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Except that the first MacBook Airs were not 11", they were 17", and those were the ones being compared to netbooks (because they were light). A while later cam

by angus77 15y ago

Except that the first MacBook Airs were not 11", they were 17", and those were the ones being compared to netbooks (because they were light). A while later came the 13" models, and not until quite some time later did the 11" models come out (at which point it would be safe to say it was a netbook, not competing with netbooks). EDIT: Wow, I need to have my memory checked. I must have been confused by the $1700 price tag into thinking there was a 17" MacBook Air. I do distinctly remember being baffled by reviewers comparing the first Airs to the EeePC, though, as it seemed to me they weren't even aiming at the same markets.

goatforce5 15y ago
Says here that the first Airs were 13.3": http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/15/apple-announces-macbook-air/ http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/15/apple-announces-macbook-...
Soliah 15y ago
There was never a 17" Macbook Air. The first model was 13".
angus77 15y ago
People are continuing to downvote this even after I corrected my mistake. Let me clarify: When the first-gen 13.3" MacBook Air first came out, I had just bought an 8.9" EeePC 901. The difference between an 8.9" screen and a 13.3" screen felt enormous---especially given that 7" EeePCs were still being manufactured at the time, and the 10" models were still in the future. The whole appeal of the EeePC to me (and others I know) was its extreme portability. The guy who sat next to me at work had a 15" Vaio. It was so big it needed a special bag. Because of it, sometimes he just wouldn't bother to bring it to work. Inevitably, sometime during the day he would find something he wanted to do on the computer. With the EeePC, it was so small that I could just slip it into its slipcase, throw it in my bag and take it anywhere, "just in case", even when it was extremely unlikely that I'd end up using it. I was rarely without it. 13.3" is so close to 15" that it hardly makes a difference. It seems unlikely that you would/could just throw it in your bag and take it anywhere. Even if it was light, it was also big. I took it as a lightweight laptop, not a netbook competitor, and in fact that's how Apple seemed to me to have marketed it---it was the reviewers who were comparing it to netbooks. Maybe it was the reviewers who convinced Apple to try to take on the netbook market with the 11", but it seems to me that wasn't Apple's original plan at all.

by angus77 15y ago

goatforce5 15y ago

Says here that the first Airs were 13.3": http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/15/apple-announces-macbook-air/ http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/15/apple-announces-macbook-...

Soliah 15y ago

There was never a 17" Macbook Air. The first model was 13".

angus77 15y ago

People are continuing to downvote this even after I corrected my mistake. Let me clarify: When the first-gen 13.3" MacBook Air first came out, I had just bought an 8.9" EeePC 901. The difference between an 8.9" screen and a 13.3" screen felt enormous---especially given that 7" EeePCs were still being manufactured at the time, and the 10" models were still in the future. The whole appeal of the EeePC to me (and others I know) was its extreme portability. The guy who sat next to me at work had a 15" Vaio. It was so big it needed a special bag. Because of it, sometimes he just wouldn't bother to bring it to work. Inevitably, sometime during the day he would find something he wanted to do on the computer. With the EeePC, it was so small that I could just slip it into its slipcase, throw it in my bag and take it anywhere, "just in case", even when it was extremely unlikely that I'd end up using it. I was rarely without it. 13.3" is so close to 15" that it hardly makes a difference. It seems unlikely that you would/could just throw it in your bag and take it anywhere. Even if it was light, it was also big. I took it as a lightweight laptop, not a netbook competitor, and in fact that's how Apple seemed to me to have marketed it---it was the reviewers who were comparing it to netbooks. Maybe it was the reviewers who convinced Apple to try to take on the netbook market with the 11", but it seems to me that wasn't Apple's original plan at all.