Apple claimed 5 hrs with WIFI on, unlike the other benchmarks usually cited by Apple.

What do I think about this MBA? I have a 12″ AluPB that I’m typing on right now, with a 867Mhz G4. I also have a Macbook C2D. I’d like something small like the 12″ but lighter, and as fast as the Macbook. The new MBA looks like it could be it. It’s smaller, in a different way, but if it’s solid, then that’s the feeling I’m looking for. The 12″ felt like an ingot, it is so solid. The Macbook, flexes too much for my taste. I’ve considered getting the pricey Daystar upgrade for my 12″, but that only ups my G4 to 1.4Ghz, and will probably get me a Macbench score of about 35 to 40. I expect the MBA will get a Macbench score of 80 to 90. It’s alot more money, but it seems the perfect compromise between my Macbook and my 12″ AluPB.

I wonder if this is the start of a trend. By removing the optical drive, you need to be able to rip a DVD if you want to watch a movie on the go. It can take as long to rip a DVD as to download a rental on a typical DSL connection. This bears watching.

The weight is a huge thing for many users, myself included. My MacBook is a 3rd generation (last one before Santa Rosa) and it got about 4 hours when it was new, but batteries age and mine is now about 6-months-old. I had a 1st generation MacBook, but didn’t keep it long enough to learn its battery characteristics (overheating problems).

For size and weight though, the MacBook makes a great general use laptop, but for highly mobile use its just too heavy. As an attorney I am frequently walking between my office and the courts, not to mention running around to other locations near and far. The MacBook is just too heavy in a shoulder bag that shares space (and weight) with client files and the occasional book. Right now I carry a ThinkPad X41 during the day. It is a mediocre performer with a slow iPod hard drive and vampire video (MacBook Air has similar, but more modern components), but performance is not very important in this class. What makes the X41 work is that it weighs 2.7 pounds with its 2.5 hour battery or 3.2 lbs with the 5 hour.

I was hoping the MacBook Air would allow me to retire the X41, but I’m guessing that isn’t the case.

The air is perfect with the single exception of the battery. Its not the turnaround time for replacement, but the fact that 5 hours is it, no way to change packs and continue working. No way to clip an auxiliary to the bottom. Nothing, you get a claimed 5 hours, and that is all.

Now if that five hours turns out to be an honest 5 hours, it may do, but Apple claims 5 hours for the MacBook and I only get 3, on a good day.
3 lbs and 13.3″ is about as good as it gets, I just want the ability to swap batteries.

I agree about the battery. Also, I would bet that the max 5 hour figure is most easily reached with that expensive flash drive. My Macbook is a v1 macbook and I average a little over 4 hours. What you do with it makes a huge amount of difference also, as we all know. Of course that means that Andrew’s comparison is perfect for him make no mistake.

As for the 2.2 pound weight difference? Well it is certainly significant but 5 pounds really isn’t all that heavy so I am not convinced it’s a huge practical gain. Physical size would seem more of a boon than the weight in real-world terms. Also, I would bet that the lion’s share of that weight savings is, in fact, the battery. Although I have never weighed mine, I have repaired enough Macbooks to confidently say that it is by far the heaviest component in the whole machine. Which is no big surprise, I am sure.

I’ve been waiting for this ever since the demise of the 12″ PowerBook, but I think Apple missed the mark, for me at least.

The air is perfect with the single exception of the battery. Its not the turnaround time for replacement, but the fact that 5 hours is it, no way to change packs and continue working. No way to clip an auxiliary to the bottom. Nothing, you get a claimed 5 hours, and that is all.

Now if that five hours turns out to be an honest 5 hours, it may do, but Apple claims 5 hours for the MacBook and I only get 3, on a good day.

As far as the missing optical drive, FireWire and Ethernet, well, the optical drive I applaud, and I guess I can do without Ethernet too. Makes more sense the more I think about it.

3 lbs and 13.3″ is about as good as it gets, I just want the ability to swap batteries.