I've been on this rampage for a while now (http://macbigot.com/?p=911 ).
For those who have seen HP's mini 230 HD (10.1" display at 1366x768), it's clear the notion of all netbooks being too much compromise and too little value is fading fast. On HP's build-to-order site, I got mine with the upgraded video card, added bluetooth, and left everything else standard -- and now carry a $409 netbook (sporting an Apple sticker) that I wish had come not from HP, but the company known for leading industrial design and refining ideas left to wither due to poor quality. Netbooks would have been a perfect area for Apple to say, "HERE -- THIS is what all those other companies would have created if they'd had Jonathan Ives..."
Instead, they created a whole new space in the market (which Microsoft had failed at, though they'd tried) with the iPad -- and I think that's great, for consumers. But for Creators, it would be much more of a tool if it ran Adobe Illustrator, and could connect to FTP sites, and standardized ports, and (you get the idea).
The Air getting 'downsized' may be a step in the right direction for people like me -- so it would increase my optimism in the platform. But with only one USB port and no ethernet, it might still be seen as an executive toy.
What about those of us 'in the trenches'? The netbook format has many features stripped already (horsepower, optical drives, screen real estate); Apple should be looking to improve upon that -- not simple remove MORE. To me, the whole concept of the Air was a lame attempt at getting maybe two people in the enterprise to notice the Apple brand. Now that we've done that (or not), let's move on...
Discussion on:
Message 4 of 1
The best of ZDNet, delivered
ZDNet Newsletters
Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox
