MacBook Air 10.1"

What we Want?

Updated Dec 23rd, 2009

The MacBook Air is a netbook, whether some Apple executive agrees or not. Market and demand exists, or people were not creating “hackintosh” versions out there. And we want it from Apple for many reasons (some because they love the brand, some want to run from Windows, etc). We just need Apple to hear our claims.

And what we are asking for is very simple: a smaller MacBook Air. We know there is a cost to each hardware part and that increasing all characteristics of the MacBook Air would keep its price or make it even higher, se we basically ask for a reduced size of it. Given our experience with other netbooks, we concluded that a 10.1″ screen would be enough for most uses and users. Below is a comparative between the current MacBook Air and our proposed 10″ version.

MacBook Air

MacBook Air 13.3″

(MC233LL/A)

 MacBook Air

MacBook Air 10.1″

(proposed)

Specifications

Processor

Default Memory

Maximum Memory

Hard Drive

Graphics Processor

1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB

2GB

120GB 4200-rpm or 128GB SDD

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2GB

2GB

120GB 4200-rpm or 128GB SDD

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

Size and Weight

Height

Width

Depth

Weight

0.76 inch (1.94 cm)

12.8 inches (32.5 cm)

8.94 inches (22.7 cm)

3.0 pounds (1.36 kg)

0.76 inch (1.94 cm)

9.8 inches (24.9 cm)

7.2 inches (18.3 cm)

2.0 pounds (0.91 kg)2

Display

Widescreen Size

Native Resolution

13.3-inch LED-backlit

1280 by 800 pixels

10.1-inch LED-backlit

1024 by 640 pixels

Network

Gigabyte Ethernet Port

Airport Wi-Fi 802.11n

Bluetooth 2.1

-

Yes

Yes

-

Yes

Yes

Other Features

Battery Time

USB 2.0 Ports

Firewire 800 Ports

Mini DisplayPort

iSight Camera

Full-size Backlit Keyboard

SD Card Slot

SuperDrive

Audio Minijack

Kensington Lock Slot

5 hours

1

-

Yes

Yes

Yes

-

-

Out only

-

5 hours

1

-

Yes

Yes

Yes

-

-

In/Out (iPhone like)

Yes

Price

$1499

$8993
  • [1] All information on MacBook Air 13.3″ taken straight from Apple Inc. site [here] on December 23rd, 2009.
  • [2] Weight will most probably vary on an actual product.
  • [3] Proposed price to enable buyers to acquire Apple’s SuperDrive and still equals the price of the basic MacBook

As you can see, we have changed two other characteristics of the original MacBook Air: the inclusion of a Kesington lock slot and the replacement of the simple audio out port by a in/out port, like the ones used on iPhone and the basic MacBook. Do you see an increase in iPhone sales or, at least, on their earphones here?

Keyboard and Trackpad

Some might also think that the reduced size of a netbook will force some awkward keyboard disposition or hard-to-hit keys. That is not true. On the picture below, you can see that the keyboard layout of our proposed version is just the same as the original MacBook Air. We simply killed the unnecessary space between keys and slightly reduced their overall size. the keyboard has also been redesigned to take most of the width as possible to prevent reducing key size too much.


On the lower part of that image, we can also see the proposed trackpad. If you take a look at the latest MacBook Pro, you’ll notice they also have removed the trackpad button, using only touches and gestures to simulate the button (as you can easily configure any other MacBook to behave already; nothing new here). Plus, netbook users usually relay on a external mouse for longer work hours. Can you see more market for the newest Magic Mouse.

So, we conclude that Apple is missing a big deal and a big market today and to come in future years by closing its eyes for it now. People are demanding a netbook, a fully capable and portable computer, and not some giant iPhone (aka “tablet”).

Make Better Than This!

Of course we could ask for more: a second USB port, an ethernet port (there are moments we can’t count on wireless), integrated 3G modem, bigger hard drives, etc. Of course Apple could also increase it the way they wanted but they might not keep prices affordable compared to other products they sell (as we already compared [here], e.g.).

And since Tim Cook thinks netbooks stink as they are today, we thought about giving him some ideas to inspire him. Now we dare you: make better than this!