Apple has just reduced the price of the lowest tier of refurbished MacBook Air to $699 — I’ve just seen it pop up on a couple news sites. One would think that the option of getting for such a low price what was a year ago an object of envy would make it a no-brainer. But it is the old version of the famously flat laptop, and although it may seem superfluous to point this out, I feel I should warn our readers that to take advantage of this deal is to buy yourself some grief.

This version of the MacBook Air debuted in October 2010, and it has a Core2 Duo processor that has roots going back to 2008 and before. It was outdated when it first showed up, and it’s a dog now.

For $700 you should be getting a modern computer, and these MBAs ain’t one of those. Only the most recent update makes the laptop worth using for “serious” computing like managing big photo libraries or editing video. If you want to browse the web and watch movies, $700 will buy you a giant screen, modern processor, 4 gigs of RAM, and maybe even a Blu-ray drive.

And if you have your mind set on a MacBook Air (and I don’t blame you, I’m using a new one now and they’re solid), avoid the old ones at all costs! The new ones will be all over the place used and for sale prices around the holidays, so don’t fall for fire-sale prices on junk inventory that would have been overpriced a year ago.

This Kickstarter project has been kicking around the Internet a bit but it’s pretty cool. This is a handsome dock for your 11- or 13-inch air and includes 4 USB ports, an ethernet port, a DisplayPort, Kensington lock port, and power supply. To use it simply lock your MacBook into the LandingZone’s snug confines and start working.

As a doofus who just set up a standing desk, this would be a livesaver. First it improves the Air’s USB situation immensely and the ease of use would shave, at worst, a few seconds off of my start-up time and probably improve air circulation around the Air.

The entry-level pledge is $159 and that gets you an 11- or 13-inch model. You can get two for $299. I’d be wary given the upcoming changes we expect to the MacBook Air in the next few months, but not much in terms of port placement should change.

Kitae Kwon, an engineer in Cupertino, created the dock and has been working on it for eight months. He’s set up a product page here. The product has 31 more days to reach $50,000 in funding. Considering it’s at $30,000 now, it shouldn’t be too hard.

Total of 4 USB 2.0 ports; no need to attach a separate USB hub
Built in 10/100T Ethernet port; no more dongles for the Ethernet or fumbling with the cable
Built in Mini DisplayPort capable of driving resolution up to 2560×1440
Built in locking port compatible with all the Kensington Locks; now you can secure your MacBook Air
Two models to support either the 11″ or 13″ version of the MacBook Air (2010 or later)
Beautifully designed and engineered for simplicity, elegance, reliability and functionality (patent pending)
Comes with US power adapter which accepts wide range of input voltage (100~240 Vac)

In my home office sits a 27-inch iMac with a secondary 24-inch LED Cinema Display attached to it. It’s a glorious vision of screen real estate.

And yet, I dread using it.

First world problem? It’s perhaps the definition of the term. But it’s true. I’m sitting here on a couch adjacent to my desk because I’d rather type this post on my MacBook Air. To be completely honest, I’d rather be using my iPad right now. But I must admit, it doesn’t come anywhere close to cutting it when it comes to typing more than a few dozen words. So for now, the MacBook Air exists as the pinnacle of personal computing in my eyes.

And it appears that those eyes are about to widen a bit.

The rumors which started as a trickle have now become a full-on stream. Apple appears to be gearing up to release a new 15-inch model in their thin laptop line. As of right now, the current MacBook Air models end at 13 inches. For many people, that doesn’t seem to be enough.

Earlier today, I posted some quick thoughts about a possible 15-inch MacBook Air. Most of the responses were along the lines of “WANT!!!”. But why? It’s not like the difference between 13 and 15 inches will be that dramatic.

Instead, I believe it’s related to a continuing shift in computing. Whereas a decade ago, big, bulky desktops (towers, even) were the norm, today’s computing world is increasingly mobile. And it’s more than that. Computing is quickly moving in the direction of the machines themselves disappearing into the background, as Mathew Ingram highlights today on GigaOM.

It was a little over a year ago that I realized I would be ready to buy something like a MacBook Air. I noticed that I had never once used the optical drive in my MacBook Pro, it was just a giant waste of space and unwelcome bulk. My sense was right. I immediately replaced my Pro with an Air and haven’t looked back since.

But others have been hesitant to do so. Some worry about having less storage. Others worry about less potential RAM upgrades. Even more seem to worry about using a smaller screen. Of course, that argument is already more complicated than it may seem because the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Pro actually offer the exact same screen resolutions (1440 x 900). Still, we’re in this weird transition moment where the previous era of expanding screen sizes is running headfirst into the era of shrinking computers.

Many likely view a 15-inch MacBook Air as a perfect compromise between the two worlds. It represents as many as 1920 x 1200 pixels (guesstimate based on the resolution of the 17-inch MacBook Pro — but might it be even more?) floating in your lap. Sure, there’s a computer attached to it, but it’s so light that you’ll barely notice it.

Remember when laptops were humongous? I recall having a 15.4-inch Dell that weighed just shy of 10 pounds and doubled as a thigh cooker. The battery lasted 2 hours if I turned the brightness down all the way and prayed. A 15-inch MacBook Air would probably be no more than 3.5 pounds — or a full two pounds lighter than a 15-inch MacBook Pro. The battery may last 9 hours.

Such a machine represents the opposite of being chained to a desk. You can take it anywhere for an extended period of time and still feel like you have a fully operation personal computer at your disposal. You don’t even think about it being a computer at that point, it’s just a big screen with a keyboard that gives you all the same abilities as that big, bulky machine on your desk.

It will lack multi-touch, but that’s clearly next. The iPad 3′s 2048 × 1536 resolution display should only drive that point home.

