How did Apple do? A Macworld 2008 report card

This article’s review on Time Capsule should be amended as it is misleading.

Time Capsule works with both Macs and PCs. You don’t need Leopard to use it, either. You’ll only need Leopard if you want to use Time Capsule with Time Machine. If you don’t have Leopard or if you’re on a PC, Time Capsule will still be detected as a wireless external hard drive.

“-look back at the wondrous track record of the iPod… how many versions has it taken for Apple to get it right? And don’t forget that they change the dock connector each variation so that people have to repurchase the accessories for each model.”

Now Phil, mr strong supporter of Apple products.. What exactly was wrong with the first 4 or 5 generations of the iPod?? What did Apple need to ‘get right’? Werent people out looking for music players?? Funny Ive owned the original and now have a fifth generation, its always done just that, PLAY MUSIC. Only now I can look at my iPhoto library and watch videos as well. Technology had to catch up with Apple before they could afford to give you that nice little color display remember?

And the dock connector changing with every revision? Im pretty sure you have no clue what youre talking about after that. The dock connector, has never changed. The only thing that did was whether it connected via Firewire or USB, which ANY computer has nowadays so its a moot point which end your cable has on it. The ones previous to the 5th generation, which only use USB, used either one.
Previous to the this it was a simple Firewire cable on top, there was no dock connector.
Theres two kinds of iPod accessories, ones that work without the dock connector and ones that do. And the ones that do include 5 generations of iPod products.

My goodness, what a bunch of comments from some real goofs…

Last I read (it’s been several months), Apple was the 3rd largest computer retailer that makes their own machines. Hmmm, sounds like they’re doing horrible.
Apple TV: it’s not for everyone, but I don’t do netflix anymore because I have to plan 3 or 4 days in advance. On demand??? Sounds nice. Any ‘puter content to my TV, sounds nice also.
Time Machine: There is a growing demand for consumer data backup. More folks, doing more important stuff on their machines means more crashes and loses. Companies are realizing this and beginning to offer consumer online bckup services where this was once the domain of business continuity types. Apple’s ahead on the curve. Hooking a $150 hard disk to a $75 ‘g’ router, making them work together, finding enough plug-in’s, etc. or buying a ‘n’ time capsule and never having to mess with it again? That’s my choice. Not having to depend on a broadband ISP to bakcup or recover my data? Excellent.
Airbook: Optical drives are going away. I haven’t had an internal for 3 years-thought I’d miss it and I don’t. Dell is selling stuff without them also. As for the 1.6 ghz issue, it’s better then a number of bigger machines out there, plus everyone forgets that it’s not having to chug through Vista or XP. It’s not for everyone, but for those who truly want a small and thin for constant travel use it is great.
Ipod softtware for $20? Users tend to forget the difference between upgrade and update. Update is what my Windows Mobile phone has to do to fix constant crashes, etc. Upgrade is something that windows never does for free. No one does. It’s a new product for a reduced price. As for the Microsoft hardware question, MSFT has, actually, made hardware. Xbox. Anyone hear what their profit is in that division? Thought so.
Stop trying to drag down folks/companies that provide a solid product and manages to STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE. In fact, I’d say they help create the curve. How often do you hear someone talk about a song (or movie) that they’e got on their Zune? I’m not wealthy. Not a Apple stock owner, but do find it worth a few extra bucks to buy something that they make because it will work all the time, every time.

MMM…

“Bought Apple shares at $65 now they are near $300.

Sounds like credible innovation to me…

Posted By Mike, Houston, TX : January 17, 2008 11:11 am”

When did Apple Shares ever hit near $300? They topped out at $202 late last year. I do see the recent drop as a bargain though. Picked up shares at $130 yesterday and am rather happy about it. The Macs may not appeal to all, but that is not what makes this company great. It’s the rest of the innovative things they do that will continue to put this company at the top. Just because a big product didn’t hit this year, doesn’t mean it’s not right around the corner.

Phil, I agree with some of what you stated, but some of what you said also needs to be responded to.

“-You can not compare an end product with an accessory. Not only that, look back at the wondrous track record of the iPod… how many versions has it taken for Apple to get it right? And don’t forget that they change the dock connector each variation so that people have to repurchase the accessories for each model.”

While I agree that you cannot compare an end product with an accessory, your question as to how many times it took Apple to get the iPod right… are you kidding? It took one. I’m not saying it hasn’t been improved, but the iPod was a commercial and technical success from the get-go. The Zune (v.1) was not. And the Zune (v.2) isn’t looking any better.

“-Are you mad?! Even more to the point, you are trying to compare a product that Apple has no comparable product for! Where is their console system? XBox is by far the best console system made for the targeted audience.”

I applaud your enthusiasm for the XBox. I respectfully disagree (and, indeed, the market seems to as well since the Wii is thoroughly throttling it). In any event, it might be better to support the statement that the XBox is king with something more just your personal assertion of it.

“-Wow, I remember when we were all saying the same thing about XP in its infancy… give Vista a chance to be patched and perfected and it will take the place of XP. Hmm, didn’t OSX go through its major woes too?!”

Erm… no… not really. It wasn’t perfect, but to compare the problems of Vista/XP with OSX as if they belong in the same relative sphere? Your statement implies a similar level of consumer dissatisfaction or technical malfeasance between the two. Consumer response and company issued patches belie that implication.

“To wrap up, I do not hate Apple products.”

Maybe not, but at least twice you put up implied comparisons with straw man arguments that were clearly in error. “Apples to apples, not oranges.” Indeed, be sure to practice what you preach.

iPhone upgrade gets an “F” for Failing to offer a Fix For a Fatal Flaw in their email software. The iPhone gives no ability to delete multiple emails or “select all” to delete. That’s right, you have to check them off one by one, including spam, then delete them again, one by one, in the trash can. The issue has been raised with Apple since they rolled the phone out. I’m an iPhone user and loyal Apple purchaser, but the email continues to be more irritating than helpful, and it’s disappointing.

