NEWS: Macworld Thoughts

I stand corrected. I didn't actually try to configure the cheapest Mac Pro, I just looked at the front page and saw "from $2799". But that doesn't change the fact that Apple hasn't offered a sub $2000 tower in almost 5 years.

Replacing the battery isn't my biggest concern. People that bitch and moan about iPod and iPhone batteries, and now MacBook Air batteries are concentrating on how much it costs to replace. I can usually go 12-18 months before needing to replace a battery under heavy use, about 15 hours a day. I can live with that.

My issue is that people claim this laptop is great for travel, but it many ways it isn't. If we're to believe the MacBook Air lasts 5 hours on a single charge, that's still not even a cross country flight (I do several a year). Once my MBA dies that's it, I can't switch batteries and keep going.

I also can't use the airplane's EmPower connector to keep it juiced, since it doesn't work with Apple's airline adapter nor third party options from Kensington and others, nor can I use it in the car with a DC adapter. So in essence, it's great for travel, as long as you don't plan on traveling too far.

I am making it seem like lithium ion batteries don't last long because that has been my very experience with them. It is true that one could say I was making a mountain of a molehill - but the fact is that lithium ion batteries do need to be replaced and I do not feel that as a consumer I should have to ship my unit or find an Apple Store just to replace a battery. I can order a battery online, wait for it to arrive and then swap it out at my leisure in 60 seconds (with my other hand doing a rubiks cube) with any other laptop I can think of.

Until the lithium ion battery gets a face lift I will hold this position.

I'm not anti-apple, I love apple, I just don't understand why I cannot, if I so choose, have a removable/(user) replaceable battery for my IPod or MacBook Air.

Because a removable battery needs a compartment built around it and the battery itself need to be sturdy enough to handle regularly. An easy-to-replace battery on either of those products would make them at least 50% thicker, and there is no way El Steve would go for that.

50%? You really think so? I am no engineer so I will have to claim ignorance. I realize that yes, it would make them larger, but 50% larger??

Consider how small their thickness is. 50% additional would not be a lot in real terms, but it would be a significant proportional difference.

Here's a couple size comparisons I did. I still say a 12" MacBook Pro would've been the sweet spot, maybe smaller, but definitely not bigger.

Also worth noting that I didn't include the MacBook because it has the exact same dimensions as the MacBook Air, except for thickness.

Nice one AceT - and I agree with the 12" statement.

Sorry, my mistake. I was thinking of the classic with the 160 GB capacity. My apologies, I hadn't been to bed yet. Either way, yeah, I'd still like more than 8 GB on my iPhone. I may have to suck it up. I'll wait and see what they release with the 3G version. Maybe, just maybe, we might see something. Though, if they don't, my luck will have me purchase my iPhone when they release the 3G but then release the one I really want in the fall.

The reason I bought an iPhone the day it came out is because I knew new hardware wasn't coming for at least 9 months (the average Apple product cycle) and 9 months is a long enough time for me to use a product regardless of what may or may not come out in the future. Now it seems like it'll be closer to a year from its initial release that new iPhones come out, so I'm perfectly happy with that.

Anyone who expected new iPhones 6 months after launch and 3 months after the PR nightmare price drop was just fooling themselves.

I'd actually be a bit surprised if we saw a next-gen iPhone, save increased storage capacities, before the holiday season.