While the Apple may have kicked this transition into high gear, they’re hardly alone. When netbooks were surging in popularity, everyone focused on the price. But just as important was the portability factor. But the reality was the netbooks did not turn out to be worthy traditional computer replacements — MacBook Airs are. That’s why this year at CES, the PC industry is poised for a do-over with the “ultrabooks” — a name that sounds as if it was dreamt up by a completely unimaginative 12 year old.

The vast majority of those will probably fail, but the idea is the right one. Push forward into computing’s future by removing the computer as much as possible. That’s also the promise of the 15-inch MacBook Air.

Apparently not all Thunderbolt ports are created equally. Anadtech discovered that the Thunderbolt chip within the latest MacBook Air is not the same found in the current MacBook Pro. The Air’s version packs less power and throughput resulting in less abilities. Hope you weren’t planning on hooking up two of those new fancy Thunderbolt Displays.

Thunderbolt is an amazing interconnect, capable of running four bidirectional, dual standards 10 Gbps channels. The capabilities are nearly endless as the single I/O port allows for nearly any interface normally associated with PCIe or DisplayPort. It’s how the latest MacBook Pros can run dual Thunderbolt displays that each feature a sort of docking station with three USB ports, one FireWire port, Gigabit Ethernet, and another Thunderbolt port.

The MacBook Air’s Thunderbolt is slightly different, though. It’s only capable of two 10 Gbps channels thanks to a less capable, but physically smaller, controller chip. This means among other points that the Air can only be able to run one Thunderbolt display. Anandtech notes that other manufacturers might use the same small controller card in their upcoming products.

Apple doesn’t hide this fact on the Air’s product page. “Or use the Thunderbolt port to connect the new Apple Thunderbolt Display and transform your ultracompact MacBook Air into a complete desktop workstation.” But they probably won’t stop an order with a MacBook Air and two Thunderbolt Displays. [Anandtech via AppleInsider, image via iFixit]

Ultrabooks are supposed to be the PC’s answer to the MacBook Air. These notebooks are said to rock hardware platforms very similar to the Air’s but, you know, run Windows instead of OS X. The first crop from HP and Asus will likely hit during the fourth quarter of 2011 but won’t be Air-killers right away. They’re going to be too expensive.

Ultra-thin Window notebooks aren’t new. Dell produced the Adamo XPS and MSI, among others, have been selling notebooks just slightly thicker than the Air for years. These upcoming so-called ultrabooks are different, though. They’re built around an Intel platform specifically designed for Air-thin notebooks.

PC notebooks are supposed to be cheap. They’re supposed to cost less than comparable Mac notebooks even though their pricing often has nothing to do with Apple. PC notebook makers have been racing each other to the bottom. HP fights Dell. Toshiba battles Acer and Asus. Samsung goes at it with Sony. It’s intermarket warfare at its finest.

Then there’s Apple, lazily cruising along the high road, seemingly unwilling to join the plunge downmarket. It’s least expensive computer, now the base model MacBook Air, costs hundreds more than HP’s cheapest notebook and only features a fraction of the raw computing power. But the Air is thin. And light. And has amazing battery life, quick wake-up speeds and all the traits that make for a great portable, which is something that the bargain HP cannot say.

Intel threw PC makers a bone back in May when the chip maker unveiled the Ultrabook platform. Ultrabooks are supposed to be a PC MacBook Air with thin designs, tablet-like battery life, and enough power thanks to a 22nm Ivy Bridge processor. They are also supposed to cost less than the Air with a starting price under a $1000. Digitimes is reporting that last part isn’t going to hold true for the first batch. Unexpected low yields on key components are expected to cause Asus to price its first batch from $1,000 to $1,600. These models aren’t even built around the next-gen Ivy Bridge platform. Asus is using the current Sandy Bridge Core i5.

The higher prices might just slow the overall adaption of the Ultrabooks as the higher price will likely cause consumers and retailers to shy away. They are going to be a hard sale with a price tag well north of $1,000 to buyers who often shop by silly specs like processing speed and hard drive space.

Hopefully prices will come down and they will as long there’s a continued demand for the ultra-thin PC notebooks. During this early stage their best advertising will come from Apple. The average Best Buy shopper will no doubt gaze in wonderment at the Air. But then the shopper will eventually turn and wander back to the familiar world of Windows and cheap notebooks.

The Sandy Bridge update to the Air line has been enough to make some feel the lightweight laptop is ready for prime time (I’m convinced, personally), but it’s still not enough for some. MacBook Pro users are accustomed to more storage, more screen real estate, and a greater number of ports. If rumors are to be believed, the best of both worlds might be on its way, with Air-style design making its way to the Pro line.

The sources are obscure, referred to only obliquely (MacRumors “has learned” and TUAW is “hearing”), so take this with a grain of salt. But even sans source, it makes sense, while leaving room for plenty of speculation. What will the compromises be?

For one thing, the optical drive will almost certainly be eliminated. Luckily for Apple, that particular item is not a priority among their users. iTunes and the Mac App Store are popular, and Apple Stores themselves are increasingly bereft of boxed software.

Furthermore, Thunderbolt presents an extremely easy way to add a high-speed peripheral. No optical drive? No problem: $100 external drive operating with no loss of speed compared to the wired-in original.

Storage is a bit more complicated. As popular as streaming solutions are, local storage is still very important for editing media, something Apple has been pushing on consumers hard with the iLife suite — though pros may be jumping ship after the poor reception of Final Cut X. 256GB of flash storage is nice, but people want terabytes. Yet 2.5″ laptop drives are still too thick to include in an Air-like body. Or are they? Some laptop drives with a terabyte of space are coming in at under 10mm thick. You couldn’t fit that at the sharp end of the Air but there might be room for a 2.5″ right at the top right edge, where the optical drive would go. Apple is happy to customize PCBs to optimize space.