I like lightweight laptops because I actually use it on my lap. But I also like big screens and my problem with many of the small and lightweight laptops out there is they use like 10 inch screens. The Air is the first laptop that combines a larger screen with ultra lightweight and thats why I like it.

What is the difference between Macs and Windows based machines? A monopoly. No, not the one you think. Where Microsoft controls the OS and other companies control the hardware of pcs, Apple controls both. As a result it is able to control and optimize both to suit its own, very particular needs. If Microsoft did something like this people would scream bloody murder. Having the control Apple does, a company using it to tell me I don’t need a dvd drive and I’m going to get everything I use through them and pay for it isn’t my idea of useful or cool. Be careful Apple fans, you’re being sold a gigantic bill of goods.

Before I begin, a bit about me. I am a strong advocate of Apple products, and sold and serviced them for years. However, I am also a strong Microsoft advocate as well. There is a product out there that closely aligns for each consumer. With that said, I am pointing out one person’s comments in specific.

Steve in L.A. I agree with some of what you stated, but have to point out some differences in opinion that I can not go without saying.

“It’s actually kind of funny to read this article and think, what would MSoft get from their version of MacWorld if they had one. F for Zune (which was outsold this and last Christmas on Amazon.com by the iPod power adapter)”

-You can not compare an end product with an accessory. Not only that, look back at the wondrous track record of the iPod… how many versions has it taken for Apple to get it right? And don’t forget that they change the dock connector each variation so that people have to repurchase the accessories for each model.

“C+ for Xbox”

-Are you mad?! Even more to the point, you are trying to compare a product that Apple has no comparable product for! Where is their console system? XBox is by far the best console system made for the targeted audience.

“F for Vista (all 7 versions)”

-Wow, I remember when we were all saying the same thing about XP in its infancy… give Vista a chance to be patched and perfected and it will take the place of XP. Hmm, didn’t OSX go through its major woes too?!

“Isn’t it smarter to pay to download what you want when you want and pay only for that, not the right ot have 3 movies out for 2 years and still never sent those back costing well over $800.”

-I would like to meet ONE person who has done what your are implying here. That is absolutely absurd that you would use this as a comparison to back your admiration of iTunes Movie Rental. I personally don’t use Netflix anymore, but when I did have it, it was awesome. Apple is trying to get into a market a bit late and I give them credit for trying, but their product is still a far cry from competitors.

To wrap up, I do not hate Apple products. I own many, and think they do the job I need them to do very well. But I refuse to post one sided, biased opinions without having good side-by-side comparisons to back up my claim. Apples to apples, not oranges.

As is usually the case with “professional” reviews of Apple products, a few key reasons for why Apple is doing what it does are being missed.

1. The MacBook Air is the laptop you buy when you are spending other people’s money, not your own. By this I mean executives, style-driven presentation people (you know the ones, with the elongated rectangular glasses and the black-dyed microbeards), and tech-geeks engaged in contests of oneupsmanship. It’s an image leader; it’s the Corvette that sells the Malibu. The people who will buy this are not price-sensitive.

2. The battery in the MacBook Air has a very long life (5 hours), which is about twice as long as my MacBook Pro. Much less need to swap it for a fresh one.

3. The battery for the Air will have to be very thin. This means that it will be fragile. Batteries do not like being flexed; if you get cracks in the internal structure you get fires, and we all know that tech-reviewers jump on laptop battery fire hysteria like a liability lawyer to tainted meat. It’s not replaceable because Apple doesn’t want you to burn up.

4. The Air is technological fashion-jewelry. By the time the built-in battery starts to lose its oomph, the target demographic will be wanting something entirely new. In that respect, the Air has more to do with an iPod than a MacBook.

5. The true road warrior salesman will not want one of these. Why? Oddly enough, the weight doesn’t matter. The MacBook Pro is more sturdy, has all the replaceable goodies like batteries, has all the hardware options like the DVD and Express slot… yes, it’s 3 pounds more. But when you consider all the crap that a road warrior carries WITH his laptop (power bricks, video cables, ethernet cables, external mouse, USB microhub, ruggedized laptop case), the laptop itself is the smaller part of the equation. It’s not 3 pounds vs. 6, it’s 13 pounds vs. 16. Much less of a difference percentage-wise, much less noticeable.

6. There is no point 6.

7. The subnotebook market is not what the Air is aimed at. Apples and um… okey, bananas and oranges. And yeah, I want a 10″ MacBook too. (I also own one of those 7″ Asus EEE-PC microlaptops, and I’m loving it! Add a 2gb memory module and a 16gb SD flash card, and you’re in business. I have XP on mine and it works just fine.)

8. The Time Capsule acts as ordinary network-attached storage too. You don’t HAVE to have Leopard. You don’t even have to have a Mac. And if you look at the price of other combined print server/wireless access point/network-attached storage devices from other manufacturers, you’ll realize the Apple solution is also among the cheapest. When’s the last time THAT happened?

9. If the traditional NetFlix DVD-by-mail model is so unassailable, why is NetFlix moving in that direction? Maybe NetFlix knows something that we don’t. In any event, the terms Apple offers for downloaded movies (price, viewing period, longevity until expire) are among the best in the industry. Compare to download rentals via Microsoft’s XBox Live service, Blockbuster, NetFlix, etc. and you’ll see Apple is very competitive.

10. Complaints about Apple charging for apps for the iPod Touch? What, you think that 3rd party folks who develop professional-grade applets are going to give their applets away for free? (yeah, a few do, but Apple isn’t a software welfare office, they’re a business)

11. Funny, I’ve been getting a lot of use from my Apple TV (well, my roommate’s, actually) for the last year. We’ve bought full series runs of several TV series, and it gets used every day. Horrible failure, eh? It’s been a niche product… which is fine… and now Apple wants to move it into the mainstream now that movie downloads are becoming a reality and all the major studios have decided to play ball. No surprise at all.

It has been my experience that most Apple pundits are wrong more often than right. Me, I just buy the stuff.

The Apple stores in NYC are PACKED! Products are flying out the door. It’s crazy!

