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The challenge for Apple here is to maintain both the 'premium' cache while remaining competitively priced. As this article states, they've done very well in m

The challenge for Apple here is to maintain both the 'premium' cache while remaining competitively priced. As this article states, they've done very well in marketing the Air. Everybody seems to be comparing Apple's $999 11" Air with competitors 13" products. The 13" starts at $1300, so the competitors are often priced $300+ less, with the exclusion of the Samsung Series 9.

sudonim 15y ago
At first I thought you were wrong but then I looked up prices on Amazon. The Acer 13.3 at $899 has a 320gb sata drive + a 20gb ssd. It's slightly lower specced than the current Macbook Air 13 inch, but seems like a reasonable savings. http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-951-6646-13-3-Inch-Aluminum-Ultrabook/dp/B005MR58MG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319427521&sr=8-4 http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-951-6646-13-3-Inch-Aluminum-Ul... I'm writing this comment on the current model 13 inch air, and I wouldn't give it up for any of the alternatives. The build quality and the feel of the machine is incredible. It's the best laptop I've ever owned.
Samuel_Michon 15y ago
I think Apple has proven it can maintain the premium cachet [1], making healthy profits as well as offering competitive pricing. It has sold more than 300 million iPods, and yet, they look and feel like luxury products. Also, it is only through Intel's $300 million stimulus fund [2] that computer manufacturers other than Apple have finally started making slim notebooks that can compete with MacBook Air on price. Whether they can actually compete on quality remains to be seen, the 'ultrabooks' haven't exactly gotten favorable reviews. Read for instance Engadget's review of the Acer Aspire S3, their conclusion is "If you absolutely must buy a laptop of this ilk right now, you'll get better performance and longer battery life from the MacBook Air" [3]. [1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cachet http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cachet [2] http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/08/10/intel-capital-creates-300-million-ultrabook-fund http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011... [3] http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer-aspire-s3-ultrabook-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer-aspire-s3-ultrabook-...
- pedalpete 15y ago
  Sorry about the spelling on cachet, I was wondering about that. I'm not sure if you intentionally left out the review of the UX31, or just were unaware of Engadgets positive review yesterday. http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/ My biggest disappointment with all of these 'ultrabooks' is that they are MacBook Air clones. I don't think PC makers are going to go very far competing with Apple by copying their designs. PC makers need to start innovating themselves. Ultrabook is starting to be a synonym for MacBook copy, but there is a great opportunity to create products like the Lenovo U260 (which I'm typing this on now) which are as light as the Air, with warmer materials and don't have the wedge shape.
  - Samuel_Michon 15y ago
    I hadn't read Engadget's review of the Asus Zenbook. I have now, and I also read the review at Anandtech [1]. Both sites really try hard to like the device, but they agree on several points: - incoherent case design (did you see that blue USB port?) - uncomfortable keyboard with barely any travel - trackpad is laggy and inaccurate - display is TN, not IPS, and has high black levels. Anandtech's conclusion: "if you don't care about OS X and just want a good, ultra-thin Windows machine the Zenbook is a viable alternative. If ASUS can fix the trackpad issues then it's worth considering, however the display in the MBA alone is reason to opt for it over the Zenbook, even for Windows use" [1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/4985/asus-zenbook-ux21-review/1 http://www.anandtech.com/show/4985/asus-zenbook-ux21-review/...
    - robin_reala 15y ago
      To be fair, blue USB port = USB3 port in PC parlance. No excuse for the trackpad though.
  - usaar333 15y ago
    For a pretty innovative, awesome laptop (arguably the best ultraportable out there), see Sony Vaio Z (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4474/sony-updates-vaio-z-thinner-lighter-light-peak-and-external-gpu http://www.anandtech.com/show/4474/sony-updates-vaio-z-thinn...). Only super lightweight ultra-portable desktop replacement I know of.
usaar333 15y ago
Agreed that it is silly to compare the Air to competitor's laptops, arguing it is cheaper. A Toshiba Portege R835-P81 is $400 cheaper and similarly spec'd (more RAM, lower res). It's missing an SSD, but that can be had for $150, leaving it still way cheaper than a 13" air.
- dextorious 15y ago
  Yeah, just heavier, thicker, worse industrial design (no magsafe, no magnetic display clip, no bluetooth (WTF?), no Thunderbolt, no sturdy unibody aluminum frame, no multitouch touchpad. Oh, and comes with these: "WildTangent® Game Console, TOSHIBA Face Recognition, Microsoft® Silverlight™ , TOSHIBA Bulletin Board™, TOSHIBA Disc Creator, TOSHIBA Service Station, Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30-day trial), TOSHIBA Recovery Disk Creator, TOSHIBA Web Camera Application, TOSHIBA HDD/SSD Alert, TOSHIBA BookPlace™, Intel® Wireless Display Technology (WiDi 2.1), TOSHIBA Media Controller, TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor, Microsoft® Windows Live Essentials including Photo Gallery, Messenger, Mail, Writer and Movie Maker., Microsoft® Windows Media Player 12, TOSHIBA ReelTime™, TOSHIBA eco Utility™, Google® Chrome, TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor (3D sensor), Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Reduced functionality Word® and Excel® with advertising)*, TOSHIBA App Place" Which is a disadvantage in itself.
  - pedalpete 15y ago
    I have no idea what the 'magnetic display clip' is, and searching google didn't result in anything from Apple. I also don't think just providing a list of installed programs is not much of an argument. Note that many of those 'applications' exist in OSX, but Apple is just smart enough not to list them as installed apps. That list includes a basic install of Excel and Word (very useful for many people), Google Chrome, Media Player, Movie Maker, etc. etc. Do you fault Apple for including QuickTime, iTunes, Safari, iMovie in their products?
    - shrikant 15y ago
      The argument being made with the apps is the sheer volume of crapware on the Toshiba, versus none on the Air.

sudonim 15y ago

At first I thought you were wrong but then I looked up prices on Amazon. The Acer 13.3 at $899 has a 320gb sata drive + a 20gb ssd. It's slightly lower specced than the current Macbook Air 13 inch, but seems like a reasonable savings. http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-951-6646-13-3-Inch-Aluminum-Ultrabook/dp/B005MR58MG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1319427521&sr=8-4 http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-951-6646-13-3-Inch-Aluminum-Ul... I'm writing this comment on the current model 13 inch air, and I wouldn't give it up for any of the alternatives. The build quality and the feel of the machine is incredible. It's the best laptop I've ever owned.

