Apple unveils super-thin "Air" laptop, Web movies
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Apple on Tuesday launched an aluminum-clad laptop just three-quarters of an inch thick, seeking to bring a new computer to market with the same cachet as its iPod and iPhone devices.
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When Steve Jobs debuted the MacBook Air at his Macworld 2008 keynote, one notable fact emerged: Apple is using an extra-small CPU that Intel specially repackaged in order to accommodate the computer maker's needs for its ultraportable notebook computer.
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&#147;I am writing these words on the most elegant desktop computer I&#146;ve ever used,&#148; writes Walt Mossberg about the iMac G5 in the Wall Street Journal, &#147;a computer that is not only uncommonly beautiful but fast and powerful, virus-free and surprisingly affordable. This machine takes up no more space on a desk than a flat-panel monitor. In fact, the entire computer is contained behind a flat-panel screen in a space just 2 inches thick &#151; thinner than most flat-panel monitors alone.&#148; [Sep 23]
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Frenzied excitement gathers pace So, CES packs up for another year and everyone takes a break from the full-on, week-long frenzy. However, another big event is about to steal the spotlight as Apple is expected to announce an ultra-slim laptop at its annual show on Tuesday.â¦
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Thatâs what Cisco Cheng has to say about the performance of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Earning a four-star editorâs rating, the MacBook Pro, Cheng says, â is the only 17-inch laptop that can be labeled as both a thin-and-light laptop and a desktop replacement. Itâs thin-and-light in that it weighs a mere 6.7 pounds, yet with its drool-inducing 17-inch widescreen, it can kick your current desktop to the curb.â
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Premium product Rumours that Apple is working on a sub-notebook computer were given weight this week when a Wall Street analyst claimed the ultra-compact MacBook will use Flash storage.â¦
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During his Macworld Expo keynote address on Tuesday morning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the MacBook Air Tuesday, a computer that the company billed as the world's thinnest notebook -- small enough to fit inside an interoffice mailing envelope. It's priced starting at $1,799.Sporting a silvery finish, the MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display -- it saves power and provides "instant on" response from the moment you turn it on, according to Jobs. The device has a slightly wedge-shaped profile that runs from 1.2 inches down to 0.8 inches high. It weighs about 3 pounds, and sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches.The MacBook Air also features a built-in iSight webcam and a full sized MacBook-style black keyboard. The keyboard is backlit, similar to MacBook Pros, and has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts brightness. The trackpad is also capable of recognizing multi-touch gestures, similar to using an iPhone or iPod touch.The MacBook Air features a 1.8-inch hard disk drive with 80GB of storage capacity standard. A 64GB SSD drive is also an option. The laptop is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.6GHz with 1.8GHz available as an option. Jobs noted that Intel was willing to engineer a new version of the Core 2 Duo specifically to Apple's specifications -- it's 60 percent smaller than others.Like the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air features a MagSafe connector for power. It comes with a 45 watt power adapter. A flip-down door on one side reveals USB 2.0, Micro-DVI (to connect an external display) and a headphone jack. The MacBook Air also includes 802.11n-based wireless networking support and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.Apple estimates that with wireless networking turned on, the MacBook Air can get about 5 hours of battery life.No internal optical drive is included, but Apple will offer a $99 USB 2.0-based add-on. For users that opt not to get the optical drive, Apple is offering a new software feature on this machine called Remote Disk; it enables you to "borrow" the optical drive of another Mac or PC on the same network as the MacBook Air, to use for installing software, for example.Apple's frequently been in the crosshairs of environmental group Greenpeace in recent years. Jobs offered information about the environmental goals behind the MacBook Air -- it has a fully recyclable aluminum case, and is "the first" to have a mercury-free display with arsenic-free glass. All the circuit boards are BFR-free and PVC-free, and the retail packaging uses 56 percent less material than the MacBook packaging.
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At the annual show in San Francisco, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs made two major announcements but only confirmed what bloggers had already sniffed out: iTunes will start renting out movies, and the company will offer a super-thin laptop.
