Apple MacBook Air (64GB)

Summary: Obviously not a true USER opinion, but more of a prospective user/consumer opinion...

I think Apple makes some great products. Obviously they're sexy, and the user interfaces are really good. But come on... I just can't get on board with this MacBook Air. If you want the solid-state drive and a meager 1.8 GHz processor, you'll be shelling out nearly $3,100. And even though it's a vaunted APPLE product, it will still be outdated in one to two years' time, just like any computer product. If this thing were $1,200, then sure... bomb-diggety. But $1,700 base price for a tiny laptop with no configurable options? And really, 1280x800? I suppose that's okay for a 13" screen, but 1440x900 would be nice. Integrated video... blah. And an 80GB HDD that spins at only 4200 RPM? Yeesh. No optical drive, no ethernet port, no FireWire, no HDMI, no SD (or any) card reader, no ExpressCard slot, and ONE stinking USB port? What planet is Steve Jobs living on? I do give Apple props for at least not gouging their cult-like base customers on the external DVD drive (only $100).

This is a very pretty laptop, no doubt, but for this size laptop, I'd rather have the year-old Dell XPS M1330, which is FAR more configurable and real-world functional costs considerably less. Depending on the sale of the week, you can get this very sleek laptop with a better processor, 50% more RAM, a DVD-RW drive, fingerprint reader, HDMI output, discrete NVIDIA video card, over three times the HDD capacity (at 5400 RPM), and the same LED-backlit screen, top-of-the-line WiFi, integrated webcam, for $300 less. That also gives you a 3-year in-home warranty, which Apple charges an extra $250 for, and it's not in-home. Want the 64GB solid-state drive? Dell charges $750 to upgrade. Apple inexplicably charges $1,000. The only real drawback to the Dell unit is that it runs Vista.

Like I said, I really like some of Apple's products. I'm in no way a Mac hater, nor am I a Dell zealot (simply using them for comparison). I just don't understand why Apple charges so much for less, and still get people (albeit a very small percentage of them) beating down their doors to buy the stuff.

I can see that, at some point in the future, the optical drive will be obsolete and you won't need an ethernet port (or Apple's proprietary $30 USB-to-ethernet dongle). But that's not going to happen before this new laptop from Apple becomes a relic. In the here and now, I have to figure this laptop will appeal to a very narrow niche of self-pronounced "high-end" users (which is a joke considering its lame processor and smallish hard drive), or more likely, people whose self-esteem is directly tied to owning the latest overpriced Apple gadget on the market.