Only a spinning HDD would mean a performance hit, though. So I’m guessing they’ll ship with a hybrid SSD-HDD volume, with system, applications, and temp kept on SSD and bulky media kept on HDD. It’s not so hard to segregate data like that, and as Apple likely can’t commit to only one storage type or another, they’ll have to do something interesting with both.

Let’s not forget the ports. Apple will want to push Thunderbolt, and while shipping with only that port might be a daydream of theirs, my guess is they’ll go with two Thunderbolt and two USB ports. 2.0 or 3.0? I wouldn’t put it past Apple to limit their USB capabilities in order to make Thunderbolt accessories more enticing. And as other have pointed out, Thunderbolt-connected I/O hubs will handle USB 3.0 speeds with ease, though the ports on the new Cinema Display are indeed only 2.0.

A holiday release (as suggested by TUAW) would prevent them from adding a next-gen processor (coming in 1Q12), but to complement the Air styling they’ll probably want to market long battery life as well, and switching from the old Core i7s to Sandy Bridge might have been enough for Apple’s purposes. Want the latest hardware? Get a PC (I did).

So: no optical drive, hybrid SSD/HDD storage, and 2xTB, 2xUSB ports (and an SD slot and Ethernet, of course). Maybe something more for the 17″, but I don’t think these specs sound at all unlikely.

The traditional “splaying of the device” has been performed successfully on the new MacBook Air by the teardown experts and hand models at iFixit. The most user-relevant finding appears to be that the SSD module is user-replaceable — i.e. Apple hasn’t seen fit to physically bond it to the motherboard. Yet.

Apart from that and some minor layout changes to accommodate the larger processor die and Thunderbolt controller (and of course the LED lighting for the keyboard), there isn’t much to write home about. The new Air is a lot like the old Air — just faster. The big design tricks took place a long time ago, when they were first making the design choices that made this form factor possible. Check out the whole teardown here.

“At this point, I’m thinking Apple should just replace the standard MacBook with the Air.”

Yes, I just quoted myself. But I have a good reason. I wrote that on October 21 of last year, after one day of playing with the just-released new MacBook Air. Today, 9 months later, Apple is listening. The MacBook is dead. Long live the MacBook Air.

The fact of the matter is that this was inevitable. The MacBook started at $999. The MacBook Air started at $999. I just couldn’t see who would choose the MacBook over the Air. Unless you wanted an optical drive — but the optical disc had just been killed. As I wrote in my full review of the Air a few days later, it even replaced my brand-new MacBook Pro as my main computer. It was that good. And today, it gets even better.

Apple is revamping the MacBook Air lineup, upgrading the device with the new Thunderbolt port, new Intel Core i5 chips, and yes, even a backlit keyboard — finally. The new systems will also be the first built from the ground up to run the new OS X Lion operating system, which is also launching today.

I’ve had the chance to use one of the new systems for the past few days, and it screams. Even the people who thought I was crazy last year to replace my MacBook Pro with the Air may have second thoughts now. Apple is saying the updated devices offer roughly twice the performance of their predecessors in various regular use cases (technically, the 11-inch models should be about 2.5 times faster, while the 13-inch models should be just under 2 times faster). All I know is what I see — it’s really fast and it handles OS X Lion extremely well.

The model I’ve been testing out is a 13.3-inch 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5. It also has an Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip with 384MB of video memory, and a hefty 256GB Flash storage drive. This is the top-of-the-line stock model. But there will also be an option to swap in a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 chip (which has 4MB of L3 cache instead of 3MB).

Everything I loved about the last iteration of the Air holds true here as well. The battery life is excellent. Apple says the 13-inch model should last 7 hours during regular web usage, I’ve been seeing just shy of that after heavy usage. (The 11-inch model is said to get the same 5-hour battery life as the previous iteration.) Thanks to the Flash storage drive, the machine boots up in roughly 12 seconds. And it awakens from sleep instantly. Standby mode is still up to 30 days with this battery.

I have not been able to test the Thunderbolt port yet because there simply aren’t enough devices out there on the market yet. But it’s a great addition to have when those peripherals do come. Thunderbolt is 20 times faster than USB 2.0, and it’s even significantly faster than FireWire and USB 3.0. For now, the port works just fine with existing Mini DisplayPort devices.

The dimensions height, width, and depth-wise are the exact same as the last iteration, but the devices are ever-so-slightly heavier. We’re talking 2.96 pounds versus 2.9 ponds for the 13-inch. And 2.38 pounds versus 2.3 pounds for the 11-inch. It’s a difference so small that obviously it’s not noticeable at all.

In fact, the only really noticeable difference externally will be the backlit keyboard at night. This is one feature that many users complained was missing in last year’s revamp. That’s because it was previously available on older Air models, and it was the only MacBook model period without the feature.

Those with sharp eyes will notice that not only is the Thunderbolt port now in the place of the Mini DisplayPort, but also that the keyboard itself is ever-so-slightly different. With the move to OS X Lion, gone are the Expose and Dashboard keys, in their place are two new keys for Mission Control and Launchpad, two new OS X Lion features. To the right of those keys, you’ll also find the backlit keyboard brightness keys on the Air now.

The 13-inch model retains the SD card reader slot, while the 11-inch model still does not have it. Both models have two USB 2.0 ports as well.

With this latest iteration, Apple has also given some extra consideration to the high-end range of the 11-inch models, for users interested in that form factor who want more power. For the first time, there will be an option to get up to 256GB of Flash storage. And it too can be upgraded to the 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 chip. The higher end of the 11-inch model also now comes with 4GB of RAM standard (the only model that doesn’t is the $999 low-end 11-inch model, which has 2GB).

