MacBook Air updates imminent?

Friday and still nothing... :-(

I'm waiting for it and I need a notebook. I do have iPAD but it doesn't replace the MBA.

Well......... It's Tuesday morning. Almost lunch time where I am.

I don't see any new anything yet.

Love my MBA.
Have used Mac's for 20 years this is my all-time favorite together with the Ti-Powerbook. (boy was that a revolution when it came out!)

My wish list for the update.

- move to 2'5 SSD. (greater selection of SSD's) - it can fit.
- 4GB Ram
- Improve the GPU. Current 9400 is crippled because of excess heat.

At this point, they should take the MBP 13", strip the optical drive to put in a better chipset, add an SSD and make the whole thing a bit thinner and have it occupy the space that both the current MBP 13" and MBA occupy.

Actually, if all we know is that Apple is about to release a new Mac in one configuration, it's also possible that we are seeing a new white Macbook, not a new Air. Since Apple upgraded the Macbook to the 9400M graphics in January 2008, except until recently the white Macbook has always had very similar hardware to the low end 13 inch aluminium Macbook/Macbook Pro. It may be that Apple is about to upgrade the Macbook to the 320M graphics so that this tradition continues. My expectation was that it would be another month or two before Apple did this as they would want to make sure supply/quality issues were sorted out with the 320M, but if they are happy they might do it now. (If this is the case, one should also expect upgrades to Apples desktops with the 9400M soon, too - specifically the Mac mini and the low end iMacs.

3G modem and micro SIM slot or what? After all, Apple is now fully vested in GSM cellular wireless technology. And the Air is the next natural candidate for 3G.

But in the US, don't expect a $30 "unlimited" plan - expect it to be priced closer to $60 for 5 GB, like Verizon's stock plan.

The specs of the Macbook Air have always been driven by the maximum possible hardware that will fit into the very narrow size/power envelope that Apple chose for it. That means the most powerful small form factor low voltage CPU that Intel has, the largest single platter 1.8 inch hard drive that is being produced by Toshiba or Samsung, and the best discreet graphics available to go with the CPU and which will fit in the power envelope. (With the RAM and SSD, the issue is "The most memory that can be fit into the space and purchased at a vaguely reasonable price).

Therefore, when Apple last updated the Air about a year ago, it came with the Core 2 Duo SL9600 CPU (2.133MHz), or the SL9400 (1.867MHZ) CPU, the nVidia 9400 chipset and GPU (underclocked for power reasons), a 120Gb HDD or 128Gb SSD, and 2Gb of RAM.

In an upgrade, increasing the RAM to 4Gb is a no-brainer. 160Gb single platter 1.8 inch HDDs exist (in the iPod classic for instance) and will likely be in the upgrade. (200Gb units may exist soon and perhaps Apple might be able to get some early production even). 192 or 256Gb SSDs are similarly available. The last upgrade to the Air included a slightly improved battery over the one that came before, and they may be able to do this again.

However, when we get to the CPU, things get tricky. There are no Core 2 Duo Small Form Factor Low Voltage CPUs faster than the SL9400 in the present high end Air, and Intel has made no suggestion that there will be. If Apple wants to stay with Core 2 Duo and nVidia graphics, they could put the SL9400 in the low end configuration as well as the high end configuration, but the high end unit is not getting a bump. (This assumes that Intel are not producing any special custom CPUs for Apple. Intel producing such units so that Apple can keep using nVidia chipsets and avoid moving to Intel's new Core i7 CPUs strikes me as unlikely). If Apple does stay with the Core 2 Duo, then I think it is likely that the new model will contain the 320M Graphics, probably again underclocked.

The other option is that Apple could switch to the Core i7. The relevant CPUs there would be the i7-620LM (2.0GHz) and the i7-640LM (2.133MHz). These are more powerful CPUs than the existing Core 2 Duo models. However, in this case Apple has to use the on die Intel Graphics, which are less powerful than the nVidia graphics options for the Core 2 Duo. The positives are that this is going to use less power than the Core 2 Duo + nVidia graphics arrangement that we have at the moment and so battery life would be better, and in the long run a one chip solution will cost less than a two chip solution and a price cut might be possible.

It is a tricky choice though.

Why is my comment on MacBook air being trash down ranked ? Vetything I said is true !

I'll be holding on to my Air just b/c of the "old" trackpad if they put it on there. I hate the new glass pads, even though I don't use the button very much, they just feel even weirder. But I will eventually conform.

I never understand why the MBA gets so much hate.... but I love mine! great screen , great keyboard , great weight... whats to hate.... ok maybe the price but these MBA haters are really lame.