Responding to the comment 2 below on the air. The air has 4 screws on th bottom of the case which can be removed to change out the battery. So if you canc figure out how to use a screw driver(which I really question your ability)then you can order a battery, have them ship it to your door and replace it yourself. I can only imagine that replacing the battery would be done every 3-4 years, not once a month.

While I generally agree with your grades, I find your title to be ridiculous. Expecting Apple to announce an iPhone-type product with that kind of wow-factor every year is an absurd notion.

I bet you get excited when Microsoft announces a new version of Office…

What are all of you going to do when you have to take your “Air” to an Apple store to get the battery replaced. My closest Apple store is 70 miles. Then I have to drop it, or wait if I am lucky. If not drive 70 miles back home, then 70 miles back to pick it up and then 70 miles back home. I would have just spent $40-50 in gas money plus the cost of the battery. A friend of mine has done this 3 times already with his iPhone battery. So Apple couldn’t figure out how to add a little “doorway” like nearly all other laptops. Not enough time I guess. Had to have something to WOW the audience of Mac users at MACworld. Useless! Betcha the price drops significantly!

Well thought comment below, although I have to note on regards to people never getting their money’s worth with Netflix doesn’t seem to be the case in my experience. Every person I know that uses Netflix constantly has new movies arriving and they don’t need a broadband connection just to watch them.

Great report card and accurate. I agree with the poster below that a sub-notebook was what the market was looking for. Me? I got my Asus Eee PC and for $400 have a 7″ screen, webcam, wi-fi and more. I would have paid 3x this for an apple version.

Apple chased a market (high end “executive” laptop) and it remains to bee seen if it will be a commercial success. The Asus has sold 400k units and is expected to sell 1.5 million units.

The market’s there for sub-notebooks.

There is not a single consumer appliance or device that has not converted to removable batteries. Digital cams, Cell phones, Video cams, laptops, portable DVD…all have had to convert because consumers will not support a device that costs as much to repair as to replace. End of story. The AIR must comply with consumer taste. Resistance is Futile.

Mike,

I have 200 shares that I will sell you at a 33% discount, only $200 per share.

I have enjoyed reading this post stream. There are a lot of hilarious comments. Clearly there are some haters and some lovers involved. There are also some people that cannot even take the time to visit the Apple website and check their facts: ie. MacBook Air: “the innovative now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t port hatch flips down to reveal (and closes to hide) all the ports you really need: a USB 2.0 port, a headphone jack, and a micro-DVI port that supports DVI, VGA, composite, and S-video output. Even the MagSafe power connection has been reconsidered and slimmed to fit MacBook Air.”

So, for all the people that went on and on about how the Air doesn’t measure up because it lacks a VGA output and a headphone jack, not sure where you’re getting your facts.

Second, take a trip down memory lane when the iMac was the first personal computer without a disk drive. Heresy everyone said. Useless junk people worried. But, Steve Jobs said, people won’t need them anymore. “What? I’ve got 50,000 of these floppies lying around, won’t use them.” I thought. Who still uses them? Anyone? Bueller?

Well, if any of you haters are paying attention, again, you’ll begin to see a new theme and it’s precisely why there’s only an 80 gig hard drive and no optical drive. When your apps and your data are stored on huge servers to your own time machine, guess what, you don’t need this stuff weighing down your laptop. Steve said that most people never use their optical drive except in backing up their computer and loading new software. I thought about it just like when he said no one in 2 years would use floppy disks any more, and you know what? He’s totally right. If people are so dumb as not to realize how superior it would be to have a time capsule at home which brings you wireless internet as well as a new external HD with 500 gigs or 1 TB well, there’s your solution.

As for the need for a removable battery. Huh? What for? Plug into your seat on the plane. You’ve got 5 hours of battery life. Where will you be after getting off the plane that you won’t be able to plug in? Oh, yeah, you’re used to watching movies and having the optical drive use up all the batteries so fast. I get it. Except now that won’t be happening because the movie won’t be on a DVD spinning around in there with an active laser using up all the battery. Gee, that Netflix membership is sounding less and less useful by the moment.

Moving on:

This report card business…
There was not going to be any way to top last year’s introduction of the iPhone. So, start with that. No company should be expected to deliver the consumer electronic product of the decade every year. Let’s give Apple a break. Let’s not forget that Apple has come out with a relatively breakthrough new operating system every year and a half, not 5-10 years like a Washington-state rival. So, last year there was a new iPhone and a new OS. That’s a gigantic year. Oh, and there was the iTouch, and the ‘failed’ Apple TV.

It’s actually kind of funny to read this article and think, what would MSoft get from their version of MacWorld if they had one. F for Zune (which was outsold this and last Christmas on Amazon.com by the iPod power adapter), C+ for Xbox, F for Vista (all 7 versions), A+ for suggesting people stick with XP because, after all, it wasn’t already the world’s most ’successful’ operating system, at least it was 5 years ago.

So, I’m not overly impressed, Jon, with your article from that standpoint. It’s a bit unfair.

Finally, got to say something about the iTunes movie rental biz. First, it is illegal to copy films–period. There is even a little known copyright law that requires you to erase copies you’ve made of tv shows after 30 days. No one I know follows that law or even knows of it. But, it’s a fact. Theoretically, you are legally allowed to maintain 1 (one) archival copy of any legally obtained electronic media in case of failure of the media to preserve the copy you purchased. This is the only thing that has made self-recording devices and software remotely legal in the USA. You may not copy movies you get from Netflix and keep them. You may not download movies on the web that somebody uploaded to share. Upload the film to share and downloading the film are both illegal and punishable by huge fines in the 10s of thousands of dollars.