For the past 9 months, the Air has been the computer I take with me everywhere. I previously didn’t like the Air line because I felt it was underpowered and overpriced — both of those things changed with last year’s revamp. Today’s upgrades should make it even more attractive to would-be purchasers. With just the right combination of portability and power, it is hands-down the best computer I’ve ever owned.

But I recognize that some people do need more power. That’s why Apple still makes the MacBook Pro. But for everyone else, the Air is now the entry-level notebook from Apple. It began outselling the MacBook almost immediately, so this move just made sense. Apple will still sell older MacBooks to K-12 institutions, I’m told. But consumers will no longer be able to buy it.

During their earnings call yesterday, Apple COO Tim Cook noted that two of the reasons why Mac growth was down a bit last quarter (while still up overall) was because consumers were waiting to buy until OS X Lion came out, and because Apple didn’t release a new notebook during the quarter. It looks like they just killed two birds with one stone for next quarter with this device.

The new MacBook Air will be on sale on Apple’s website today, and should be in Apple Stores tomorrow. The price-points will be the same: the two 11-inch models will be $999 and $1199, respectively (the more expensive one has more RAM, more Flash storage, and more video memory). The two 13-inch models will be $1299 and $1599, respectively (the more expensive one has more Flash storage).

It’s almost that time of year again, friends. New movies are terrible, kids are sucking down popsicles, and my office is like a moist toaster oven. It’s nearly back to school time!

That means in our trivial world that it’s time for new gadgets and the Internet rumor mill is lining up quite a big show from Apple. It’s always this way. The rumors state Apple will do no less than reverse the rotation of the Earth and then Steve Jobs simply introduces a new high-speed interface. But let’s dance anyway.

A few rumors broke weeks back concerning new Mac Pros and Mac Minis. They stated that Apple was going to release new desktops powered by Intel’s latest CPUs of the Sandy Bridge variety. 9to5mac sort of confirmed that at least new Mac Pros are on their way and posted what they claim to be the SKUs. Unsurprisingly after the Xserver’s retirement, the new SKUs talk of a Mac Pro Server, which will likely feature a rack mountable case.

9to5mac also posted SKUs for what are supposed to be new 11- and 13-inch MacBook Airs. These models, if they really do exist, are likely also powered by Sandy Bridge architecture, which mean second generation Core CPUs and probably even Thunderbolt connectivity. Then just today, a new rumor hit that places a backlit keyboard in the MacBook Air. [image via zanoii]

Of course the new Mac Pros and MacBook Airs will rock the latest OS X release. Lion is set to debut this month although Apple has yet to announce the exact date. We’re expecting July 14, but what do we know?

There’s no word on a refreshed Mac Mini but the time frame is right for a new model. The current model debuted last June with a Core 2 Duo CPU; Apple still sells the year-old model. (Fun fact: Search for Core 2 Duo on BestBuy.com and seven out of the nine computers still using the Core 2 Duo are from Apple) Apple will likely bring its whole desktop line to the latest architecture relatively soon and that includes the low-cost Mac Mini.

The Back To School releases might also include a 3G-enabled iPod touch. A rumor broke last week that stated the fifth generation touch will feature a swapable SIM card for data services — like an iPad. The thought is that users will be able to use the iPod with VoIP and streaming services. The same rumor stated that the new model was going to drop this September, but it might come sooner. [Mock-up via iPhoneDownloadBlog]

This time of year is big for computer makers and even more so for slow but steady companies like Apple. The computers released in the second and third quarter are the systems that will carry them through the lucrative fourth quarter. Expect big things.

The upcoming earnings call on the 19th corroborates this; Apple was rumored to be waiting until they could ship with Lion, and it may be that they’ll just have nailed down that date come mid-July… but not quite yet.

Another day, another sold-out Mac product that points to a refresh. This time Best Buy is the culprit, noting that current MBA notebooks are not shipping from its stores. This usually means that a refresh is coming within the next few days and is most probably a minor upgrade of little interest to the average user but that will piss people off who just bought an MBA in the last week to no end.

Amazon is still taking orders but Best Buy isn’t selling them right now.

via BGR

The Skinny Sleeve is a lightweight sleeve designed for the MacBook Air 11″. It’s waterproof (at least the parts that cover the laptop are) and has a little padding so your poor little lappy doesn’t get dinged. It’ll set you back $40.

The Clutch (top) is designed for a 13″ Air or MacBook Pro, and is made of coated canvas, with leather trim. I like the material, and the metal buckles.

Nice waffle print! Note that this one also has space for a few pens and such, and sports a strap. In person it’s probably something of a man-purse, despite the masculine construction. It’ll set you back $100, which is enough to make a grown man cry.

Remember! Only available at Apple stores. They should be there now.

As you’re undoubtedly aware by now, tomorrow (in just a few hours, really), Apple is expected to unveil their latest line of laptops. News has already started to trickle out about what’s getting upgraded and what’s changing. Noticeably absent in this talk is the MacBook itself. And that begs the question: is it the end of the line for the product?

Simply put: it should be.

Given last year’s significant upgrades to the MacBook Air, the MacBook is now a lame duck. It’s not the smallest Apple laptop, it’s not the most powerful Apple laptop, and it’s not even the cheapest Apple laptop anymore (the 11-inch Air has tied it at $999). And given the specs leaking out about the new 13-inch MacBook Pro, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which someone would buy a regular MacBook anymore. Well, unless they’re really into white plastic.

Sure enough, one report has the white MacBook going away. And the truth is that Apple has seemingly been slowly phasing it out for sometime now.

