MacBook Air: Too many cons, doesn't compare well to competition

So Apple announced the MacBook Air this week. They got some things right, but imho a lot wrong.

The good. Of course, the small/thin form factor is fantastic. I recently switched to similar small/thin form factor laptop, the ThinkPad X61, and love it. I doubt I'll ever go back to the full-sized (15"+ screen) laptop again. Apple also did nice innovation with multi-touch support. Using LED for the screen is great for increased viewability outdoors and lower power consumption, and the option of a solid-state drive (SSD) is something every laptop should have.

The bad. One of the biggest improvements in responsiveness comes from having a fast hard drive - often times this can make a bigger difference in perceived performance than CPU. And the Air's drive is dog slow. It is a 1.8-in, very low RPM el-crapo drive -- unless you get the SSD option, you will be unhappy (general rule: always spring for the 7000+ RPM drive option in any PC, laptop included). And Apple decided to not allow physical access to the hard drive or RAM. With other laptops, you could purchase a nice spacious/speedy 2.5" HDD now and then replace it with an SSD a year or two later when the prices drop and capacity increases. That will not be an option with the Air.

Also, the battery is not user replaceable! That's right, you cannot swap-out your spent battery for a fresh one, you need to find a plug and recharge. Furthermore, when the battery wears out in 1.5 years like they all do, you cannot just purchase a new one online - you need to send your laptop back to Apple for surgery. What, is this thing an iPod? How am I supposed to do my work while my laptop is off at the factory?

Finally, I noticed the Air has a grand total of ONE USB port. Unreal. Guess Mr Jobs doesn't think anyone will need a mouse and a DVD drive attached at the same time.

I'd take my Thinkpad X61, or perhaps the new X300, over the Air any day.