Recycled Computing

$999 MacBook Air Can Cost $1,399

- 2010.10.22

Popularity:

Short link: http://bit.ly/9Pzf82

Like everyone, I don't like to miss Apple product intros, because there's always a "wow" factor in the new tech, and I can never get enough of those black turtleneck shirts. However, I was just a bit disappointed about the latest offerings from the Apple mothership.

Yeah, I'd like to take a look at the Apple version of the netbook. But that price tag?

I know, I know, we are all supposed to be privileged laptop and netbook users and be willing to pay that "Apple premium" to buy the best. The $999 price point is sacred to Steve Jobs, and there is no way Apple will build a cheap anything, let alone offer a $500 netbook.

I have sad news, folks. I have no problems updating "old" computers, but the new laptops that Apple is putting out have issues.

First, every road warrior carries a spare battery "just in case" they run out of juice on the road or something happens to the first battery. Well, you have to take off the bottom of the laptop to replace the battery. There are tiny screws involved, and you just know what's going to happen to tiny screws when you are trying to swap batteries "on the go".

Secondly, if you want to have more RAM in your MacBook Air, you have to order it that way from the factory. I don't know if iFixit or anyone else has taken apart a brand new MacBook Air yet, but I bet if you want to do-it-yourself, there would be some tricky soldering involved. So if you want more RAM, that $999 price point just got left behind.

Do you want to put in more internal data storage? You have to have the factory do it for you, but the only way to get a bigger solid-state drive is to order the $1,199 version of the 11" MacBook Air. And, of course, it costs more.

And what about a faster processor? Apple can do that if you buy the $1,199 model.

That original $999 price tag has climbed a bit, hasn't it? Now it will cost you $1,399 to buy an 11.6" MacBook Air with 4 GB of RAM, a 1.6 GHz processor, and a 128 GB drive.

Compare that to the slew of other netbooks out there. And remember, if you plan to hang on to that computer and if you are buying something for the long haul, you have to max out your purchase right now, because you may not be able to upgrade later on.

If it doesn't bother you to buy a new computer every year or so, I suppose it's not an issue for you.

I have to say that I'm disappointed. I'll admit that Apple sets the bar pretty high, but this time it appears that it isn't even trying to exceed it.

Join us on Facebook!, follow us on Twitter, use our Google+ page, or read our RSS news feed

Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Mountain Lion Obsoletes the MacBook I Just Bought, 2012.02.24. John Hatchett just got his first Intel Mac, a preowned MacBook, in December, and now it looks like it won't be able to run OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
Improving Tablets: Why Not a Slider Keyboard?, 2012.02.20. Perhaps the biggest drawback of the iPad and other tablets is lack of a buil-in physical keyboard. Many phones have slider keyboards....
Which Apple TV Is Right for You?, 2012.02.15. If you own an older TV set, the original Apple TV may be a better choice than Apple's current unit.
More in the Recycled Computing index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Unitron Mac512, introduced 1985. Unauthorized Brazilian clone of the Mac 512K.
May 24 in LEM history: 99: Mac sales up, iMac sales down? - 01: Speeding up digital photography - 02: The Internet, research, and plagiarism - 04: NewerTech TiBook battery - Optical mice from Contour - 06: Power Mac today or Intel tomorrow? - 07: G5: Apple's last fling with PowerPC - G3: From 233 MHz to 1.1 GHz
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Low End Mac, LowEndMac, and lowendmac.com are trademarks of Cobweb Publishing Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Macpokeronline.com will show you how to download and play Poker on a Mac natively on your Mac in just minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay