post updated on July 31, 2008 @ 12:04PM

All things being equal, it is an engineering and design feat. But once you factor in the price, things get pretty hairy quickly.

For one thing, it’s priced too close to a MacBook Pro. And if you factor in the features that truly set it apart aside from the size (e.g. solid-state drive) you easily push past a MBP pricepoint for a computer that has much less features and performance to give.

Now if that still doesn’t put some perspective, try this; for an extra $200 you get the following:

1. A CPU that’s literally a couple of releases ahead (1.6-1.8GHz was the range of the MBPs when they were first launched in 2006)¹
2. Almost double the hard disk space.
3. Optical drive
4. I can’t comment on screen size since the point of the air was it to be physically smaller, but I can comment on resolution; you’ll be upgrading to 1240x900 from 1024x800.²
5. Dedicated video card (which again, if you compare a Macbook to a Macbook Pro, gives a noticeable performance boost)
6. Wired ethernet.³
7. More USB (and FW) slots; I personally need at least two especially when syncing my iPod to iTunes, who’s library is on an external hard drive.⁴

The only “downgrades” you’ll be doing is that you lose the form factor and multi-touch.

Or if you want to look at it another way how bout this:

$200 is the price you pay to simply upgrade a mid-level Macbook to the black [top] model. That’s essentially $200 for the color and 40GB more of HDD space alone. This is from Macbook to Macbook. For that same $200 value, you get to upgrade everything but the size and touch-pad in the Macbook Air - to a MacBook Pro.

If you prefer to go yet another way: If you decide to save that $200 and get an Air instead of a Pro, you’re basically downgrading everything in exchange for form factor and that new swanky touch-pad.

That’s in context of comparing an Air to a Pro, when the Air should really be compared with a regular Macbook (since it’s really just a Macbook)… so lets do the math…

Comparing the two cheapest configurations (of a MacBook and MacBook Air) here’s the tally; you pay an extra $700 for the following upgrades:

1. Form factor
2. 1GB more RAM
3. Multi-touch

But you also downgrade the following in the process:

1. CPU speed
2. optical drive
3. Wired ethernet port.
4. Extra USB (and FW) slots.

So the question would be, is it really worth the price? Obviously when on a MacBook budget, adding $700 more for an improved Macbook is bit much. But from a MacBook Air budget, adding $200 more for a full blown (albeit bigger) Macbook Pro seems to be a sweet deal… at least for me.

I guess Apple is unlucky in the sense that the MB and MBP lines are priced so competitively, that putting the Air in the middle makes it seem that you’re paying too much for less when comparing it to the MB. And when comparing it to the other end (the MBP) it makes the prospect of purchasing a Pro seem like you’re paying less for so much more.

Am I making sense?

If you really want to spend that much for an Air, you better be really sure that you’re after the sexiness and bragging rights that comes with the Air; because that’s really what you’re paying premium for. There’s nothing groundbreaking as far as performance goes (in fact it’ll be a slower experience for even the newer Macbook users).

Personally, I’d still be keeping an eye on the Air a few months down the line. Hopefully the Macbook line will get cheaper, allowing the Air to penetrate the 1.5k pricepoint. Maybe then I’ll think about getting it.

What I am thinking about getting though is the Time Capsule. 1TB NAS,⁵ [Wireless] Router, Print Server for $500… interesting.

post updated on July 31, 2008 @ 12:04PM