The new MacBook Air was announced by Steve Jobs of Apple at MacWorld. The MacBook Air is now the world's thinnest notebook, and sure the be the hottest laptop of 2008.
The laptop features a very smooth design, hidden ports, backlit keyboard (sexy but useless) and it's small and light weighing in at 3 pounds. In fact, the MacBook air is .16 to .76 inches thin, making the profile a wedge shape. The size is bout 13 inches wide by 9 inched deep.
Eco lovers will be happy that the MacBook Air uses mercury and arsenic-free glass and less packaging.
Technical specs
• .16 to .75-inch thickness on top
• 12.8 x 8.94 inches
• 3 pounds
• 5 hours of battery life with everything running
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor at 1.6 or 1.8GHz, motherboard the length of a pencil.
• 800MHz frontside bus.
• 2GB RAM 667MHz DDR2 standard.
• 13.3-inch screen, LED backlit.
• 1,280 x 800 pixels
• Micro-DVI adapter (for DVI, VGA, composite and S-Video output)
• Intel GMA X3100 Graphics processor with 144MB RAM shared
• 1.8-inch 80GB HD or 64GB Solid State Drive (no moving pieces, but for a stunning $1,300 price increase!)
• Multitouch trackpad with gestures. Pans, zooms, rotates, etc.
• 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1.
• Optional external HD for $99, USB-bus powered.
• Full backlit keyboard.
• One USB 2.0, one audio port, one Micro-DVI
MacBook Air
World's Thinnest Notebook + Hottest Laptop of 2008
Trend Themes
1. Ultra-thin Laptops - As MacBook Air gained a lot of attention due to its thickness, companies can explore the market for ultra-thin laptops and come up with such variations to create a buzz and offer something unique.
2. Multi-touch Trackpads - The MacBook Air features a Multi-Touch trackpad with gestures which make it convenient to use. Companies can work on similar variations for trackpads to enhance the user experience with laptops.
3. Sustainable Computing Practices - With Apple making use of mercury and arsenic-free glass and less packaging, there is an opportunity for other computer companies and industries to explore sustainable, eco-friendly computing practices and be conscious of their ecological footprint while creating products.
Industry Implications
1. Computer Hardware Industry - With MacBook Air, Apple shook the computer hardware industry by introducing an ultra-thin laptop and it's still a thriving industry for innovation focused on offering unique laptops.
2. Consumer Electronics Industry - One of the most popular consumer electronics products is laptops and with the fanfare around MacBook Air, there will always be excitement and competition in the industry for creating novel laptops.
3. Sustainability Industry - The computing industry is one of the largest contributors of e-waste. There is a significant need to make sustainability an integral part of technological practices and reduce digital waste, which creates opportunities for innovation in sustainable computing practices and services.