back to article Apple to shrink MacBook Air

Wonder why Apple hasn't yet updated the MacBook Air the way it has with all its other notebooks? Because the skinny laptop is about to shrunk even further, it has been claimed. According to a market watcher with Taiwanese newssite DigiTimes, Apple will re-launch the Air at some point in the coming months with an 11.6in screen …

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  1. Gordon 10
    Thumb Up

    Fingers crossed

    The lack of a small screen Apple notebook has been the only thing stopping me from purchasing one.

    1. Dan 10
      Stop

      Yeah, but...

      ... when you see the price, and compare it to other netbooks...

      (This is coming from a Macbook owner, but the Air has always had a daft price)

      1. Gordon 10
        Happy

        ahhh but.

        I have a 11.1" Sony vaio TT. Conciously bought instead of a Netbook. It was daftly priced too. Didnt stop me.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      @Gordon 10

      I've been waiting years for Apple to come out with a smaller laptop and ended up getting the 13" Macbook just before the Air was released. I've thought about moving to the Air, but the MBP 13" is so much better and not really that much heavier or bigger, so why Air? If they come out with a smaller Air, well then, all bets are off and this definitely has my attention! Will be very interesting to see if this one is true!

      For me the biggest advantage to the Air form factor is the lack of an optical drive - they just aren't needed 100% of the time so why do we have to lug this thing around all the time, give us an option of a model without one integrated but have an option to plug an external in the one or two times a year (if that many!) I need one.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    11.6" is not a netbook

    11.6" is basically the 12" ultraportable form factor that's been around a lot longer than netbooks. An Air using a low voltage Core i5 or similar is very much an ultraportable... shame it'll probably be twice the price of something like an Acer 1830T.

    Just because some have stuck an Atom in an 11.6" chassis doesn't make it a netbook, really a crap ultraportable, back in the day would have used to use single core Celerons.

  3. Philippe
    Happy

    11.6 is a bit too small 12 inch

    I can absolutely see the point of going smaller.

    Three 13.3 incher is one too many. However i wouldn't go all the way down to 11.6 inch.

    Probably 12 would be the best fit.

    It would bring back the original powerbook 12 size and could justify the "new air" moniker.

    I wish they shrink the price a bit two...and add one USB plug.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      12" Powerbook

      A gem of a machine and it was sad to see it go. Best machine Apple have ever made for travelling, it was small enough to throw into a bag, and unlike most computers, tough enough to survive the tender care of airlines and the TSA.

      1. Tony Smith, Editor, Reg Hardware (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: 12" Powerbook

        Hear, hear.

        I loved my 12in PB for those very reasons. But, I have to say, my Air makes a worthwhile successor. It's a darn sight lighter too.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      Fit

      I can absolutely see the point of going smaller.

      Three 13.3 incher is one too many. However i wouldn't go all the way down to 11.6 inch.

      Probably 12 would be the best fit.

      ....must....resist....making juvenile response...

  4. James R Grinter

    This is Digitimes...

    Has anyone kept score of the number of DigiTimes claims that ever turn into reality? Just askin'...

  5. Yorkshirepudding
    Grenade

    turnabout

    i though jobs said they wouldnt do netbooks..... or that netbooks were naff something along those lines im sure ill get flamed and corrected

    either way it it doesnt price up to other similar machines you can suck it

  6. John Fielder
    Headmaster

    Netbook?

    Sound alot like a netbook to me. Sorry, Apple won't be doing netbooks so it must be something else.

    I wonder if you'll need palstic surgery on your hands in order to use it?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Sorry, have to ask

    Will the wifi/3G/bluetooth antenna's be part of the case?

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Taking a leaf out of the clone makers books...

    The BBT A1819 has a 11.6" screen - and is quite reminiscent of a MacBook Air :)

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Not a FAIL

    I have a rev A. Macbook Air that I bought the day they came out, and take it with me everywhere I go. I'm an I.T. Admin and visit multiple clients every day. The Air is a perfect machine. Light enough for carrying around, but big enough to RDP into a server and work comfortably. A netbook is just too small for that task.

    I would not recommend it as a primary computer, but for those of us who travel it's fantastic. Just because it doesn't suit your needs doesn't mean it's a failure.

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