It used to be that the MacBook was a flagship product. It was one that sold extremely well to students and first-time Mac buyers since it was introduced in 2006 to succeed the iBook. In 2008, it even got the aluminum unibody upgrade that enticed some MacBook Pro users (like myself) to get one. It really seemed as if it was more of a “Pro” machine — a natural successor to the old, popular 12-inch PowerBook G4.

And as such, by mid 2009, Apple essentially decided to elevate the 13-inch unibody MacBook into a MacBook Pro. That left the 13-inch white plastic model as the only remaining MacBook. Apple gave it a small makeover and continued to give it spec upgrades, but it clearly only existed to satisfy the bottom of market (well, the bottom of Apple’s market) — it existed so that Apple could say that had a laptop for under $1,000.

But again, the new MacBook Air models changed the situation. The 11-inch model was far more portable for the same $999 entry-level price. And the 13-inch model was just as powerful and also much more portable. These are now the low price-point models. But they don’t exist just to be cheap. Apple has effectively killed off that option while maintaining the “cheap” price point. It’s now a price point tied to arguably the best laptops Apple has ever made.

With the MacBook Pros now about to gain faster Intel chips and new technology like Thunderbolt (the Intel-created high speed port formerly known as “Light Peak”), but maintaining elements such as large (but slower) traditional hard drives and optical drives, they’re more clearly differentiated from the Air line.

At the same time, the 13-inch Pro model will likely keep the $1,199 price point (thanks to less powerful graphics options, among other things) and it will allow those who really want something like an optical drive, a chance to get one for relatively cheap. And again, it will be much more powerful than the 13-inch MacBook.

Just about the only reason Apple would have for keeping the MacBook alive at this point is if they wanted to offer a really affordable laptop. The MacBook only makes sense as at a price point around $700 at this point, in my mind. But Apple has been reluctant to go that low in the past; I doubt they will now.

And so we may be left with a MacBook line without an actual MacBook.

Update: Well the new MacBook Pros are out and sure enough, the MacBook wasn’t touched. It’s still available to buy for now, but it would seem that the writing is indeed on the wall.

Twelve South makes cool, if simple, laptop gear. We’ve covered their BookArc before and this is an improved permutation of the version for the latest MacBook Air. It costs $39.99 and allows you to stand your laptop up next to a monitor and control the cabling so everything is in its right place.

From the product description:

Like previous versions of BookArc, the MacBook Air model is fashioned from heavy gauge steel for stylish looks and a sturdy footprint. One convenient addition is built-in cable management. Since MacBook Air has inputs on both sides, the BookArc cable housing routes power, external display, USB and other cables behind the MacBook for a clean workspace. These cables stay tethered to the stand so you can easily get your Mac in and out quicker than ever.

Product Page

So you got a new MacBook Air. Big deal, right? How have you been using it on your desk? Surely you have an external monitor, trackpad and keyboard. But, somethings missing, isn’t it? Why lie the MBA flat on the desktop, especially since there is now the BookArc from 12 South.

Built from heavy gauge steel, the BookArc stand also features a built-in cable management system for us enginerds who like tidy workspaces. It neatly integrates the cables that must go on both sides of the MBA. The BookArc makes a lot of promises to improve your MBA experience. Not only with function and style, they claim that by using the MBA to power an external monitor, with the MBA closed, the computer is faster since the graphics only needs to power one monitor. Makes sense.

Available in February for $39.99, but you can sign up to receive notifications now.

Press Release

Every piece of technology has both good and bad attributes. Nothing is perfect. Not even the iPhone. (Well, at least not until that AT&T exclusivity ends.) But until three days ago, I had never used a product with attributes that are both insanely awesome and shockingly awful at the same time. Welcome into the world, Cr-48.

Now, Google has made it very clear that they don’t intend to release this product as it stands. As such, they’ve more or less asked those they’ve sent it to not to review it as a completed product. But it’s pretty much impossible to avoid talking about the hardware here because for most of us, it is the first and only gateway we’ve had into Chrome OS. Plus, there’s a lot of interest in this particular device among our readers, so I’m going to talk about it.

Simply put: the hardware is pretty bad. Actually, maybe not so much bad, as annoying as all hell. But the only reason it’s so annoying is because Chrome OS, even in its very early, fairly rough stage, is that good. Well, potentially that good.

While Jason wrote up his initial thoughts after a day with the device, I’ve been using it as my primary machine for just about three days now. Also, I likely have a different perspective as I’m currently traveling — something which a Chrome notebook should be perfect for.

The Design

Initially, when I took it out of the box, I sort of wanted to laugh at the Cr-48. Jason compared its look to that of one of the old 12-inch PowerBook G4s. But actually, I think it’s closer to a combination of an old 12-inch iBook and one of the previous generation MacBooks — the one that came in black. In fact, when you open it up and start typing on it, it feels very similar to that MacBook.

Of course, that MacBook is also a few years old already. And when compared to the new MacBook Air, this thing looks like a bloated dog. One covered in some kind of rubber blanket. The fact that it has a VGA port, an ugly side grill for the fan, and yet only one USB port, doesn’t help.

But again, this is a prototype device. So we have to cut Google some slack here. As far as I know, they haven’t said which of their manufacturing partners made this thing, but let’s hope it was the cheapest device possible for them to produce and that’s why it exists as it does.

I really do hope that’s the case.

The Setup

Okay, so I took it out of the box and laughed. But then I opened the lid. Immediately, the thing booted up. No need to press the power button. 15 seconds later, it was walking me through a very easy-to-understand tutorial on how to use Chrome OS. After a few minutes reading it, I was asked to take a picture of myself (for my profile picture) with the built-in camera (above the screen), then I was all ready to go. That’s it.

I signed in with my Google account, and the browser launched. My bookmarks, extensions, and web apps were all automatically synced. I was ready to go pretty much instantly.