The important thing to remember is that Apple has to, by law, follow the law, even if you do not. The Feds might not go after you and your 10 illegally copied films, but they will go after Apple. So, Apple as to be (a) careful and (b) prudent about how they do or do not interact with the downloading business. In the case of movies, however, they are virtually at the whim of the production studios. Apple needs content, the studios deliver but only with a catch. What Apple is offering them is a way to be sure that the electronic proliferation of their valuable property will be held to a minimum. If it works and the proliferation is staved off, look for two surefire things (a) a huge price drop–most people don’t realize that built into the price of every snippet of electronic entertainment we purchase is a cost to offset electronic proliferation. Companies know there are people that don’t follow the law no matter what. They get on a high horse about how the Chinese don’t value intellectual property rights while they walk around with a computer with 50,000 songs they stole from various sources–CDs of friends, downloading from the Internet, etc. Anyway, the movie companies want assurances that the are getting what they are due. If Apple can deliver on a technology that curbs illegal electronic proliferation, the companies will be very, very happy and the prices will drop substantially because they won’t have to charge the honest people more to offset the losses incurred by the dishonest people.

Moreover, Steve, again is going with averages. And the stats show that the vast majority of people who rent a movie rent watch it once. They do not tend to start it and stop it and a week letter watch it again. So, it stands to reason that most people will get the same benefit out of this system at a far lower cost than Netflix. Here’s the thing about Netflix. You pay per month until you are smart enough to cancel. Most people never get their money’s worth. Isn’t it smarter to pay to download what you want when you want and pay only for that, not the right ot have 3 movies out for 2 years and still never sent those back costing well over $800.

B Yocum says - “Zune? Seriously?”

Yes, seriously. Have you been on another planet since MS released the 2nd gen products … and a free software update to the first gen to boot? I almost bought an iPod until the 2nd gen Zune products came out.

I think the MacBook Air’s thinness is great, but why can’t it be smaller? I have yet to see a true, small laptop that isn’t a glorified Palm device. We’re not all programmers or sync-freaks that run algorithms from multiple devices all day long; a large number of people, including myself, would be just thrilled with an 8″x6″ or so laptop with basic documenting programs and basic wireless internet! Something I can take with me, but can be stowed in the same bag/case with other things, and not in a bulky laptop bag/backpack.
Let’s also not expect each Keynote to top the last one. It will be a long time before something will have as much profound cultural significance as the amazing iPhone. Just like when a band can’t top their previous 10x platinum album–they’re still a great band, right?

Why don’t anyone get a rollable or foldable laptop which can fit in my pocket and expands when I tried to use it - just a Dream comes true !!! People will be ready to put $5K on the same.

Rob says: “Why did video rentals receive a rating of “B-” it should be “F”! You pay $2.99 or $3.99 for a rental that you only get for 24 hours once you hit play. For the price of about 4 movie rentals you can get a subscription to Netflix which gives you the option to burn the DVD’s and keep the content forever. Why not charge a flat rate per month with unlimited downloads and allow the consumer to keep the content as long as they are a subscriber.”

So Rob prefers Netflix because it allows him to steal movies? His criminal intent should disqualify his vote on this subject.

As to why Apple doesn’t do what he wants. Perhaps the studios won’t allow it?

Have anybody read the news lately? Netflix has added unlimited streaming of their available content with at least their 1-dvd a month subscription(which costs 8.99) This means that you can get the DVD and take it anywhere, and still go online and stream some movies or dvd shows for a flat rate all month. Meanwhile you are renting stuff for 24 hours for 4 or 5 bucks each time with the Apple offering? R u kidding me?? That’s a D, being considerate because all major studios are in. But I don’t see how that is better than the Netflix service.

About the Air, nothing that hasn’t been mentioned yet, 80GB and 3lbs is not a deal breaker for most people. You need a bit more for $1800. I mean, no DVD drive? what the hell are you supposed to do with this, type all day?

And don’t get me started about the time capsule, get a freaking regular external hard drive and use it for storage. Or connect it to a router for a “wireless backup device”, which just happens to be Apple’s product. Seems like the shine is gone, and Apple is looking dull.

I can appreciate where your coming from, however, I think the announcements from Apple are bigger than people are being lead to believe. Most importantly, far more important to Apple’s future. The outright mistake you and others are making when considering the announcements is what the three have in common:

- “time capsule,” Apple’s technology for Time Machine back-up system… Time Machine, in particular, may do small businesses the ultimate favor: It makes it hip to back up your content

- movie downloads for iTunes,

- or the uber-portable MacBook Hair - sorry, “Air” - are steps forward for the company.

They all strengthen Apple’s “echo system.” This is not just a hip-buzz worthy phrase anymore, it’s very real and very powerful to Apple.

Any chance you might write about that so others can get it, too?

Best,

Robert
=

Dear MacBook Air, it’s not you, it’s me. I’ve outgrown you before we even met.

Here’s the problem. . .

We wanted a sub-notebook. Seriously.
Not a Macbook on a diet. I’m a huge fan of Apple and I have to say, they missed the mark.

A sub-notebook has more power than a PDA, it has a small foot print, and it’s stuffed to the gills with wireless tech.

Here, they’ve tried to “Not compromise” on the wrong things. A larger screen? It’s the same size monitor as the MacBook and almost same foot print of the MacBook. So in my mind, it’s competing with the Macbook.

So now, instead of having the worlds lightest laptop and most powerful sub-notebook that can almost fit in a studio director’s overcoat pocket (for the record, I’m keeping 7″x10″ notebooks there now), we’ve got something that’s TOO BIG to be a sub-notebook and too weak to compete with my MacBook Pro, (or my girlfriend’s MacBook).

And it costs more than the slightly fatter, more powerful laptops? In the Notebook Class, I’m not looking for an ballerina , I’m looking for an athlete. I’ll take a little bulk for that.

Quite frankly, the MacBook Air is in the wrong class due to its footprint.

Give me a 9 - 10″ screen. . . Shrink the keyboard, make it better than my iPhone or Blackberry. I want the ultimate compliment to my iPhone, something that will give enough power to make presentations, but the stealth that it no longer requires a backpack or a full size laptop bag.

Make a ” MacBook Air Mini ” and I might shell out $1550 for it. You can even release one in different colors and call it a “MacBook Air Nano ” for all I care.

Steve, I’ve have tons of affection for your shiny Apple Logo, but the MacBook Air will not be on my desk, in a manila envelope or accompanying me to work anytime soon. Unless the price drops in half for this half-sized, half-powered laptop. . . making the perfect “One Apple Per Middle Class Child” notebook. . . I just don’t see your market for the MacBook Air. . . cause if I’m it. . . you’ve missed me.

