Before 2010 MacBook Air, there was 2004 Sony - CNET

Shades of the 2010 MacBook Air?

(Credit: Sony)

Though a moot point now for consumers, in 2004 Sony came out with an ultrathin wedge-shaped laptop that was a progenitor of the MacBook Air, particularly Apple's 2010 incarnation.

At the Apple event this week in San Francisco, Steve Jobs said the new MacBook Air "is the future of notebooks." That's debatable of course but it's clear that PC makers like Sony and Hewlett-Packard already saw that kind of future a long time ago. The problem was that either their timing was off or they didn't execute the designs as well as Apple--or simply that the laptop was too expensive.

Back in 1998, HP released the ultrathin, 3-pound Sojourn made from magnesium. (And more recently the wafer-thin Dell Adamo XPS eclipsed the older Apple Air by using a heavily wedged design.)

But Sony's offering may be one of the best examples of a laptop that pretty much matches Apple's design--except Sony did it six years ago. The nickel carbon body Vaio X505--no longer available--had some very impressive specs for its time. (See 2004 review.)

Similar to the MacBook Air, the pronounced wedge design was 0.38 inches at the thinnest point and 0.83 at the thickest. The nickel carbon body also squeezed in an Ethernet port, a PCMCIA slot, and a 1394 connector

(Credit: CNET Reviews)

Like Apple's new Air, the Vaio X505 used an ultralow voltage Intel chip: a Pentium M "ULV" 1.1GHz processor. And similar to the Air, it was 0.38 inches at it thinnest point and 0.83 inches at its thickest (and keep in mind this was remarkably thin for a design that was probably conceived in 2002). The Sony X505 was smaller than the 11.6-inch Air, packing a 10.4-inch display, but it was only 1.85 pounds.

2010 MacBook Air

(Credit: Apple)

And the price? When the Sony Vaio X505 came out, it was about $3,000. And that's probably where Apple's new Air breaks the most ground. The ultrasvelte, 2.3-pound Air--which I would argue is the most impressive Apple MacBook design--can be had for $999. Still a bit pricey but far below the boutique, Rodeo-Drive ultrathins of the past. (Note that Apple's original high-end MBA was about $3,000 but mainstream Air models eventually settled in at about half that price.)

So, what does Sony have today? It has the X series, but that's a single-core Intel Atom processor-based design and won't deliver the performance of the Air, which uses a Core 2 Duo processor and Nvidia graphics.

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Will HP, Dell, Sony answer 11-inch MacBook Air? - CNET

Neither Dell nor Hewlett-Packard nor Sony have laptops that compete directly with the 2.3-pound, 11.6-inch MacBook Air. Is this a new market segment that those three laptop leaders and others will have to address?

Sony has the Vaio Y series, but that hardly compares to the 11.6-inch MacBook Air.

(Credit: Sony)

Apple has a knack for creating new markets, the iPad being the most recent example. Though not as groundbreaking or broadly market-defining as the iPad, the smaller Air is clearly unique: wrapped in aluminum, while considerably lighter than a typical 3-pound 11.6-inch laptop. And it packs higher-end silicon--and better performance--than Netbooks. (I spent some time in three different Apple Stores in the Los Angeles area right after the new Airs were announced, and from what I saw, the 11.6-inch MBA elicited the most oohs and aahs--hands down.)

I would submit that the Air has wedged itself (pun intended) into an elite sub-2.5-pound laptop segment where little direct competition currently exists. There are hordes of 10-inch class Netbooks out there. But, again, a $350 Windows 7-based Netbook is a very different class of laptop. Then there are products like Dell's 11.6-inch Inspiron M101z. But that is a low-end plastic Netbook-class product.

2010 MacBook Air

(Credit: Apple)

Lenovo--though not listed up top--warrants an honorable mention with its IdeaPad U160 11.6-inch laptop, which has the screen measurements to match the 11.6-inch Air but is about a pound heavier and for all intents and purposes is a fairly conventional Intel Core i series-based laptop that's been squeezed into a tight form factor. And Acer has the 11.6-inch TimeLineX series, but this is three pounds and really not in the same class as the Air.