Now I was impressed. Very impressed. This is absolutely the future of computer set-ups.

The Trackpad

But the love affair quickly turned sour when I started using the Cr-48 trackpad. Jason called it a “turd”, but I think that’s being too kind. It’s maybe the worst excuse for a piece of technology that anyone has created in the past five years. It’s so much worse than any other trackpad I’ve ever used in recent memory, it’s almost unbelievable. Those bug reports from a few weeks ago make sense now.

And it also makes sense why Google isn’t selling the Cr-48 at all, despite the high demand. If they sold this product with this trackpad, Google may not be allowed to ever attempt to make another branded product ever again. If you think I’m exaggerating, use one.

Every time I point at something and click down, the cursor moves below or above where I had originally pointed. I’ve now taught myself to aim slightly higher or lower than where I want to click. But I have to guess which it will be. It’s a crapshoot.

Trying to double click with two fingers is even worse. If you’re used to casually doing it with ease on a MacBook, this will be your hell. To get it to work, you essentially have to lift two fingers about a foot in the air, then bring them down in a perfectly straight line at a rapid speed while making sure that they both hit the pad at the exact same time. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit there, but it’s really bad.

Two finger scrolling? It’s perfect if you like randomly jumping to various parts of webpages for no reason.

Okay, I’ve made my point. This trackpad is a disgrace. It’s an abomination. I don’t know if it’s hardware or software or both (likely), but it’s just terrible. I’m tempted to do the unthinkable: buy a mouse.

The Keyboard

Moving on. So, the trackpad quickly soured my Chrome OS experience. But after I figured out little tricks to better maneuver (mainly using the excellent keyboard and its shortcuts), I was back on track. After a day, I was frustrated. But after two days, I was really, really liking Chrome OS. And even certain things about the Cr-48 specifically.

For example, every computer should absolutely have a search button in place of caps lock. I can’t remember the last time I’ve used caps lock. And yet, there it is, right there in a vital place on the keyboard. On the Cr-48, I think the search button rivals the spacebar for my most-often-hit key. You click it and it launches a new tab reach to search away in the omnibox. It’s fantastic.

Also awesome are the window-switching and full screen mode buttons on the Cr-48. OS X, with Spaces, essentially allows you to do this type of window-switching, but I’d argue that it’s better on Chrome OS because everything is simplified. If you want to open a new window (as opposed to a new tab), it will reside on another screen. That said, it is a little tricky to navigate if you have more than two windows open — hitting the button will cycle through them in order.

Full screen mode has existed on Chrome for some time, but the keyboard shortcut makes it more accessible than ever before. And on smaller screens (like the 12-inch on on the Cr-48), it’s very nice.

The Speed

Speed is the other major weakness of the Cr-48. It’s running an Intel Atom chip which is apparently clocked at 1.66 GHz. That may seem like it would be fast enough to run a web browser, but it’s not. Well, not if you’re doing anything with Flash turned on.

When we initially reported on the Flash issues that Cr-48 users were having, many of our favorite commenters (who may or may not make a living developing for Flash) were quick with the typical “bias!” nonsense. Of course, a few hours later, none other than Adobe themselves admitted the performance of Flash on the Cr-48 was unacceptable, and said they were working on it.

Good, because beyond watching a small YouTube clip with no other tabs open, Flash is basically unusable on the Cr-48. And that’s annoying because Google has decided to bake Flash into not only Chrome, but Chrome OS as well. So extensions like Flash Block are your friend here — or go to about:plugins and disable Flash directly until Adobe gets the mess sorted out.

But even beyond Flash, the Cr-48 just feels very slow when compared to any other modern computer. Typing, for example, often lags on sites such as WordPress (which I’m using right now). And opening new tabs and windows takes a few seconds longer than it would on a normal machine.

All of this is would seem to be because Google included only 2 GB of RAM in the Cr-48. But I have a MacBook Air with only 2 GB of RAM and it flies. Google really needs to work with their OEM partners to get this lag sorted out before these Chrome notebooks start shipping. And I have to believe they will.

Beyond Prototype

In fact, in many ways, the Cr-48 reminds me a lot of the G1, the first Android phone Google shipped (with HTC) a couple years ago. They both were clearly step one of a platform that would quickly evolve. And the Cr-48 even sort of feels like the G1 to the touch.

I still have a G1. Looking at it now compared to the newer Android phones is pretty humorous. The platform has clearly come a long way. And that gives me a lot of hope for Chrome notebooks as well.

As it stands now, two things about this the Cr-48 currently standout: the boot-up time and the battery life. Both are excellent.

The Cr-48 goes from being off to the log-in screen in 15 seconds. That’s slightly above Google’s stated 10 second mark, but it’s still very, very good. When you log-in, it takes another 15 seconds or so to load all your profile information and Chrome preferences from the web. So you’re looking at a total time from zero to working in 30 seconds.

For comparison, the new MacBook Air, with its new solid state drives, goes from zero to working in about 18 seconds. But that’s without booting up Chrome (or your web browser of choice on OS X) and waiting for it to load a page. That adds another 5 seconds or so. So they’re very close in terms of startup speed between the two systems. And again, that’s on Google’s prototype machine.

But as I indicated above, the Air runs circles around the Cr-48 in just about everything else when it comes to performance.

The one area where the Cr-48 does seem to have the MacBook Air beat is battery life. Google claims 8 hours, but I think it actually may be more. Because I’m in Europe, I turned off the cellular antenna (since Verizon connectivity obviously won’t work here) and I’m seeing closer to 10 hours of battery life on a full charge when connected to WiFi. The MacBook Air has fantastic battery life as well, but Cr-48 is definitely better.

