For one of the primary usecases (frequent traveler) the backlit keyboard is pretty important--try typing on a dark plane with the backlight off. Fine most of th

For one of the primary usecases (frequent traveler) the backlit keyboard is pretty important--try typing on a dark plane with the backlight off. Fine most of the time, but when you have to hunt for which symbol is which, or you're not a great touch typer, then you're going to have a much harder time. That said, my guess is that it's a major battery-suck, and that's why they took it out. White LEDs require non-trivial amounts of power.