As pointed out in a previous post, Sony has its Vaio X, Y, and Z series, but the former is a Netbook and the latter two are 13-inch designs, which are not nearly as sleek and small (at 4 and 3 pounds, respectively) as the 11.6-inch Air, albeit the Vaio is competitively priced and offers faster Core i series processors and higher-end Nvidia GeForce GT 330M graphics. But, again, size is the key metric for comparison.

So, who might offer some direct competition? Sony has the technological wherewithal and design sense to come up with a sub-2.5-pound non-Netbook design. If for no other reason than they've done it before. Ditto for Dell in the design sense department. It could downsize the Adamo. But, then, I have to wonder if Dell still has the stomach or incentive to go toe to toe with Apple again, since its Adamo--though stunning--has not generated the excitement of an Apple product.

A design like the Sony Vaio X with more robust silicon would compete well with the 11.6-inch Air.

(Credit: Sony)

And HP? I've followed HP-Compaq laptop design since Compaq acquired DEC's Hi-Note Ultra line--one of the first truly ultraslim laptops. The closest thing HP had to the Air in its consumer line was the 13-inch Envy, but that has been discontinued in favor of larger, bulkier 14-inch and 17-inch Envys. (Though refurbished Envy 13s are still available.) Let me add that, like the Dell M101z, I don't think that the 11.6-inch HP Pavilion dm1z series is in the same class as the Air.

On the business side, HP and Compaq (which HP later acquired) have produced a long line of light, 12-inch form factor business laptops, currently branded as the EliteBook 2540p--which is a rugged, military-specced ultraportable. If HP tweaked the 2540p's design so it no longer accommodated a built-in optical drive, dropped the thickness below 0.8 inches, and offered a different choice of processors, it would have a serious competitor to the Air.

But this may be just wishful thinking. Maybe Apple, once again, will find itself happily flying solo where others dare not go.

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Why Apple's 11-Inch MacBook Air Is TSA-Approved - PC World

Have you heard? Apple's new 11-inch MacBook Air is preapproved for airport security. That's right: Carry one of those bad boys through a TSA checkpoint, and you don't even have to take it out of your bag.

So what sets the MacBook Air apart from other noncheckpoint-friendly notebooks? It isn't that the TSA is full of certified Apple fanboys. The truth is that it all comes down to size.

Apple's MacBook Air and Airport Security

Though Apple doesn't consider the 11-inch MacBook Air a netbook, the computer's small profile puts it in the same category as netbook-designated devices -- at least, in the eyes of Homeland Security. We tech folks may look at things like specs and price tags when categorizing a computer, but the TSA is more concerned with how much space the system takes up.

In the case of Apple's 11-inch MacBook Air, the fact that the computer is "smaller than a standard-size laptop" is the sole reason the TSA green-lighted it to stay inside your carry-on at airport security. As first reported by CNN, the MacBook Air is seen by the government as the same type of gadget as an iPad, an e-reader, or -- yep, you guessed it -- a netbook.

"Small and portable electronic items ... should not need to be removed from their carrying cases," a TSA spokesperson tells me.

The big question, then, is where we draw the "small item" line.

Would Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Air, for example, be OK to go through an airport checkpoint while inside a bag? What about ultraportable but high-performing notebooks on the PC side of the equation -- will they get the same security love as Apple's 11-inch Air? What is the "standard size" of a laptop nowadays, anyway?

It turns out there's no easy answer.

In the case of the 13-inch MacBook Air, the TSA has yet to reach a final verdict, according to CNN. A TSA representative did tell me that anything "similar in size to an iPad" should generally be safe to stay in your bag. She was unable, however, to provide any firm guidelines as to what separates a "small and portable electronic item" from a full-fledged laptop. Long story short, there is no magic number.

Rather than obsess over the size of your gizmo, then, the smartest option may be to go with a checkpoint-friendly laptop bag. Throw your notebook, netbook, or whatever you want to call it in one of those suckers and -- unless you're flagged for extra screening -- you should be able to breeze right through airport security.