I think the MacBook Air is beautiful, but it’s kind of overpriced. I have an X-series Thinkpad that may be slightly thicker and heavier, but it also costs significantly less and is more convenient connectivity- and upgrade-wise.

Not having a user-removable battery is a huge deal for travelers, but the lack of an optical drive isn’t so much. My laptop doesn’t have one either, and I’ve only used the dock a couple of times.

The big downsides are the 4200 RPM hard drive and lack of RAM upgradeability. 1.8″ hard drives are slower than even 5400 RPM drives that you get in a 2.5″ form factor, and you can’t upgrade them to 7200 RPM drives either. Of course this can be mitigated by shelling out several hundred dollars for the solid-state drive, but that’s a serious cash outlay.

You seem mostly right, except that Time Capsule does have broad appeal, even for single-computer homes. Forget the features and look at the benefit: for $299, I never lose a file again, and never have to think about backups again. If you place any value on your own time, this is very cheap.

That’s a theme for Apple products in general: great integration saves time. Apple costs more only if you don’t value your own time.

There is nothing special about the CrApple Air. It is just a laptop that is probably more fragile than most laptops. Its all hype.

Sort of responding to Keither (and everyone else) concerning the laptop.

Whether or not you like the ’skinny’ laptop depends on your needs. If you are like me, this laptop seems insane. Almost $2k for a performance inferior laptop? For the same price I got double the power in my new PC laptop.

However, if you either:

a) a culture of mac type person or

b) a casual internet user who is constantly on the go and prefers portability over performance, then this is an awesome laptop.

Jon,

Your assessment mirrors mine almost exactly. Except that a) I think you graded everything a point or so too high and b) while I htink the Air is on the surface dazzling, it’s comprosmises are significant. 1.6 GHz has early built in obselesence, and 80GB is positively tenny in todays multimedia environment. It’s one thing to say you’ve built the smallest ocean liner in the world. But not if it only holds 2 people!

I also think the iPhone missed the following REQUIRED upgrade.

1) Cut and Paste
2) Spotlight
3) better control over videos and songs (try rewinding a video 10 seconds if you miss a sentence!)
4) Snooze on meeting alerts
5) FLASH support!!!!!

The “You Are Here is nice but a little gimmicky”. I have already found it to be off by several hundred yards in parts of urban San Francisco.

You must be young and spoiled by the hi tech world. I remember reading about cd burners in the 80’s and IBM would let it sit on it shelf for years and when another company came out with one, a bigger fish would buy the company and take their product off the market. You are very lucky to Apple pushing the envelope and force other Companies to get off their asses.

Assigning the Macbook Air a grade doesn’t have much meaning. People who don’t care about an optical drive or an ethernet port will give it an A+ because there is nothing else out there like it. People that do care about these features will give it a C. The point is that the grade is relative to the person’s preferences and needs. So why spend so much time arguing about the grade John gave the Macbook Air?

All of you comparing the MacBook AIR to other laptops are missing the point.
This is a new market category….you can’t compare this to other company’s laptops with expandable memory, DVD drives, etc…..If you want to compare Apple’s offerings to those types of laptops, use the MacBook or MacBook PRO

MMM…

Bought Apple shares at $65 now they are near $300.

Sounds like credible innovation to me…

Why are all Mac users so aggressive abotu everything! cant you jsut admit that some thigns are good and some are bad jsut like any company, microsoft sucks in some areas and does well in other where as macs suck in some areas and are good in others. Just accept that, Apple are not gods and infallable. And the mac book air may be portable and new which is good but you try doing any form of media work on a laptop with one usb port and no fire wire, its jsut not doable in a profesional environment without taking time to get hubs or transfer at usb speeds, one problem being a lot of HD video cameras only have firewire ports, I know this as I develop them. Mac book pros are good for the job so im not saying macs are bad just that the air has some bad design decisions which alienates users.

My understanding is that Skyhook coupled with Google’s cell tower locations and the iPhone’s cellular ability means the iPhone will be able to locate itself in both rural and urban locations where cellular and/or wifi is available.

From Jon Fortt: That’s right, Ben. My only point is that there are a lot more WiFi hotspots in urban locations, so it’s reasonable to conclude that this will work a bit better in densely populated areas.

Come on guys. Apple is one of the most innovative consumer electronics companies out there. They get an A in my book.

Interesting, the headline that links here says “Apple magic fizzles” but then they go on to give the following “grades”:

A = 4.0
B = 3.0
B- = 2.67
C = 2.0
B- = 2.67
B+ = 3.33

Which comes out to an average GPA of 2.945 — or basically a “B”. That doesn’t sound like a fizzle to me. I love how the press will use inflamatory headlines to drag people in to read the articles.

Keith, the fact you don’t even know that it actually does have a headphone jack makes me question your knowledge of the area.

Check your facts before putting your foot in your mouth again.

Regarding everybody’s comments about Apple’s revenue recongition, the company is audited by Big Four KPMG. As such, due to the current scrutiny in the valley, I would suspect they are taking a VSOE approach. This approach would mean that revenue would that the update would be tied to some kind of service term. Revenue would be deferred over the life of the remaining service term while revenue on the actual hardware sale was recongized upon transfer of asset (and title) and receipt of cash/receivable. So lets say they assign a service term of 2 years to the update, than it would be $20/(2 years x 24 months) equals whatever amount it is to be recongized each month.

And whoever thinks they are FORCED to charge 20 dollars for the update because of some accounting rule is either stupid or high. There are NO accounting rules that force a company to charge the consumers anything besides passed along audit fees. If it was given for free, it would simply be an expense to R&D. Dont kind yourself here. How do you think companies account for free give aways and such.

FYI, the reason company’s offer free updates after the sale for a certain period is because they dont book the the whole sale as revenue. The software portion is deferred and recongized over the the service period (the period when updates are free)

I was just checking the movies offered at iTunes. The sizes of the files are barely above 1 gig. How good a quality can you get for a movie with 1 gig file? Are we supposed to watch the movies only in iPods? I think the grade on the movie rental should be much lower.

