Kasper Jade
One of the people who helped flesh out some of the specifics in AppleInsider's report friday on the 11.6-inch MacBook Air has added a bit more color to story. According to this person:
- The 11.6-inch MacBook Air won't replace the 13.3-inch model, but will instead complement it as a more aggressively-priced option.
- Both the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch models sport matching outfits in the form of new, all-unibody designs and single button trackpads.
- The port door found on the existing MacBook Air is gone from the new designs, which feature a port layout similar to the existing MacBook Pros.
- The new "SSD card" storage is based off an SATA connection.
- The base component of both models is just slightly thicker than a standard USB port at its thickest point.
As such, AppleInsider believes the photo of the mysterious 13.3-inch MacBook Air that appeared on Engadget last night is indeed a prototype (from back in April) of the new 13.3-inch MacBook Air and is architecturally very close to what Apple plans to release next week alongside the new 11.6-inch model.
From that image, along with one also published of the machine's system profile, it appears that:
- The new SSD card-based storage sits above and to the left of the new battery chamber, which appears to include 4 separate battery components.
- The unit has dual USB ports, one on each side
- Other I/O include a MagSafe power adapter, mini DisplayPort, and SD card reader
- The prototype from April is running the same 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo SL9400 processor found in the current generation MacBook Air
- It also has 2GB of memory as standard
- Bus speed clocks in at 1.07GHz
- The unit identifies itself as MacBook Air 3,1
For additional details on the new MacBook Air's, please see AppleInsider's earlier report.
Charles Martin
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110 Comments
If the pricing is right the odd one out will now be the white MacBook. Is it's days numbered?
I need a lightweight laptop as part of the way I work, currently a 2009 MBP 13" but would consider an Air. Really am interested (from a purchasing perspective) to see what they come up with.
I was really looking for a bit better specs. I like everything about this except the non-updated specs. The current air is somewhat slow in normal use.
I currently use a macbook pro as a headless mac. Both at work and home I have monitor, screen and keyboard. I run the computer with the lid closed, and carry the computer where I go.
I also use the computer with lid open, for presentations and when I travel.
The biggest downside to this method is the size and weight of the macbook pro. Although I'm not going to buy an air, when purchasing time comes up I would be tempted if the disk size and processor speed measure up.
I'll be interested in whether the air will make a good headless mac and whether apple will push that configuration.
The iPad has shown the efficacy of using multitouch in combination with a smaller form factor (zoom, pan, page flip, etcetera). And the smaller the form factor the lower the weight and price.
Sounds like Apple is continuing to fold innovation in one arena back into other arenas to me....