And yes, by "breeze right through," I mean "waddle through shoeless while hanging onto your unbelted pants and the little dignity you have remaining."

But hey, at least you won't have to unpack your laptop.

JR Raphael is a PCWorld contributing editor and the co-founder of geek-humor site eSarcasm. You can find him on both Facebook and Twitter.

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Light, Trim MacBook Air Has Feel of iPad—But It'll Cost You - Wall Street Journal

Some of the nicest, if little discussed, benefits of using an Apple iPad tablet are that it starts instantly, resumes where you left off, and has a long enough battery life that you aren't constantly fretting about running out of juice or looking for a place to plug it in. And it can do a lot of things for which people use laptops.

What if somebody designed an actual laptop that worked this way—you know, a computer with a real keyboard and a larger screen that could run traditional computer software and store more files than an iPad? And what if it was almost as light and portable as an iPad? Well, somebody has, and that somebody is Apple itself.

Walt Mossberg tests two new MacBook Air laptops and finds they really do offer the different, more iPad-like experience that Apple claims they do. But if you're a heavy-duty user, who needs lots of power and file storage they may be too lightweight.

The computer in question is the company's new MacBook Air, which went on sale last week, starting at $999—a price that's very low for an Apple laptop, though hardly a bargain for a Windows one. The new Air comes in two sizes. The base $999 model has an 11.6-inch screen (versus 9.7 inches for an iPad) and weighs 2.3 pounds (versus 1.5 pounds for an iPad). The larger—but still thin and light—model starts at $1,299, has a 13.3-inch screen, and weighs 2.9 pounds.

I've been testing both versions, but especially the 11.6-inch model, and I find that, despite a few drawbacks, they really do offer the different, more iPad-like experience Apple claims they do. Battery life is strong, and the wake up from sleep is almost instant, even after long periods of being unused.

Like their predecessors in the Air family, these are gorgeous, very thin and light, but very sturdy aluminum computers. And, like their predecessors, or like iPads and smartphones, they rely on solid-state storage—flash chips—instead of a conventional hard disk to hold all your files. But Apple has dramatically reduced the physical size of the flash storage to make room for larger sealed-in batteries, so battery life is longer. It has also cut the price from the last version of the Air, a 13-inch model that cost $1,799 with a solid-state drive.

Getty Images Apple's new MacBook Air laptop.

Also, the company has re-engineered the way these new Airs sleep, adding a long "standby" period of very low power consumption that Apple says lasts up to 30 days. This standby mode kicks in after about an hour of idle time, and replaces the traditional hibernation system, where your current activity is saved to a conventional hard disk just before the battery dies. With hibernation, getting back to where you were can be slow and somewhat uncertain. With the new "standby" mode, the process just takes a few seconds, only a bit longer than normal sleep.

These are just the first of a number of changes Apple plans in order to make its computers behave more like the iPad and iPhone, without losing their greater power and more traditional keyboards, touchpads and mice, and ability to run conventional programs.

For instance, Apple has said it will soon introduce an "app store" for the Mac, which would make it simpler to find and download programs for the computers, and notify users of updates. And it will also roll out, in its next Mac operating system, called Lion—due next summer—a system of apps icon screens, like those on iPhones and iPads, that you can flick through with the company's multitouch touchpad gestures.

In my harsh battery tests, I found the two new Air models almost matched Apple's battery claims, even with all power-saving features turned off, Wi-Fi kept on, the screen on maximum brightness and a continuous loop of music playing. The 11-inch model lasted four hours and 43 minutes, versus Apple's claim of up to five hours. The 13-inch model lasted six hours and 13 minutes, versus Apple's claim of up to seven hours.

This means that, in normal use, with power-saving features turned on, you'd be almost certain to meet, or possibly exceed, Apple's claimed battery life. For comparison, I did the same battery test on a new Dell 11.6-inch model, the M101Z, which costs about $450, but is much thicker and heavier than the smaller Air, and uses a conventional hard disk. It got only two hours and 41 minutes of battery life, which means that in normal use you'd probably get three to four hours.

