not like you'll exchange batteries mid-flight. (However, this isn't allowed anymore anyways, so kind of a moot point.)
With specs like a LED backlit 1440X900 screen, Santa Rosa 2, and a 64 GB SSD, this thing is going to be nowhere close to the MBA's price point. The supposed battery life of 4 hours doesn't make me hopeful either -- manufacturers tend to lie, er, be overly optimistic about these things.
This thing will be in a totally different market. Like, for users who love spending >$4000 on their laptop and having it plugged it permanently.
If, and that's a mighty big "if", Apple would ever choose to release a full-fledged MacOS for x86, I would only consider using it on a custom-built box. To me, the only merit of using x86 is the ability to completely build a system from scratch -- with your own choice of CPU, GPU, cooling and case. This is why Apple notebooks are the best ones equipped on the market -- noone builds notebooks to their own specs, and Dell surely won't fit a notebook with FireWire800, Gigabit Ethernet and 54mbps WiFi unless there's enough demand.
Besides, the argument of Apple computers being more costly than IBM PC's is dated and simply wrong. Try and find any lower quotes (non-refurb or sale articles ofcourse) for brand systems that have similar specs, form factor, and hardware quality to Apple's new iMac or PowerBook series.
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If you'd switch to Mac you'd get a better iTunes experience. ;)
Apple has one of the cheapest options out there for a 64GB SSD.
About the resolution: I can see where you're coming from, but personally, I find 1280x800 to be the max for a 13.3" screen, higher resolution than that and I'll need a magnifying glass. This is also where the advantage of using OSX comes in: technologies like Exposé (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expos%C3%A9_(Mac_OS_X)), Spaces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaces_(software), and Dashboard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashboard_(software)) optimize your screen real estate by letting you work with layers, window scaling,and multiple desktops. Fonts and icons can be scaled, and the OSX file manager is more space efficient than that of Windows, with its Cover Flow, Source list-like sidebar, and slimmer window frames.
Alright, all three dimensions: Vaio is 93.2 cubic inches, MacBook Air is 52.6 cubic inches. This means that is absolute terms, no other conclusion possible, the Vaio is 80% bigger. And still Apple manages to put in a larger screen, larger keyboard, and larger trackpad. Hell of a lot cheaper too.
"a little thicker than the Air"
The ThinkPad is 80% thicker, to be precise.
Might as well go all the way and get yourself a MacBook Pro, which is 20% thicker than the ThinkPad. Then you'll have a computer with MagSafe, DVI-out, multi-touch trackpad, full-size keyboard, Sudden Motion Sensor, built-in camera and remote control, auto-sensing backlit keyboard, auto-adjusting LED backlit display, FireWire400 and FireWire800, and a 2.6Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. There is no match.
I just took a look at that thing hoping to be able to answer your question, but I've got nuttin. I can see no viable explanation as to why that laptop came into this world, except that the guys at Lenovo must've had some really awful hangovers over an extended period of time. Who wants their laptop to look like a freaking briefcase? And in tan, no less. Ugh. I really hope they're not going to try to compete with Apple like this because I'd hate to start feeling sorry for them.
(BTW: I've always liked the ThinkPad, and even owned a few, but trying to make them look stylish or pretty is just a big big mistake. It simply cannot be done.)
There's DVI-VGA converters, cost about $3, so no lack of compatibility whatsoever. Only having a VGA port on your notebook, that's lack of compatibility.
Apple laptops have had DVI since April 2002, that's almost 6 years. Are you one of those people who still thinks the iPod is a fad, too?
In America you own a Slashdot poster,
..aaaand in Russia the Slashdot poster p0wns you.
Don't forget to take out an hour for the taxiing, take-off, and landing. But that still leaves you with half an hour of battery life too little, in case you wanted to use your laptop the whole time on your flight from Boston to San Francisco.
I understand that there's a whole tech thing going on in the Boston area and why folks go there. Personally, I never needed to be in Massachusetts, I just visit for the occasional holiday. From the city to Boston is just 1,5 hours, and a direct flight to LA is under 5 hours (but I always opt for a short lay-over, as I'm still a slave to the nicotine.)
There is no part of the MacBook Air where 0.6 or 0.7 of anything will fit, no matter the width. Remember, the MacBook Air is 0.16 to 0.76 inch thick, including the screen. I measured the base, the thickest it gets is 0.35 inch, near the hinge. On both sides of the computer these spots are already taken; on the left by the power connector, and on the right by micro-DVI, minijack and USB.
