[X4U] MW Expo; I'm underwhelmed

[Neil Laubenthal]

Boys and girls . . . I realize that this is complete heresy . . . and  
while watching the entire thread of arguments has been  
interesting . . . can we all just agree that the Air is perfect for  
some users and not so perfect for others?

Ya' know . . . Apple probably spends a lot of money on market  
research . . . and even if Steve was the driving force behind the  
original idea of the Air . . . if Apple concluded that it wouldn't  
sell then it probably wouldn't have been made.

I think that for almost all of us an Air would not be suitable if it  
was the only computer we had . . . the drawbacks (if it was your only  
computer) are significant . . . unless your business is writing and  
you have no need for the features that are given up.

For a lightweight travel computer . . . it's rather nice. Sure, it's  
more expensive than a MB . . . but then it has to have the metal  
casing for stiffness, more expensive parts (so that they're thin  
enough) . . . and hey, it's sexy so that's worth something.

Apple's done pretty good lately with figuring out what people will  
buy . . . iPhone, iPod, iMac, etc. I know that the Cube wasn't a great  
commercial success; but then it really offered _nothing_ that a  
standard G4 didn't except the cool factor. All of those other more  
successful devices had other things to recommend them in addition to  
the cool factor.

I think Apple will sell enough of these to be successful . . .  
although it isn't my dream device if I traveled a lot then I would  
have to seriously consider one of these just for the weight.

Is it for the person on a budget? Maybe not.

Is it for the person who is willing to pay for light weight? Certainly.

Is it for you? Depends on what you want, what you're willing to give  
up to get what you want, and what you're wiling to pay for it.