Reuters The MacBook Air 11-inch (left) and 13-inch models have long battery life, but storage capacity is limited.

The new models are designed to hardly ever require a traditional bootup or reboot. The idea is that you'd only reboot if you had a problem, or installed software that required a reboot, or if the machine had been idle and unplugged more than a month. But even booting is very fast.

In my tests, a cold boot took 17 seconds and a reboot, with several programs running, took 20 seconds. By contrast, the Dell I tested took more than three minutes to fully boot up and be fully ready for use.

Unlike on many netbooks, these two new Apples also have high screen resolutions so you can fit more material into their relatively small sizes. The 13-inch model has the same resolution as Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 11-inch Air has greater resolution than the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Also, unlike on many netbooks, they feature full-size keyboards, though the 11-inch model has reduced-size function keys.

The new Airs aren't meant to be the most robust machines. They use last-generation Intel processors and have only two gigabytes of memory in their base configurations, and their storage is well below typical hard-disk capacities.

Apple The 11-inch Air starts at $999.

For example, the 11-inch, $999 model has a paltry 64 gigabytes of storage; the 13-inch model starts at a still-weak 128 gigabytes of storage, and even the high-end version of the larger model, which costs $1,599, has just 256 gigabytes of storage. And neither the storage nor the memory can be expanded once you choose your initial specs.

I'd recommend buyers of the 11-inch model spend $200 more to double the storage to 128 gigabytes. And people doing a lot of video editing might want to double the memory on either model to four gigabytes, for an extra $100.

Also, as with the earlier Air models, these two lack a DVD drive and an Ethernet port. Apple sells an external drive for $79 and an Ethernet adapter for $29. If you add in all these extras, prices can climb quickly.

They also lack ports called HDMI ports, becoming common on Windows PCs, for easy connection to televisions, and their keyboards aren't backlit. The two new models do, however, have two USB ports instead of the single USB port in the older Air.

I was surprised to find that even the base $999 model was powerful enough to easily run seven or eight programs at once, including Microsoft Office, iTunes and the Safari browser with more than 20 Web sites open. It also played high-definition video with no skipping or stuttering.

So, if you're a light-duty user, you might be able to adopt one of the new Airs as your main laptop. If you're a heavy-duty user, who needs lots of power and file storage, they're likely to be secondary machines.

Overall, Apple has done a nice job in making these new MacBook Airs feel more like iPads and iPhones without sacrificing their ability to work like regular computers. But, as always with Apple, you'll pay more than you will with Windows PCs.

—Find all of Walt Mossberg's columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email mossberg@wsj.com.

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Early next-gen MacBook Air may have surfaced in photo - Electronista

Images of what's claimed to be an early prototype of the next-generation MacBook Air have surfaced in a new leak. The design, purportedly dating back to April of this year, implied that there may still be a 13-inch version but also that Apple would have addressed some of the common complaints of the Air's 2008-era build. Engadget pointed out that it would eschew the drop-down expansion row and have two USB ports, one on either side, as well as an SD card reader and the requisite Mini DisplayPort output.

As hinted earlier, no room was shown for a fully-enclosed 1.8-inch hard drive. Apple would instead use a 'raw' SSD that could be just a circuit board with flash memory chips and a controller. Most of the space in the design would instead be devoted to the batteries, which were represented here by four separate packs. It's possible a finished design would change the layout.

The notebook was listed as new and identifed itself in System Profiler as "MacBook Air 3,1," but the parts shown are a direct holdover from the existing model and use a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo S (the SL9400) with 2GB of RAM. Its age may have been borne out by design touches, since the bottom and glass trackpad would be new but the top would still have the all-aluminum frame of the original.

As the system showed is at least half a year old, it's considered entirely probable that Apple will have upgraded the processor, RAM and other components now that they should be either available or at lower prices. Whether or not a 13-inch model ships might also be called into question; Apple has been known to alter or cancel plans late into development, and multiple sources have all made no mention of a 13-inch Air sequel while remaining confident that a 11.6-inch version exists. A possibility exists that Apple may carry both sizes.

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