It’s fun to read comments on how Apple under-performed for this keynote’08.
Yocum hits the nail with his comments. Take the MacBook Air. It’s not new technology, sure. But which company dares to take the existing technology to the next level? Why does that Sony TZ still have a VGA-PORT? F-that…really missing it on the MacBook Air. And for the sake of it, I miss the build in 8-track as well.
When do people finally understand the big picture that Apple is working with? This company was the first to adopt USB, Firewire, Wireless to their entire line-up of computers, not just some expensive models.
This is the first company that dropped every single legacy port and got flamed for it by every so called tech-expert but you ever hear anybody about that now? Look at that VGA-port on the Sony TZ….whaaaaa…Tells me enough about the rest of the computer. What Apple does with dropping all those ports is called moving forward, with a big step that is.

And for all those “oh, microsoft showed that 3 years ago as a concept….” You mean one of those concepts like that Bad-Ass table doing about as much as an iPod touch? Come get serious guys. Microsoft talks, Apple ships…

From Jon Fortt: Wrong. You’re missing the whole point of a 3-pound laptop that’s .76 inches thin and has a full-size keyboard….

Missing the point? Yeah, I’m just to dense to see the benefit of spending $1800 on a technically inferior laptop. But hey, who really care if it very limited.. it’s Thin!

P.S. go check out a Dell 1330 laptop. Yeah is does weigh a whole pound more and is a half inch thicker, but you do get the slight benefit of dominating the MacBook Air in every performance/option category. Now I am going to go back to listening to my Ipod

Still, at $1,799 with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, this pixie is well priced for the category, and puts Microsoft (MSFT)-based offerings to shame….

With statements like this I have to question if you have any clue in the area. The Macbook Air looks great and is compact and after that it really is subpar compared to its peers. No optical drive, non-removable battery, 1 USB port, no ethernet port, no firewire,no headphone jack, small and slow hard drive, lesser processor, integrated video card, 2gb RAM max. I could go on, but you get the point. Actually go and compare it to other laptops and hopefully you will look past the hype.

From Jon Fortt: Wrong. You’re missing the whole point of a 3-pound laptop that’s .76 inches thin and has a full-size keyboard.

Lots of gimmicks and the rest is only half way done…
- who needs an iPod touch with this new functions when you have an iPhone anyway?
- the “upgrades” on the iPhone are just gimmicks. What we were looking for was GPRS/UMTS functionality, copy and paste text, add a telephone number from an SMS/email to your address book, Blackberry function…
- MacBook Air: for us business travelers it would be a great help if one could inserts a cellphone sim-card and go online via GPRS/UMTS and not having to find a Wifi hotspot.
- Time Capsule: connect your external hard disc to you airport base station and you’r done. And: why didn’t Apple add an optical drive to the thing and you really got something for the MacBook Air [software installation, burning discs etc]. The fact that Apple offers a WIRED optical drive really does not go together with “AIR”…

I guess Apple put the expectation of everybody so high that even products which are far better than comparable products from other platforms do not cause much of excitement in the market anymore.

anyway… I can’t wait to get my fingers on the MacBook Air….

I don’t claim to be an revenue recognition expert either. There are CPAs in the large acctg firms that have spent 20 years of thier career focused on the complexities of the topic.

My understanding: updates should not ADD features to a product where all revenue was recognized at the time of sale. This puts recognized revenue at risk of needing to be deferred (restatement). Updates CAN fix bugs or enable features that were meant to work at the time of release (basically a bug fix).

Games are played by companies at times. Doing so is at risk of crossing the SEC and earning themselves an SEC investigation and accounting restatement.

On the comment of planning to update in the future, it is my understanding that it is bad form to recognize revenue differently within a product category. The example here is iPods. iPod revenue is likely to have been recognized the same way for years. To change that now could mean a huge restatement. To change accounting for one product (iTouch) in the category (iPod) raises a lot of questions. This probably wasn’t a viable option.

iPhone is a new product category, and so is AppleTV. They deferred revenue on both and can add new features for free. I am not aware of any handset mfr who provides additional features for free. Like Apple with the iPods, I suspect thier revenue accounting for handsets was determined a long time ago and they are now in a box.

Re. the $20 for iPod Touch software: I don’t claim to understand revenue accounting rules, but how do other companies continue to provide ongoing feature updates for free? There is no subscription for a TV or a game console, for example, yet firmware/software updates that add new features are a common occurance. It’s also hard to believe Apple never conceived developing addition software for what is essentially a portable computer.

Why did video rentals receive a rating of “B-” it should be “F”! You pay $2.99 or $3.99 for a rental that you only get for 24 hours once you hit play. For the price of about 4 movie rentals you can get a subscription to Netflix which gives you the option to burn the DVD’s and keep the content forever. Why not charge a flat rate per month with unlimited downloads and allow the consumer to keep the content as long as they are a subscriber.

Why mention Microsoft at all? Are you are implying that how thin a computer is a function of the operating system. In fact, how thin a computer is a function of the hardware. So you should have mentioned computer makers such as Dell, HP, Sun, Lenovo. Etc, which can not only run MS but a multitude of other operating systems.

From Jon Fortt: It’s arguable. Before Apple moved to Intel, we used to refer to non-Apple computers as “Intel-based.” But whether we call them Windows-based or name them individually, I think most people get the idea.

What do you mean by “…and puts Microsoft (MSFT)-based offerings to shame. ”

Last time I check Microsoft does not make computers. You are either demonstrating your ignorance or your bias. Either way, it discredits anything else you say.

From Jon Fortt: Read more closely. It says “Microsoft-based” offerings. Meaning those that use Microsoft operating systems.

While iTunes video needs to improve in price of rentals and the selection of movies for permanent download, Apple’s announcement that they got EVERY major studio on board is the big A+ of the keynote! How can you not get excited that consumers finally have a way to get a wide selection of HD movies from the internet to their TV or iPod Video?

