Perhaps it wasn’t really lost among in the debut of Apple’s next-gen iPhone, the 3G S, or the latest details on Apple’s Snow Leopard operating system, but the price cut of the faster, 2.13GHz MacBook Air — cut by nearly a third, to $1,800 — inspired the loudest cheer from these precincts.
The Air isn’t, and never has been, all things to all people. In the thin/slim/light laptop sweepstakes, the Air has come up against some stiff competition of late — from Del and, Acer, with more on the way — and its way-overachieving price point, which might’ve given it more cachet among the affluent, made it an all but impossible choice among regular people.
Apple is obviously fishing for more market share — witness the cut-rate price for the Snow Leopard OS upgrade, at $29, and the mouth-watering appeal of the current iPhone 3G for only $99. But the other factor at work here, at least in terms of the high-end Air model, is the ramping up of solid-state drive production.
Early on, the formerly expensive Air model was nearly alone in the laptop pyramid with its SSD; it was never a point of value, although it certainly lent the laptop bragging rights. But prices for SSD drives have dropped sharply in the last year, the netbook craze has taken hold and one might convincingly argue that the Air’s price should have been cut months ago.
At $1,800, the top-of-the-line Air is still no bargain (nor is its sibling hard-drive-equipped model for $1,500), not when the company’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro, with a faster processor, now starts at $1,200. And some will argue that Apple misstepped by altering only the price. How about a lighter Air? Thinner? One that was 3G-capable?
But lots of MacBook Air watchers will become Apple MacBook Air buyers, and those on the Windows side of the fence will probably gloat a bit that Apple has conceded where it counts a lot — on the bucks.
Early adopters usually pay dearly for that pleasure. Did you pay $2,500 recently for a MacBook Air? Let us know your reaction.
Meanwhile, changes were announced at the Apple fest for these other Mac laptops:
– In the MacBook Pro line, there’s an updated 15-inch model starting at $1,699. The unibody design carries over, but Apple has improved the battery life (the company says it lasts about two hours longer than before, and can withstand about three times as many charges as before). The new battery, in fact — introduced earlier this year in the 17-inch Pro — is now part of every Pro. It is also sealed inside — no battery swapping allowed. Apple has also finally built an SD memory card slot into the 15-inch models.
– There’s now a 13-inch entry-level Pro, in two configurations: a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive priced at $1,199, and another with a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive priced at $1,499. SD slot included.
–The 17-inch Pro is updated to include a faster 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and a larger 500GB hard drive for $2,499, which is also $300 less than before.
–All MacBook Pro systems can be upgraded to 8GB of RAM, and up to a 500GB hard drive or up to a 256GB solid state drive. The 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models can also be upgraded to a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