And again, just imagine what that will mean when someone actually creates a Chrome notebook that they intend to sell. The Cr-48 is a little bit bulky, but if they trim it down to around Air size, I bet they could still get at least a solid 7 or more hours out of the system. This seems to be one huge benefit of only running a browser.

Chrome OS

And let’s finally talk about that browser. Quite a few people were shocked when Chrome OS was revealed to be little more than Chrome — and that’s it. But that simplicity is the OS’s strength. It removes several layers of junk that most people these days never use on a computer.

I know that personally, roughly 95 percent of what I do on a computer these days is in the web browser. Of the other 5 percent, 4 percent of it could probably be done in the browser too (light image editing, taking notes, etc). The other one percent is more difficult but those are mainly things (iTunes media management, Photoshop) that I only need to do some of the time and can use a desktop machine for.

That’s the thing: Chrome OS isn’t going to fully replace anyone’s desktop anytime soon. But it could become a very viable on-the-go computing solution.

Even in its current beta state, Chrome OS has definitely been a perfectly adequate travel companion these past three days (Cr-48 trackpad aside). And it’s only going to get better. And if Chrome’s (the browser) evolution is any indication, it’s going to get better very quickly.

Panels

As Jason hit on quite a bit in his post, one of the most interesting things about Chrome OS will be how developers support it. Right now, most Chrome Web Store apps are little more than mildly glorified extensions, or just links to web apps already in existence. Meanwhile, one of the coolest features of Chrome OS, panels, are barely used. Developers can and should change this quickly.

Prettification

Another thing that bugs me about the OS currently is that Google seems determined to maintain some of Windows awful aesthetics. More directly: fonts look like shit.

Chrome on Mac easily looks much better than Chrome OS does for this very reason. Hopefully Google will add some polish here as Chrome OS pushes forward.

Also, the look and feel of the top toolbar (the area to the right of the tabs) is pretty poor. Google could and should do a much better job here.

And while we’re on the subject, Chrome’s already dicey themes all look even worse with Chrome OS. Google should just stick to some simple color options and leave out all the BS. No, I don’t want my Chrome OS to look like an ice cream cake any more than I wanted Windows to look like a hot dog stand. But that, of course, is just my opinion.

Connectivity

The biggest factor holding up Chrome OS is mostly out of Google’s control: WiFi infrastructure. While WiFi is fairly widespread, it’s far from everywhere. And Chrome OS is worthless without connectivity. I mean, it’s completely and utterly useless.

That’s exactly why Google teamed up with Verizon to offer back-up 3G connectivity. But beyond the paltry 100 MB they give you for free each month, that type of connection can get expensive quickly just to be able to simply use your computer.

Further, many deals will have to be worked out in various different countries for that level of connectivity. That’s why my Cr-48 isn’t fully travel-ready here in Europe, for example (there is no Verizon here).

So what happens when you boot up your Chrome notebook without a connection? Well, you get an error — a very confusing one. This has happened to me a few times in the past few days. I boot up the computer, enter my password, and it says there’s a problem with my password. Only that’s not true. It’s just that I’m not connected to the network, so it can’t verify my password (Google really needs to change the wording there).

The problem here is that if you’re on a network with a password, you have to log-in to Chrome OS as a guest, connect to the network and entire the password, then log out and log back in to your Google account. A pain. And something that a lot of users are going to experience again and again.

The Connected Computer

So while Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the world is now ready for Chrome OS, I think we’re still at least a year — and maybe a few years — away from this type of system being viable for most average consumers. But I think it’s fantastic that Google is willing to go out on a limb now to help the transition along.

Of course, the payoff for them looks be huge if they lead this new era of computing. And the risk is fairly minimal. Even if Chrome OS takes a while to take off, Google has more than enough capital to keep the project going for a long time — just like they did with Android at first.

In many ways, smartphones have and will continue to help us with this transition. The assumption of always having a connection to the web is now built into most of our daily lives. What good is a smartphone when you’re not connected? Maybe just for playing some games. Computers will eventually be the same way. Until games are fully online as well — something which the Chrome Web Store is trying to make happen.

I don’t think anyone disagrees that computers that are always connected to the Internet are the future, it’s just that Google is taking it to the extreme right now with these machines. It’s Internet or nothing. It’s bold.

Price

While Google hasn’t yet stated how much they (and their OEM partners) intend to sell Chrome notebooks for, that price is going to be crucial. It obviously needs to be low. Very low.

If Google wants these to compete with Windows machines, sub-$500 should do the trick. And if they can bring them in with better hardware than the Cr-48 for something like $300, I think they’re going to sell a ton of them next by next holiday season.

And Google keeps reiterating that they intend Chrome OS to work on other platforms as well. You can imagine desktop machines running Chrome OS might be perfect for schools and libraries. And Google could of course bundle Google Apps with them. Hell, I could even see them subsidizing Chrome notebook costs to get them available to all students in certain school districts that commit to Google Apps.

Actually, a big competitor for the Chrome notebooks may end up being the new MacBook Airs. Both are now trying to redefine just what exactly portable computing is. There’s no denying that the Air is a much, much sexier device both in look and feel than the Cr-48. But it’s also likely to be several hundred dollars — and maybe even a thousand dollars more expensive in some cases.

Again, that’s why Google needs to nail the price points and nail the execution with their OEM partners on these. I have some doubts as to whether that will happen or not initially, but even a mediocre Chrome notebook should put quite a bit of pressure on low-end Windows machines, at the very least. As I wrote a year ago, it would be the Microsoft squeeze.

Back Offline

To finish up this post, I actually moved back from the Cr-48 to my MacBook Air. One reason is that the typing lag was driving me insane. The other is that image insertion — and image management, is still pretty tricky with Chrome OS. So I’m back to a machine with more than just a browser.

