This article caught my attention, basically the real change is that the MacBook Air finally became a real laptop! It is faster, does not overheat and affordable (around 1000$ in the main markets in Europe and the States, which also means it is at the same range as the MacBook).
Now as a Mac user for the past few months, I have grown accustomed to it, I could very well say I am even pleased, though I am no longer enchanted. I strongly believe that buying a Mac over a PC remains a very personal choice which largely depends on your needs, knowledge and budget.
But with all these improvements, the MacBook Air is suddenly appealing, I will not be buying any new laptop for the next few years (nshallah), but there's a few things that I am burning to know about this new beauty, and maybe some Arab Mac enthusiasts can help me understand.
1- As the owner of a miniHP a lot of what we take for granted in computers (CD drive massive memory etc.) are not that essential, portability however is priceless. So I was wondering, if buying an external CD drive would still be a viable option. Since most of the people I know, often never really use up their memory in anything useful (thus indispensable).
2- What do Arab users think of this whole "kill the CD" leitmotiv? I personally think that, at least in our region, CDs would still be indispensable, considering the relative high cost of external hard drives, their sluggish speed in file transfer, the heavy dependance on pirated software copies, and the bad internet speed in some countries (which leads users to prefer buying a CD rather than download software at times).
3- Again, based on my experience with the miniHP, as a hyperportable device, I noticed that I often gave less care to the mini when handling. I would often put it in odd positions, pick it up by the screen, etc. But then again the mini was easily 3 times cheaper than the MacBook Air! Not to mention that the perimeter was smaller, which meant it was relatively more rigid than this 13incher. So basically, I am wondering, did previous Macbook Air users experience maintenance issues? does it have a shorter life expectancy? Is is more vulnerable? You know, this thing maybe cheaper than the MacBook Pro, but it is definitely expensive and even though they say you can't play on both sides, it would be traumatizing to pay 1000$ (at least) and then have it break because you just didn't feel the weight as it was slipping off your lap!
I guess my basic question is: Would a smart Arab/Middle Eastern consumer buy a Macbook Air?
2 comments:
I have the old generation of the MBAir and it really is great but this is what you want to keep in mind: be frugal with what you decide to carry. I bought it thinking it would be the lighter choice and for most of my daily usage it fits the bill.
However, when I travel for extended periods of time the weight issue comes into hand big time as I also carry 1) an external CD/optical drive, 2) a hard drive, 3) an external battery source, 4) and headphones (the speakers on this fare very poorly when compared to other Apple laptops.) Let me tell you, each one of those things adds up in a BIG way to the weight on my back to the point that my partner questioned the sanity of my "lighter" choice in the first place.
But like I said, this only happens when I travel - not for my everyday usage.
well, again I draw back on my experience as a miniHP user, if I traveling to an extended period of time, I prefer to take my main laptop, a mini's just not worth the effort to be honest.
Actually based on your comment, I think I'd still stay away from a Macbook Air, miniHP is just the perfect price/value balance I guess for my needs.
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