Samuel_Michon 15y ago

I think Apple has proven it can maintain the premium cachet [1], making healthy profits as well as offering competitive pricing. It has sold more than 300 million iPods, and yet, they look and feel like luxury products. Also, it is only through Intel's $300 million stimulus fund [2] that computer manufacturers other than Apple have finally started making slim notebooks that can compete with MacBook Air on price. Whether they can actually compete on quality remains to be seen, the 'ultrabooks' haven't exactly gotten favorable reviews. Read for instance Engadget's review of the Acer Aspire S3, their conclusion is "If you absolutely must buy a laptop of this ilk right now, you'll get better performance and longer battery life from the MacBook Air" [3]. [1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cachet http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cachet [2] http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011/08/10/intel-capital-creates-300-million-ultrabook-fund http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intel_newsroom/blog/2011... [3] http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer-aspire-s3-ultrabook-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer-aspire-s3-ultrabook-...

pedalpete 15y ago
Sorry about the spelling on cachet, I was wondering about that. I'm not sure if you intentionally left out the review of the UX31, or just were unaware of Engadgets positive review yesterday. http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/21/asus-zenbook-ux31-review/ My biggest disappointment with all of these 'ultrabooks' is that they are MacBook Air clones. I don't think PC makers are going to go very far competing with Apple by copying their designs. PC makers need to start innovating themselves. Ultrabook is starting to be a synonym for MacBook copy, but there is a great opportunity to create products like the Lenovo U260 (which I'm typing this on now) which are as light as the Air, with warmer materials and don't have the wedge shape.
- Samuel_Michon 15y ago
  I hadn't read Engadget's review of the Asus Zenbook. I have now, and I also read the review at Anandtech [1]. Both sites really try hard to like the device, but they agree on several points: - incoherent case design (did you see that blue USB port?) - uncomfortable keyboard with barely any travel - trackpad is laggy and inaccurate - display is TN, not IPS, and has high black levels. Anandtech's conclusion: "if you don't care about OS X and just want a good, ultra-thin Windows machine the Zenbook is a viable alternative. If ASUS can fix the trackpad issues then it's worth considering, however the display in the MBA alone is reason to opt for it over the Zenbook, even for Windows use" [1] http://www.anandtech.com/show/4985/asus-zenbook-ux21-review/1 http://www.anandtech.com/show/4985/asus-zenbook-ux21-review/...
  - robin_reala 15y ago
    To be fair, blue USB port = USB3 port in PC parlance. No excuse for the trackpad though.
- usaar333 15y ago
  For a pretty innovative, awesome laptop (arguably the best ultraportable out there), see Sony Vaio Z (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4474/sony-updates-vaio-z-thinner-lighter-light-peak-and-external-gpu http://www.anandtech.com/show/4474/sony-updates-vaio-z-thinn...). Only super lightweight ultra-portable desktop replacement I know of.

usaar333 15y ago

Agreed that it is silly to compare the Air to competitor's laptops, arguing it is cheaper. A Toshiba Portege R835-P81 is $400 cheaper and similarly spec'd (more RAM, lower res). It's missing an SSD, but that can be had for $150, leaving it still way cheaper than a 13" air.

dextorious 15y ago
Yeah, just heavier, thicker, worse industrial design (no magsafe, no magnetic display clip, no bluetooth (WTF?), no Thunderbolt, no sturdy unibody aluminum frame, no multitouch touchpad. Oh, and comes with these: "WildTangent® Game Console, TOSHIBA Face Recognition, Microsoft® Silverlight™ , TOSHIBA Bulletin Board™, TOSHIBA Disc Creator, TOSHIBA Service Station, Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30-day trial), TOSHIBA Recovery Disk Creator, TOSHIBA Web Camera Application, TOSHIBA HDD/SSD Alert, TOSHIBA BookPlace™, Intel® Wireless Display Technology (WiDi 2.1), TOSHIBA Media Controller, TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor, Microsoft® Windows Live Essentials including Photo Gallery, Messenger, Mail, Writer and Movie Maker., Microsoft® Windows Media Player 12, TOSHIBA ReelTime™, TOSHIBA eco Utility™, Google® Chrome, TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor (3D sensor), Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Reduced functionality Word® and Excel® with advertising)*, TOSHIBA App Place" Which is a disadvantage in itself.
- pedalpete 15y ago
  I have no idea what the 'magnetic display clip' is, and searching google didn't result in anything from Apple. I also don't think just providing a list of installed programs is not much of an argument. Note that many of those 'applications' exist in OSX, but Apple is just smart enough not to list them as installed apps. That list includes a basic install of Excel and Word (very useful for many people), Google Chrome, Media Player, Movie Maker, etc. etc. Do you fault Apple for including QuickTime, iTunes, Safari, iMovie in their products?
  - shrikant 15y ago
    The argument being made with the apps is the sheer volume of crapware on the Toshiba, versus none on the Air.