EDDIEWONG

Well, it seems like the newly announced, MacBook Air (MBA), is not really the ultra-portable Mac-fans were looking forward to. In fact, it is anything but ultra-portable, imho…

I mean, ‘thin’ is one thing but the footprint of the MBA is actually too big for it to be an ultra-portable. The MBA has a 13.3-inch screen with an ugly thick bevel all round. This bevel itself already adds to the footprint of the unit taking it closer to 15-inches. An ultra-portable is supposed to be… well… ultra-portable, meaning, besides being ‘thin’, it is also supposed to be ‘light’ (which it isn’t at 1.36kg) and ‘small’ in terms of footprint.

If this MBA housed a 10.5-inch screen (or maybe even 12-inch?), then it would be an ultra-portable (assuming a smaller screen would shave off some of the weight). I wouldn’t say Apple ‘missed’ the ultra-portable mark with the MBA because Apple never claimed it to be one, it was just something the rumour-mongers assumed. But because the MBA is not an ultra-portable, it leaves it without a ‘proper positioning’ within Apple’s current notebook line-up, which will no doubt, draw up ugly comparisons between it and the MacBook (MB)/MacBook Pro(MBP) in terms of size Vs price Vs trade-offs.

Usually, comparisons like these are not fair because the MBA is designed for different reasons. Again, because the footprint is so big, it has pretty much defied the “designed for different reasons” category. The MBA will pretty much take up the same amount of space as a MB would in your bag… so, what difference does it make to lug around the 1-inch thick MB or the 1/2-inch thick MBA? Again, if the MBA used a 10.5-inch screen, it’ll take up less space in the bag and give it a more ‘portable’ advantage over the MB. Maybe then, the punters will find the high price tag and lower spec of the MBA more justifiable.

But anyway, I’m sure there must lots of complaints/comparisons like the above on other websites therefore I cannot be bothered to think of all the differences between the MB and the MBA (battery not removable, no FireWire, etc.). Instead, I’d rather go on about the industrial design (^o^).

In short, Apple did not make an ‘ultra-portable’ notebook and nor did they make a ‘must-have’ notebook. All Apple did was make a ‘thin and expensive’ notebook, imho.

Anyway, it’s time for my design gibberish:

The overall enclosure

Material – Obviously, I’m a big fan of the ‘look and feel’ of the aluminum. It feels beautiful to the touch, looks classy, and most important of all, its a pretty solid material. And because of it’s aesthetics, even the smallest of scratches on the surface would be enough to drive me to hurl myself out the nearest window! This material is so beautiful, it must remain immaculate!

Shape – Erm… actually, I don’t feel too hot about the tapering design (thicker towards the center, thinner near the edges). It kinda looks odd, but that’s just me. Maybe because I’m one of those designers who prefer things to be ‘flat’ rather than ‘curvy’. Tapering or deep-curves-around-the-edges-and-sides designs visually make the object seem thinner than it actually is (especially when it is sitting on a flat surface and you’re looking down at it – you don’t see the bottom of it therefore it looks thinner), hence this type of design was employed for the MBA and iPods. Also, you’ll probably notice the MBA will look as if it is floating when it is sitting on a surface.

Front on

The base really looks weird when it is open, head on. Again, this is because of the tapering design. It kinda looks like a knife, doesn’t it? I dunno, it just looks a bit too pointy for me. As for the screen bevel, damn, it’s just too darn thick. Two-thirds thinner, it would have looked ultra-slick. Before any of you beat my b*lls, I’m purely taking about the aesthetics ONLY here. I’m not weighing that against technical-achievability.

The base

Keyboard – I’m not sure about the keyboard (the MacBook one). Although it may be great to use, I never did like the look of it. And in black? Hmmmmm… it’s kinda off compared with other Apple keyboards where it is usually in white (except the black MB and the MBP). Actually, with the black keyboard on silver, it kinda reminds me of the PowerBook G4 Titanium (yes, I had one). But yeah, I don’t find it very bad. It’s acceptable, visually (although, I would have preferred the MBP’s keyboard instead).

Screen hinge – is basically the same hinge design on all current Apple notebooks (which is a good thing because I believe this is the best hinge design around in terms of durability) except it has a touch of chrome on both sides for that extra bit of visual oomph.

Trackpad – it looks a bit on the big side but that’s forgivable because the trackpad is actually a new ‘multi-touch pad’ similar to the awesome ‘multi-touch screen’ on the iPhone/iPod touch which allows for the same finger gestures and functions (pinch to zoom in or out, etc).

Ports and connectors

I love the fact that the ports are in it’s own compartment and can be tucked away into the body. But I can also see this being a nuisance because some USB connects on some devices are odd-shaped (or big) hence they may not connect properly to the MBA’s port due to insufficient space around the port.

The redesign of the power connector and how it slots into the body of the base side-by-side is also a nice touch. I also love the simple cut-out groove on the front of the body for your fingers to lift the screen open. All these things have been given great attention to detail, what Jonathan Ive is known for, I guess.

So do I like it or not?

Overall, I like the design of it – it’s slick enough. But I won’t be getting one because this isn’t something for me. And it’s darn expensive for what you get. My perfect setup would be a 15-inch MacBook Pro (the high-end model) hooked up to a 30-inch Cinema Display, along with the wireless keyboard and wireless mouse. With this setup, I have the ‘portability’ when needed and have the ‘screen estate’ when stationary.

What’s next for the MB and MBP?

Obviously, an enclosure re-design (whether minor or major) featuring the new multi-touch trackpad. Maybe even a black keyboard… who knows? We’ll find out soon enough considering the MB and MBP is well due for a refresh…