Apple just hit a HUGE milestone for online video! The rental announcment is much more of reason to celebrate than a “revolutionary” laptop that doesn’t even have an onboard DVD drive, or a network backup that lacks the scalability and features of the superior MediaSmart Server from HP.

Sir, like the grade you gave iTunes rentals, I give your ARTICLE a “B-” for not recognizing the truly valuable announcement at MacWorld!

Seriously, A’s and B’s for this lineup? Typical Apple: introducing tech that is behind the times to the roars of adulation from rabid fans all in a lather. I laughed myself silly at the 2007 iPhone ads where the users were amazed that “OMG finally there’s a phone that lets me POST TO THE INTERNET!!!” Yeah, nice job Apple, you’ve finally caught up to open-market wireless devices circa 1999.

Now everyone’s excited about an ultra-thin laptop? And really, what the F is up with no battery?

Gotta give Apple props for one thing, though: marketing. They sure know how to take yesteryear’s tech and make it today’s fashion accessory. They make cool-ass commercials. Guys like me may laugh at people who overspend for iFormoverfunction, but Apple’s laughing all the way to the bank.

While I certainly agree Apple has created several successful innovations (iPod+iTunes, iPhone, etc), there’s really nothing significantly new this year from them (other than adding pretty white plastic housings and glowing Apple logos to existing technology). Thin laptops have been around for awhile. Intel announced one last May that was 0.7 inches thick and weighs 2.25 lbs (which was probably the basis for the Air). A hard drive that can be connected directly to your network has been around for years. The other items announced were mostly refreshes of existing products, which should be expected of any product line to keep up with the latest tech. Bottom line - innovations that are new to Macs, but current computer tech for the rest of the world.

“Microsoft has really taken a step with their new innovative pocket mp3 player the Zune.

I really think we will see microsoft engage this market and reduce Apple’s overall market share.

It is a shame because it look like Apple was going to control this market.

Is it a time to sell?”

I almost peed on myself laughing at this comment. Ballmer is that you again? BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Seems a bit naive to think that renting a movie from the iTunes store will not soon lead to the ability, thanks to one enterprising hacker or another, to copy that movie onto a hard drive, with the further ability to send it forth on the internet, to whomever subscribes to Pirate Bay, Limewire, or another streaming piratical organization . . .

I think the rental thing should have an A. Movie rentals worldwide with your iTunes or Apple TV would be great. If I am out travelling I would use my laptop renting a movie in a hotel instead of watching bad tv programs (sometimes James Bond speaks spanish or french). I will increase my stocks in this company! The most beautiful thing is that it always seems to work as it’s supposed. With the windows stuff it’s always a mess. I like the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle for products and I think Apple beats Microsoft on that.

The expectations around a Steve keynotes are so huge that when fire isn´t invented all over people start to whine about it. I´m conviced Apple is a company moving in the right direction and their innovation pace is incredible. To have a mobile phone that becomes more and more powerful with upgradable apps is unique. The Macbook Air is a magnificent and beautiful piece of technology, just compare to what is around. I´m sure the movie rentals part and that the Apple TV (no computer required) didn´t sound so spectacular, but I´m positive we are talking about a new business model that will make things very different for the whole industry. That´s the reason no single big studio passed on the ocasion. The environmental move is pretty huge too, but cynics won´t see a revolution in front of them until it is too late. To those who bash products because they are not what they want, just don´t buy them and stop whining!

Hey dopes…Lets say you have 2 kids and 2 parents. 4 Computers these days, and at least 3. Also, remember that they are going to make it possible so that when u buy DVDs there is an itunes formatted version on there. So now all your movies are on this network drive so your entertainment center is wherever the computers are, or to whatever tv they are attached to. Th apple tv thing is pretty much like tivo, and you can rent movies the same way to that equipment through amazon.com. The thing is with these products, they only work well when used in conjunction with each other, but if you had them all, it would be great.

Oh, what a difference 12 months makes. When the iPhone was introduced I seem to recall hearing a lot of negative comments (no battery, no physical keyboard, etc.). Try and pry the iphone from their owner now! The new laptop is going to define laptops. Nice size screen with high resolution, (I’don’t want a dvd in my laptop, I barely want an ethernet cable, and big deal about the battery, you will see this more and more)

MacBook Air gets an A???

Sorry, but a laptop without a built-in optical drive or removable battery gets a “C” in my book. If I’m traveling on business, the last thing I want to have to do is deal with a bunch of external perepherals (even if they are USB powered). And since most laptop users expect to be able to travel with their devices, this is a huge convenience issue. Same thing with the battery. If I can’t carry around a spare battery, since finding an outlet in an airport isn’t the most convenient thing, I’m not seeing the advanteg, even with a longer runtime between charges.

And the Remote Disc piece in their marketing is priceless. “A new feature called Remote Disc lets you wirelessly use or “borrow” the optical drive of a Mac or PC in the vicinity. So you can have full access to an optical drive without having to haul one around.” So, in other words, I need to purchase another PC or MAC just to be able to get access to an optical drive? Priceless… And better still, the demo on the Apple site uses a PC, instead of another Mac. Kinda sad…

SAB 104 and SOP 97-2 are the likely revenue accounting rules at work here. It looks like Apple didn’t defer revenue on the iTouch the same way they did on the iPhone. If they had, then software updates could potentially be free for the iTouch too.

Revenue recognition is a complex area of accounting, and Apple may not have had a lot of choices. Perhaps deferring revenue on the iTouch created accounting and revenue problems with the rest of the iPod line. Additionally, under the accounting rules Apple can’t charge some nominal fee, say $1, for the update either. A dollar isn’t the market value of what is being provided (software update features), and that could potentially require the company to restate revenue recognized for the iTouch to date.

Apple probably would have given the update for free or a much lower price if they had the option.

Apple has to charge a fee for the software upgrade for the iTouch because of the accounting method used to book its revenue. If they offer the upgrade for free it would open the door for legal recourse based on current US law.

I understand the $20 charge for the Touch upgrade. You have to look at it this way, Apple isn’t just adding a feature that they developed and control. They are adding a service, Mail, Maps, Tracking ect. that they have to pay royalties for themselves since Yahoo powers the Mail, Stocks, & Weather, Google the Maps and Tracking. With the iPhone those fees are covered in the monthly data plan.