This is actually the first time I’ve extensively used this machine in three days. It’s a little weird seeing the browser shrunk into a window. And I actually like it taking up the full screen more (that’s easy enough to do on a Mac or PC with Chrome, the browser). In a slightly weird twist, I actually don’t like seeing all the, yes, chrome. What’s the point?

Of course, I do cherish the speed of this Air versus the Cr-48. Oh and the trackpad. My god the trackpad. It actually works! It’s a thing of beauty that I will never take for granted again.

So there you go, I’m pretty divided right now on Google’s first take at the Chrome notebook. It’s both brilliant and bewildering. It’s both the future and a nightmare. But it’s definitely not boring, which is more than you can say for a lot of “new” technology these days. Watching it mature will be fun. But first the hardware needs to grow up.

If I could buy the Cr-48 right now, would I? No. But I’d download Chrome OS and install it on some cheap netbook. Or maybe even this Macbook Air…

Guess which one wins? The brand new MacBook Air running at 1.4GHz or the vintage PowerBook 145B circa 1993 with a 25Mhz CPU? [via TUAW]

Looks like Apple is playing the heel again. It has asked PhotoFast to stop producing its 256MB SSD upgrade kits for the new MacBook Air. Boos can be heard all over the arena Why, Apple, why? Why’d you do?

Well, nobody knows. Well, nobody outside of Apple and maybe PhotoFast.

You can see why PhotoFast would want to comply with the request: risk Apple’s ire, and PhotoFast could see its MFi license (the license that lets it produce Apple-approved accessories) revoked! That wouldn’t be beneficial, no.

Shame, too: the upgrade kits looked pretty good, with writes times up to 250MB/s. (Apple’s SSDs peak at 160MB/s.) So, faster write times and enough storage to not radically alter the way you use your computer.

But no, the dream has died.

A recurring refrain in my Twitter feed is the coded question, “11 or 13?” Despite it’s religious overtones, this is not a reference to passages in the Bible. It is a question familiar to any Apple-obsessed consumer: Should I get the 11-inch MacBook Air or the 13-inch?

If you’ve been asking yourself the same question, today the price difference will not be the deciding factor. Although the cheapest 11″ MacBook Air is still $999, a Black Friday deal on the the 13″ models makes the lower-end one with a 128 GB flash drive the same price as the higher-end 11″ model with the 128 GB flash drive. It is actually a dollar cheaper, $1,198 versus $1,199, and the battery lasts longer.

Apple has other Black Friday deals, most of them rather meager, but this is the one that caught my eye. The MacBook Air replaces the hard drive with flash memory, and as a result is a lot faster for many tasks than even more powerful MacBook Pros. You can read MG’s loving review for more details.

If you are thinking about getting one today, the only reason not to get the 13″ MacBook Air is about half a pound of extra weight.

Adobe Flash is under attack again. And you know what that means. Time for more complaining.

Today, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch spoke with Fast Company about the most recent Flash controversy the company has had to deal with. Last week, a report revealed that the lack of Flash on the new MacBook Air may save as much as 2 hours of battery life on that machine. Several subsequent reports noticed the same or similar things. Lynch’s response? “It’s a false argument to make, of the power usage. When you’re displaying content, any technology will use more power to display, versus not displaying content.”

So displaying content uses more power than not displaying content? That’s really the argument he’s using? Why not just say: if your computer is on, it will use more power than if it’s not on?

But the real issue here isn’t really using Flash to display content. It’s that when Flash is just running in the background on websites, it is biting off a huge chunk of battery life — up to 33 percent. That’s ridiculous.

Lynch continued, “If you used HTML5, for example, to display advertisements, that would use as much or more processing power than what Flash uses.” That’s a pretty bold claim. Conveniently (likely for Lynch), it’s also pretty much impossible to test since very few web ads currently use HTML5.

The fact of the matter remains that various reports are showing this Flash/battery life issue to be a very real one. If you simply don’t have Flash installed on your machine, you will see much better battery life. I haven’t done any thorough benchmarking, but so far, when using Safari versus Chrome (which has a version of Flash baked-in) on the MacBook Air, I’ve noticed a bump in battery life as well. Further, Flash is the only thing that ever makes that computer run even a little hot.

This hardly surprises me as that’s pretty much been the case on every Mac I’ve owned for the past several years. On my i7 iMac with 8 GB of RAM, Adobe Photoshop runs fine. Light video rendering? No problem. Flash? Fans kick on and the machine gets hot as hell.

Sure, you can argue that the issue is at least partially Apple’s fault as hardware acceleration isn’t as easy to come by on Macs. But this doesn’t change the very real issue which Lynch is calling a “false argument”. Further, none of this even addresses that for most of us, the only time anything ever crashes on our machines is due to Flash.

Adobe has had years to fix these issues. Now as the web’s reliance on Flash is drying up, Adobe is resorting to weird gimmicks (like their silly “ad” campaign), complaining, and some FUD.

“I just think there’s this negative campaigning going on, and, for whatever reason, Apple is really choosing to incite it, and condone it,” Lynch told Fast Company. But this battery life issue has absolutely nothing to do with Apple. The site Ars Technica stumbled upon the issue in their review of the new MacBook Air. Apple hasn’t said one word about it.

“I think that’s unfortunate. We don’t think it’s good for the web to have aspects closed off–a blockade of certain types of expression,” Lynch continued. Ah, the old “open” argument. When all else fails…

In this context that’s just ridiculous. You still can install Flash on any Mac — including the MacBook Air. The real issue in this particular case is that you probably shouldn’t if you value a stable system and battery life.

Again, to that, Adobe’s response seems to be: if you want to save battery life, don’t turn on your machine.