Opinions are like assholes; everybody has one and nobody thinks theirs stinks. So here’s mine…
The Sony SZ-series in Carbon Fibre is my benchmark lightweight notebook, a 3.72lb machine that sacrifices nothing. It has ExpressCard, a fingerprint scanner, webcam, and Sony includes an ExpressCard 6-in-1 memory card reader. It even has a modem if you like to get your Internet old-school.
The MacBook Air forgoes a bunch of ports, the built-in optical drive, ExpressCard, modem, Ethernet, and Firewire. Has a fixed battery. Fixed RAM. Uses a 1.8″ disk instead of the 2.5″ common to notebooks. For a total weight savings of just 11.5 ounces. Is it just me, or is the MacBook Air heavy for what it offers? The optical drive by itself saves a good 7 to 8 ounces.
If you’re really longing for an ultra-light, there are 11.1″ notebooks that weigh less and only sacrifice on raw CPU power (ULV Core 2 Duo, 1GHz to 1.3GHz) compared to their full-sized brethren.
The only thing special about the MacBook Air is that it’s a Mac. Apple will sell plenty but to describe it as evolutionary would be a stretch, much less revolutionary or insanely great.
I’ll take one, but only if I’m spending someone else’s money.