I also think that Time Capsule will be bigger than people think. Wireless automatic backup of your laptop is fantastic. Just think, as soon as you get home from work with your laptop, assuming is just asleep and not off, it automatically backs itself up while it’s still sitting in your briefcase or bag. It also give people a reason to upgrade to the new 802.11n faster wireless routers.
As for the MacbookAir, it’s not for me but it is amazing. Adding a super slim external superdrive for $99 is nothing if you’ll pay $1800 for a machine like this.

Apple has never tried to make money off the content it provides, and whatever ridiculous restrictions there are you know are coming from the entertainment industry not Apple. They still don’t get it and until these executives start getting fired and replace by younger people they never will.

Microsoft has really taken a step with their new innovative pocket mp3 player the Zune.

I really think we will see microsoft engage this market and reduce Apple’s overall market share.

It is a shame because it look like Apple was going to control this market.

Is it a time to sell?

I posted the some where else, posting here make sense toohis is the most un-impressive roll of technology that some of it is out there already. let look at the four things he showed. First a wireless hard drive with wireless router as if this something new, people start making SD wi-fi cards already, and by the way I can just connect my external hard drive to my wireless router and that will do the trick.
Second, iphone have maps with locations (get a real GPS, which already there on some phones). SMS to multiple people this made me really laugh my 4 years old nokia do that, still iphone can not do video my 2 years old phone do that !!!, and some other application people already have on ipod touch and iphone with jail break.
Third, apple TV and video rental that is ok, but let hope luck for not only for apple but all online renting outlets and let hope the internet can withstand these bandwidth hogs, also it seem the apple Tv is not doing that well and the price cut is a must.
last the macbook air is ok not that wow the idea of Ultra portable computers was introduced 3 years ago by Bill Gates but Microsoft is not a hardware company, and the hardware companies may seen this as not really some worth investing in simple not allot of people will buy it and I will buy a dell XPS 13.3 and not this one and do not tell me it do not run OS X because I do not care both will get me to the internet and run Microsoft office and I do have a macbook and it is perfect as a thin and light notebook and I do not need to carry allot of accessories with me!!. and the thing that made also laugh how showing that borrowing DVD or connecting devices over wireless connection as something new, they better do some research before they claim that. Simply the 2008 macworld is not impressive as the 2007 with the iphone and 2006 with the intel chips.

Greg,

The iPhone revenue is spread over two years precisely because updates delivered will be at no additional charge.

This is not the case with iPod Touch. If you think the Google Maps enhancements (pseudo GPS), and the Mail application, etc. is not worth $20 don’t get it. But development costs have to be recouped.

The reason why Apple is charging for the additional software on the iPod Touch is a result of how it handles the sales on its books. Unlike the iPhone and Apple TV, the iPod Touch is noted as a one time sale on Apple’s books. The iPhone and Apple TV are set up as a subscription type sale. This allows Apple to freely update the iPhone and Apple TV and add functionality at no additional cost to the purchaser. The upgrade for the iPod Touch does require them to charge for it. For the Mail app, I find that the 20 dollars is justified.

I totally agree with B Yocum. I am buying an Apple TV today. I didn’t buy before because of the price and lack of movies. Now is the time to buy.

$20 for the iPod touch updates is unreasonable. If all touch owners were charged this fee, it would be fair. Instead, they decide to charge early adopters ONLY. Smells a lot like the iPhone fiasco of last year.

Greg: …and I bet that’s the way you run your business as well, eh? Selling your work output for a song?

AppleTV

The whole rental thing has sold me on the AppleTV. I like this particular method, because I can keep the device in my bedroom and just download a movie at will. In particular, the fact that more independent movie companies will be coming on board, I will be able to see foreign and more low key films for once. Add to this, AppleTV can stream music, view photos via the disk or streaming, I WILL NOW BUY THIS DEVICE.

Rentals

Another winner! As noted above. In regards to those wanting to hold onto a movie for longer than 24 hours, why don’t you admit that the only thing that you really want to do is copy the movie? As far as I am concerned, there is no real reason for holding a movie longer than 24 hours. I think it is totally reasonable.

Rick.

you are grading Apple against their own standards and not the industry. They are so far and ahead of everyone else on the whole that they just have to get straight A;s.
Your grading system doesn’t make sense unless you want to add “student is not meeting our insane expectations” at the bottom of the grading paper. Reliable, user friendly and practical with a whole lot of style. What more do you want from these guys. Sorry MSFT your in the dust

A couple of things to consider that I think you’re missing here. You’ve missed a critical component in the “iTunes Movie Rentals” and “Apple TV Do-over.” First, Apple TV not so successful in the initial offering, I’ll give you that. But, it’s not just a DVD player. It can handle photos, music, YouTube, etc. Second, ok, so if you’re going to buy an “upscaling” DVD for $200, what will you buy? Blu-ray, HD-DVD, standard DVD? Are you willing to risk being Beta-maxed because you made the wrong choice? Will your DVD player play TV shows you downloaded? Apple TV makes the format war irrelevant. HD format, period. Who cares what format the DVD is? In less than 30seconds you have widescreen HD video. Yes, netflix is good, but how many times do you watch the video? Once in the likely answer, then you ship it off… or you forget to ship it and that single viewing ends up costing you $16 in monthly fees… be honest, you’ve done this before. And that brings me to iTunes movie rentals. For the reasons just mentioned it is a valuable product. You can still purchase the movie if you like, but this is a great, format free, near instant HD video option.
Don’t miss the forest for the trees here…. And while I appreciate your grading system, let’s get a little perspective… When is the last time a competitor like Microsoft even offered a C+ product? Zune? Seriously?

The apps for the iPod Touch are nice to have, but why am I supposed to pay $20 for them? The iPod Touch is sold at a premium price and Apple can’t resist holding out their hand for more money. I’m not sure I will be buying the upgrade since it is not that compelling anyway. The price should be closer to a movie or the apps sold like a song.