My take here: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/macworld-apple-macbook-air/

I just went through the same questions myself, after waiting two months for this announcement – I really really wanted to buy MBA. In the end I bought Vaio TZ yesterday, here’s my reasoning:

http://slavior.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/sony-vaio-tz-versus-apple-macbook-air/

There are too many other devices that is much better than Apple Air in this arena. Just name a few:

Sony VAIO G2 – with optical only 2.4lb
Sony VAIO TZ – with optical only 2.7lb
Panasonic R6 – no optical but 1.8lb
Asus U series – another good sub 2.5lb contender

The razor thin design is not new. Sony has introduced the super thin X505 2 years ago. If Apple wants to enter this arena, they have to do better than that.

While it looks very nice, certainly a step up from my old 12″ Powerbook, it doesn’t quite fit for my use right now. I prefer to backup to Firewire (faster), though I suppose my main drive supports both and with Time Machine it’s usually negligible. So the main lack for me is in the video department, and lacking dual-link DVI. Plus my MacBook Pro is always out of space with 80GB. Perhaps by the time that gets upgraded (next rev), I’ll be in the mood for some Air.

@Willy, TX isn’t a modern notebook and is severely outdated and not generally available any more(single core, terrible keyboard, etc) so not a valid comparison. their current model (TZ) gets 6-7 hours but is not in the same league in terms of ergonomics (screen, keyboard, trackpad) or performance (cpu, graphics), yet the same weight. anyone used to the ergonomics of a thinkpad/macbook wouldn’t even think of a TZ as an option. sony’s SZ is a more valid comparision and at the same price it lacks LED and is far heavier and thicker. I mentioned 8-10hrs and for that you need a 9-cell battery on the TZ which is huge and sticks out of the back making it even more awkward to use. it speaks volumes that apple quite explicitly used it to demonstrate the advantages of their new macbook vs “the current best”, and I’d imagine the next VAIO will look more like the air rather than vice versa in coming generations.

I thought my MacBook was pretty small to begin with. The battery life isnt all that compelling either and its even worse that I can’t switch it out. I was a little disappointed with the announcements this year. Idk, I guess I was hoping apple would come out with a completely new product which I didn’t know I needed until they showed it to me. Oh well I guess I’ll just get to save my money this year.

Ok here in the UK te top end Macair costs the same as the top end vaio tz:
Yes the tz doesnt have wireles N or a faster processor but the TZ
Is smaller
Has 2 USB Ports
Has Ethernet
Has a dual layer dvd writer
Has a memory stick reader
Has an sd reader
Has WWan/HSDPA Modem
Firewire
PC Card
Better Batter Life
User Swappable Battery
Stereo Speakers
Has the option of buying a docking staton for home/office use
Has the option of buying a longer life battery
Built in vga output.
Fingerprint reader

So your in the middle of nowhere or an area with no wifi coverage, with the mac air you either have to have:
A Bluetooth mobile phone with built in hsdpa or
a usb hsdpa modem (using that one usb port up!) for a decent internet connection so you cant use your superdrive or vx nano mouse or usb mem stick or sync your ipod classic etc.

Road Warrior….no chance

So your in an airport and have the standalone mac air with no cluttery extras, you see a film on dvd in duty free that you wanna watch “oh bollocks i dont have a dvd drive!” but ok you can download the film off the itunes store….great, so i setup my macair and connect to the airport network, i start downloading but hang on my flights in 2 hours and this films gonna take 4-5 hours to download because hardly anywhere has wireless n networks yet here in the UK and this film is gonna use all my fair use policy up!!

Im sorry but the macair is more suited for home use or office use only not fully on the road like other laptops/umpcs have been doing for over a year now. Th macbook air in my eyes only gets “portable” status, not ültraportable

Ill still buy one primarily for use aroud the house/office and as a desktop, i feel my vaio tz or vaio ux1xn will get the “road warrior” status!

The negatives definitely outweigh the attraction, pun intended.

The Air is a mixed bag for me. I’m currently living with a Q1 so in terms of where I’m at I’m very UMPC friendly. Upsides? Battery life and size. Downsides? Footprint (I think I still need a desk to use this) – weight, price. The software side looks good with the Air though and enterprises or academic institutions that invest in this will have drive sharing all built in out of the box. For me, my next purchase will probably be a Asus R50A (again not perfect but the best fit). Personally, I think Apple have taken the right course by not releasing a tablet. The ipod touch and multitouch pad will act as “baby wheels” for users to get used to non-traditional UI’s. I doubt we’ll see a tablet from Apple until they can “perfect” it. That said I think they may have missed a trick by not experimenting with the size of the Air. The success of the EEE and some of the UMPC’s have gotten users more familiar with the 7″ screen.

I think I’m more dissapointed about the fact that Apple didn’t make a tablet. I don’t really have any strong feelings for or against the air – its undoubtably beautiful though, like all of Apple’s products, which will certainly make it popular. I’d call the Air a ‘fashion laptop’ rather than a productivity tool, and I can see this more of a ‘heart’ than a ‘head’ purchase. My hope is that all the gains in miniaturisation that we see in the Air will make it to an Apple tablet

@Gaurav Sharma: I regularly get 6+ hours WITHOUT the extended battery on my Sony TZ and 8 hours on the TX. Check your facts.

Bunch of nay sayers. This and that. If I give you one for free, you will drool you ass all over it and then you make good comments. Just reserve your comments until the product comes out. It’s not easy as a company like Apple to survive under such high demand of growth for a public firm.

I think that the “negative” comments are appropriate for the most part. In some ways it reminds me of the old Cube which was gorgeous but not very practical (expandable). However, the form factor is very practical in the sense that the keyboard should be comfortable to type on for most users unlike many of the ultralightweight Japanese notebook computers.

@cyberluddite

Agreed. Another good one for comparison is the forthcoming 11″ Ideapad. Now that one looks like a real ultraportable!

It kind of reminds me of the Samsung Q30. In fact, it looks like an upgrade to that, more than anything else. This is why the Air doesn’t strike me as being that revolutionary — particularly when we’ve seen ultraportables with basically the same capabilities for a few years.

It’s too big to be a subnotebook. It’s too underpowered for anything else. It’s not really good for anything but the smug factor as far as I can tell.

The asus 11″ ($1799) would get you :
slightly more pixels – 1366×768 vs 1280×800
ULV core 2 duo (a REAL subnotebook cpu)
real battery life + options
more storage 100gb vs 80gb
4 usb ports vs. 1
ethernet. i mean, really, come on apple.
card reader
bluetooth + a free mouse
2 year inclusive warranty
1 year accidental damage!
fingerprint reader
expresscard slot
mic jack
2.2 lbs vs 3
may even come with 2 batteries in the box? (unconfirmed)