By the way, MacBook Air doesn't want to be your next "dull work notebook" or "corporate workhorse". The MBA is a computer for people with smooth hands. If you need a tricked out notebook meant as desktop replacement, try the MacBook Pro. Just don't compare that ThinkPad to a MacBook. The MacBook is a $1100 consumer laptop, the ThinkPad X61 is a $2000 mammoth tanker.
"Want more innovation? Shrink the size of those dang power bricks."
The MacBook's power adapter was already quite small, but the MacBook Air's power adapter is 50% smaller than that, more in line with the iPod's power adapter (which is teenie.)
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=7E508A9A&nplm=MB283LL/A
I've never been on a domestic flight that took 5 hours, and I'm guessing that most of us haven't. And with transatlantic flights, there's always a power adapter in business class. (And why would anyone travel coach? That's just masochism.)
No, 10/100 Ethernet isn't all that fast. Apple doesn't really want you to use it either, that's why it's offered as an option, for those who absolutely must plug in. Apple wants you to use 802.11n, which at 30MB/ps is quite respectable. Since the standard disk in the MacBook comes straight from the iPod, at 1.8" and 4200rpm, it's not likely to be a great performer in the high speed transfer department anyways, so why bother with Gigabit Ethernet.
;)
Perhaps more importantly, Apple wants you to keep your multimedia files on separate devices such as Time Capsule and Apple TV, so you won't be needing to transfer large files anyways
I checked it, and you're right. My bad. I still don't see any need for carrying several batteries, though. 5 hours of real world battery life goes a long way, and with the SSD option, the MBA's battery life is bound to be even longer. If that isn't enough, Apple sells a MagSafe airline adapter for $49.
On the other hand, every computer Apple puts out, including the MacBook Air, has DVI built-in. Hell, even the Mac Mini and iMac have DVI-out.
An ExpressCard is 0.2 inch thick. With the MBA being 0.16-0.76 thick, it'll be quite a feat to fit an ExpressCard interface in that kind of package. Apart from that, the electronics in the MBA are even tighter than the iPod's, there just isn't any room to spare.
Apparently, it isn't that hard to change a battery on the MacBook Air.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/18/sources_macbook_air_battery_replacements_take_only_minutes.html
It does however involve unscrewing the MBA's bottom, so it's not like you'll exchange batteries mid-flight. (However, this isn't allowed anymore anyways, so kind of a moot point.)
It's not about weight, it's about thickness.
The Sony Vaio G1 is an inch thick.
Sorry, you don't get to play.
10.9(W) x 8.46(L) x 0.93-1.00(H) [inch]
277 x 215 x 23.5-25.5 [mm]
I just looked at the size of this monster:
W 12.52 x L 9.09 x D 0.73-0.92 inch
Compared to the MacBook Air:
12.8 x 8.94 x 0.16-0.76 inch
Volumetrically, two MacBook Airs fit into one of these!
(Thinkpad: 93.9 cub inches., MacBook Air: 52.6 cub inches.)
With that kind of space, Apple could've fitted a jet engine and Osama in hiding.
Not, it's not. The lesser number is the speed of the bus.
Is that supposed to be funny? I can't tell without the mod points.
With specs like a LED backlit 1440X900 screen, Santa Rosa 2, and a 64 GB SSD, this thing is going to be nowhere close to the MBA's price point. The supposed battery life of 4 hours doesn't make me hopeful either -- manufacturers tend to lie, er, be overly optimistic about these things. This thing will be in a totally different market. Like, for users who love spending >$4000 on their laptop and having it plugged it permanently.
If, and that's a mighty big "if", Apple would ever choose to release a full-fledged MacOS for x86, I would only consider using it on a custom-built box. To me, the only merit of using x86 is the ability to completely build a system from scratch -- with your own choice of CPU, GPU, cooling and case. This is why Apple notebooks are the best ones equipped on the market -- noone builds notebooks to their own specs, and Dell surely won't fit a notebook with FireWire800, Gigabit Ethernet and 54mbps WiFi unless there's enough demand.
Besides, the argument of Apple computers being more costly than IBM PC's is dated and simply wrong. Try and find any lower quotes (non-refurb or sale articles ofcourse) for brand systems that have similar specs, form factor, and hardware quality to Apple's new iMac or PowerBook series.