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If my hunch is correct,â writes Julio Ojeda-Zapata , âbusiness-class airliner cabins will be filled with corporate types whipping out their MacBook Airs for work amid admiring glances from seatmates.â MacBook Air, after all, âis one sexy portable,â a laptop that âscreams luxury with its extra-bright display (a newfangled light-emitting-diode variant) and a full-size, backlit keyboard that has a great, firm feel.â Ojeda-Zapata suggests that âbusiness types needing ultraportability with style and comfort wonât be able to resist the Air. They can even wedge Windows in there (I did so with no trouble).â
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Steve Jobs wowed the Macworld audience when he unveiled the slim, ultraportable MacBook Air notebook, but users and analysts say its lack of some important features may make it unattractive to buyers.The&#160;ultraportable notebook, launched at the conference and expo on Tuesday, has a 13.3-inch wide-screen display and a full-size backlit keyboard. It uses a 1.8-inch hard drive, also found in the iPod, and a smaller version of Intel&#39;s Core 2 Duo processor.Apple has also developed a program called Remote Disk, with which users can download software from the optical drive of a nearby computer using built-in 802.11n wireless networking. At 3 pounds (1.3 kilograms), Jobs called it the lightest and thinnest notebook on the planet.Scott Armstrong, a Mac user, was watching the Web for news from the show as Jobs unveiled the notebook, which is .076 inch at its thinnest part and from 0.8 inch to 1.2 inches high, by removing it from a business-size manila envelope. For all its impressive features, it does not meet the needs of Apple&#39;s traditional multimedia audience, said Armstrong, who is also president of the Macintosh Users Group in Kennewick, Wash.One omission is a FireWire communications port, which is necessary to transfer big multimedia files, Armstrong said. Apple has led the effort to promote FireWire, so it&#39;s surprising it wasn&#39;t included in MacBook Air, Armstrong said. One USB port isn&#39;t enough, he said.The machine lacks storage capacity and, at 4,200 rpm, the hard drive is really slow, Armstrong said. &quot;Most people would like to have features in their laptops. This product is for people who won&#39;t need stuff or hook stuff up,&quot; Armstrong said.It may be targeted at students, who could sacrifice features for portability, Armstrong said. &quot;They haven&#39;t discontinued the MacBook and MacBook Pro notebook models, so they are doing it for a niche market,&quot; Armstrong said.The Air&#39;s novelty value could attract buyers, but the $1,799 starting price tag is too heavy for a machine lacking features.&quot;They won&#39;t stay with this for long, they&#39;ll come out with something more innovative with Air,&quot; Armstrong said.The MacBook Air is a mismatch with Apple&#39;s price-sensitive customers, such as educators and those who do creative work and require significant storage for music, photos, and video, Citigroup said in a research note on Wednesday. Moreover, ultraportable-laptop users are generally Windows-based PC users, not Mac users, Citigroup said.While the product could be a long-term success, Apple will produce the laptop in small volumes until more features are added, Citigroup said.Unlike&#160;Asus&#39;s Eee PC, the MacBook Air may sell slowly because of its high price point and overlapping functionality with the existing MacBook and MacBook Pro lines, said Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, in a research note. However, Apple is adept with product placement, as shown by the iPhone and iPod, where there has been minimal cannibalization despite overlapping functionality, Wu said.The MacBook Air may be niche, but Apple could be pioneering the adoption of future technologies&#160;such as&#160;wireless communication between devices, said Jim Ritz, a Mac user and member of the Apple Pi user group in Rockville, Md.Users were concerned when Apple got rid of the floppy drive, and now Apple is now betting that the time for wireless networking has come by removing the Ethernet port and including wireless storage, Ritz said.Adding more wireless features establishes Apple&#39;s intent to change the way users look at ultraportable laptops, Ritz said. &quot;I&#39;m curious to see what the notebook looks like a year from now.&quot;Ritz has a plan that will help him afford to buy a MacBook Air, which he wants to try out -- he says he&#39;s going to offer to sell his recently purchased MacBook to his wife.&quot;It&#39;s a costly little puppy no doubt, but all new things are expensive,&quot; Ritz said of the MacBook Air.Apple officials could not be reached for comment regarding concerns with the MacBook Air that were raised by Mac enthusiasts and analysts.
