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Whoops: MacBook Air is the Apple Foleo

Whoops, looks like Apple’s had one of its famous beautiful misses (see G4 cube for precedent). You can’t replace the battery. Is that completely insane? Is Apple expecting an $1800 - $3200 device to be disposable (or require an expensive battery replacement procedure) on a two year basis?

Thin in stature and in features, seems ideally suited to lightweight business computing on-the-go for short bursts (hence the built in battery), connecting via WiFi or cellphone/bluetooth - which, correct me if I’m wrong, was the use-case described for the ill-fated Palm Foleo.

UPDATE: The more I read, the more appalling this exercise in fashionista-baiting becomes.

air, apple, foleo macbook

5 Responses to “Whoops: MacBook Air is the Apple Foleo”

Glen V | January 15th, 2008 at 4:53 pm

I think you’re right.

When you think of other big Apple announcements from the Newton to the iPhone… this is nothing.

People increasingly want something quite small for mobile computing. When you can get a cheap Asus ee, and put a 3G card into it… why would you buy this? (You can even sort of have OSX if you’re obsessive).

It’s a cool normal laptop at a time that the mobile market is moving in two directions: really small and portable, or, big desktop replacements.

An iPhone with a keyboard would have been more interesting.
Zoli Erdos | January 15th, 2008 at 7:09 pm

A beautiful status symbol:-) But I am still thinking of a n eee PC for travel “blogging machine”.
Rod | January 15th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

@glen: thanks, glad you agree!
@zoli: eepc was looking really tempting for my upcoming trip, but I hope to be doing some serious work on it, and the 7 inch screen was just too small for coding.

Instead, I bought a Toshiba U200 for $750; its thicker but less wide and deep, has a 13 inch screen, optical drive, camera card reader (very useful), and a full complement of ports at a travel weight of 4.5lbs. Best of all, it has a durable finish and metal chassis - exactly what I wanted for an extended road trip.

Even if I had more than twice as much to spend on an Air, I don’t think I would have. What its missing changes it from business machine to (as you aluded), status symbol and frippery.
DC | January 16th, 2008 at 8:55 am

Why would you want an iPod, there’s lots of other MP3 players, cheaper, more memory, faster, louder.

Why would you want an iPhone, there’s lots of other smart phones, faster, cheaper, keyboard, replaceable battery, etc.

Why would you want a Mac? There’s lots of PCs, more software, more peripherals, more, more, more.

Now you don’t want an Air. It doesn’t matter. What matters is if everyone else wants one!

BTW, battery replacement is free (battery not included), but a hassle since you have to take it in. If they sell a ton, they’ll work it out.

It’s all a personal choice. When someone else chooses what’s good for you (IT department), they give you a PC, a Blackberry, and no MP3. When you buy for yourself, the story changes.
Rod | January 16th, 2008 at 10:44 am

@DC - point taken. Owning an Apple anything carries value with it beyond the intrinsic value of whatever it is (mp3 player, etc).

That being said, its one thing to pay a $50 premium on a 2 or $300 MP3 player; I think Apple’s overstepped itself by tacking an $800-$1000 premium onto a laptop.

then again, perhaps they’re fully cognizant and are targetting the ultra high end only.