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âFor a lot of people,â says Ken Mingis , âsmaller and lighter is better when it comes to their laptops.â  He considers MacBook Air âone of the coolest-looking laptops to appear in years â both in terms of size and hipness.â It has âa gorgeous display that looks sharper and brighter on the Air than it does on the regular MacBook.â And, he says, âwaking it up from sleep mode took about 2 seconds, and the LED backlighting means the screen hit full brightness as soon as it was awake.â As for performance: âThe Air feels just about as snappy as my MacBook Pro in day-to-day use doing the kinds of things most users will be doing: surfing the Web, firing off e-mails, text editing and light graphics work.â
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Sure, there was the MacBook Air and the buzz around "thinnovation." But wasn't that -- pun intended -- too "thin" for a big media splash, especially compared to past years?
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The rumour mill was right: the world's thinnest notebook Macworld Expo For once the rumour mills were right. "There's something in the air," said Steve Jobs. And then he hit us with the MacBook Air. Itâs silver (aluminium), has black keys, is super super thin, and Steve can held it easily with his fingertips.â¦
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Rumor has it that Apple will announce a super-slim laptop and online movie rentals at its Macworld conference next week.
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In an effort to push mobility into thin clients, Hewlett-Packard is adding a laptop with minimal storage and wireless networking features to its lineup.The HP Compaq 6720T Mobile Thin Client has 1GB of internal flash storage and will be more of a terminal than a full-blown PC, with data storage and system management handled from a remote server, the company said Thursday. The laptop boots off Windows XP Embedded OS in the flash module.Because data isn&#39;t stored on the laptop, there is less risk of a company losing data, said Thai Nguyen, HP worldwide product marketing manager for thin clients. The thin-client laptop is also managed from a server, diminishing management challenges such as issuing software updates, Nguyen said.Along with better security and easier system management, thin-client architecture uses less power than traditional PCs, said Klaus Besier, vice president for thin clients at HP. The thin-client laptop does not have a fan or moving parts such as a hard drive.The product is targeted at vertical industries such as health care and insurance, Nguyen said.Weighing 5.4 pounds (2.45 kilograms), the laptop is powered by an Intel Celeron M processor. It includes 802.11a/b/g wireless networking, wired networking, integrated graphics, three USB ports and two PC Card slots. It includes a DVD-ROM drive and stereo speakers.The laptop comes with terminal software, including HP Session Allocation Manager, which establishes a secure network connection to remote servers.Priced starting at $725, the 6720t thin client will be available in North America and Japan later this month.Users may not be inclined toward the HP thin-client laptop, said analyst Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. Terminal users such as financial brokers prefer powerful thin clients that support multiple monitors, and mobile workers want something like Research in Motion&#39;s BlackBerry, he said.The biggest problem with the HP thin client could be its lack of mobility. &quot;You don&#39;t want a situation where you can&#39;t use it unless you are connected,&quot; Kay said. With minimal storage and no network connection, it would be useless on an airplane, for example.HP could be experimenting or demonstrating the laptop as a new concept to the thin-client market and as a predecessor to future HP products, Kay suggested. &quot;It&#39;s an odd product. It won&#39;t be all that successful,&quot; Kay said.However, the thin-client laptop isn&#39;t aimed at &quot;mobile warriors&quot; who spend a lot of time on the road, said Tad Bodeman, director blade PC and thin client solutions at HP. &quot;We&#39;re not trying to replace every laptop PC,&quot; he said.The laptop works better in environments like hospitals, where nurses walk around with laptops on carts wirelessly pulling patient data from a central server, he said, adding that it may also be useful within an office environment. The laptop minimizes the risk of data loss related to theft and gives corporations a device that is low in cost to support and maintain.Bodeman declined to comment about HP&#39;s plans for future thin-client products.HP competes with IBM and ClearCube Technology in the thin-client hardware and software space.
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Apple's ultrathin MacBook Air refocuses attention on  ultraportable laptops. How does it stack up against the competing Fujitsu's LifeBook P8010 and Toshiba's Portege R500?
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Apple Computer unveiled, after a  two-month delay, its new iMac desktop computer on Tuesday which  integrates disk drives and processors into a flat display less  than two inches thick.