Photo: samuel.hautcoeur / Flickr

The successful reboot of the ultraslim Apple Macbook Air has seen that notebook quickly become a top seller in Apple’s lineup. According to reports, the slim laptop now accounts for 28 per cent of all of Apple’s notebook shipment – just five per cent shy of a full third.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, who used NPD figures as her basis, compiled the report [via AppleInsider]. She found that the ultraslim Apple Macbook Air saw yet another growth spurt after Apple brought the nascent Thunderbolt technology to the platform, along with improved Intel processors, too. What’s particularly interesting about that is that relatively few Thunderbolt devices are on the market yet, and it resultantly serves as an incentive to get cracking on Thunderbolt tech.

Faster growth

In Apple Insider’s post, the publication notes that the ultraslim Macbook Air could represent a drastic change for the company’s product initiatives, sparking speculation that the Macbook Pro could get similar slim down treatment.

On growth figures, Apple Insider says: ‘NPD’s figures also indicate 11 per cent year-over-year growth in overall PC shipments in October, although retail growth was just 3 per cent. Commercial shipments were up 27 per cent.’

Apple took a fairly big slice of overall growth, with the company experiencing ‘20 percent growth in PC shipments, nearly double the industry at large, while its retail shipments grew by 18 percent, six times the overall retail growth of PC makers. Among commercial shipments tracked by NPD, Apple grew by 34 percent year over year.’

What’s next?

The Apple Macbook Air has been an incredible success since its very successful reboot. The ultraslim laptop has been well-received, packing the price of the Macbook prior to it, but performance more in line with certain entries in the Macbook Pro lineup. And consumers have taken well to it, as well. It will be interesting to see how much the Macbook Air’s design informs the rest of Apple’s laptop category.

Photo: Dan_H / Flickr

Dell is preparing another to have another go at Apple’s immensely popular Macbook Air computer line with a new slimline computer of its own. A Cnet Report, citing industry sources ‘familiar with Dell’s plans’, indicate that the new Dell ultraslim computer could arrive at the start of 2012.

Why CES 2012

Though hard details on the next Dell ultraslim computers are scant, it’s thought the timing of the computer’s unveiling could be planned to ‘coincide with Intel’s announcement of its next-generation processor dubbed Ivy Bridge–expected to drive Ultrabook sales from the spring of 2012.’ Given Ivy Bridge will support more powerful graphics solutions, USB 3.0 and DirectX 11, the Dell computer could make for a compelling case in terms of technical capabilities, but what of aesthetic design and overall performance?

Competing with Apple, as Dell no doubt knows, goes far beyond just specs.

Gunning for Apple

Cnet reports that Dell’s overall strategy is to compete with Apple’s Macbook line of laptops, and that the new ultraslim computer is just one component of that assault. The other component could be a rumoured Dell Ultrabook, as well as the recently announced XPS 14z, which is competing directly with Apple’s  13-inch Macbook Pro.

How things change

Dell’s strategy could increasingly come under the spotlight in the ensuing months, especially in the wake of HP’s uncertainty with regards to the PC business. For its part, Dell has reaffirmed its commitment to the PC business and, though research has been superficial at best, sentiment around the company seems to be on the up again.

Incidentally, seeing Dell shape its recent releases to compete with Apple directly is fascinating considering Dell CEO Michael Dell recommended the firm  shut down and give money back to its shareholders back when Apple was struggling in 1997. How things change. Having said that, I’m very keen to see what the next Dell ultraslim laptop will be like.

Photo: COG LOG LAB. / Flickr

While it is now commonplace to see sprawling lines for the launch of a new iPhone or iPad, this is not usually the case with the launch of a new Apple Mac laptop – devices the company often quietly updates without much fanfare. This is not the case in Hong Kong, however, where Apple’s new Macbook Air went on sale, reportedly drawing big crowds in the process.

People like Apple’s products

Reports of the long lines for the Apple laptop come courtesy of Ticonderoga Securities analyst Brian White. In a note to investors [via AllThingsD], he wrote: ‘Our checks in Hong Kong indicate the new MacBook Air was launched over the past week at local authorized resellers,’ saying ‘The launch was met with long lines and stock-outs of certain new MacBook Air models.’

Perhaps as further evidence of the supposed ‘halo effect’ of Apple’s products, White adds that: ‘Surprisingly, we also heard that certain resellers sold out of the iPhone 4 over the past week, along with certain models of the iPad 2.’

Turning tide

This is good news for Apple for a number of reasons. Firstly, it serves to further validate the company’s hypothesis that the new Macbook Air was the ‘future’ of laptops.

Secondly, the strong momentum in Hong Kong bodes well for Apple’s success throughout the rest of China, with the company launching the laptops in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and in other parts of mainland China as soon as next week.

Momentum on all fronts

The surprisingly successful launch of the new Macbook Air in China caps off a period of unrelenting growth for Apple. The company has record sales in all corners of the globe with all of its primary product lines, and is on the eve of launching its handset, the iPhone 5, either in September or October this year.

Photo: ntr23 / Flickr

Apple recently unveiled its new Macbook Air lineup, with Intel Light Peak and Intel’s second generation Core processors – aka Intel Sandy Bridge processors – being the highlights. ElectricPig put the new ultraslim laptops through the benchmarking test, with results being surprisingly good. So good, in fact, that the 2011 Macbook Air range outperformed the 2010 Macbook Pro range.

Geekbenching

ElectricPig points out that while the change from a clock speed of 1.4 to 1.6 GHz may seem slight on paper, the results when bencharmarked were ‘nothing short of monumental.’ The publication writes: ‘Using Geekbench as a baseline, the late 2010 13-inch MacBook Air scored 2681 with its Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz processor while the 11-inch 1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo managed a respectable 2024. Ready to have your mind blown with the 2011 MacBook Air Geekbench results? We thought so.’

The test came courtesy of Laptop magazine, which saw the 2011 13-inch Macbook Air earn a Geekbench score of 5,860, a 100 per cent boost on last year’s model. The 2011 11-inch Macbook rocketed a remarkable 149 per cent to a Geekbench score of 5,040, up from last year’s 2,024.

What this means

For perspective, ‘the 2010 17-inch 2.67 GHz Core i7 Macbook Pro scored 5423,’ writes ElectricPig. So effectively, that places the £849 Macbook Air on benchmark with a £2,099 laptop. Insane.

While publications everywhere put these new devices through their paces, it remains too early to make conclusions from this, especially regarding how the benchmarks translate to real world performance. Having said that, though, it’s remarkable how dramatically Apple is pushing and supporting the 2011 Macbook Air range, making these computers as capable as they are, and virtually negating the need to purchase a device more than twice the price.

Photo: starbooze / Flickr

As Apple finally unveiled its long-rumoured Macbook Air updates, the company also killed one of the most iconic and beloved Macs in its lineup – the Spartan white, plastic Macbook.

Times they are a-changing

In a post that chronicles the life and design of the plastic white Macbook, Chris Foresman of Ars Technica documents where the design came from and how it developed over the years. He writes: ‘The white MacBook began life as the iBook, Apple’s consumer-grade laptop introduced in 1999 that was the first Apple machine to come with WiFi wireless networking. The colorful laptop was revised in 2003 with an all-white polycarbonate shell, and Apple changed its name to MacBook in 2006 when it switched from PowerPC to Intel processors.’

The device was last redesigned in 2009, with Apple taking the Macbook Pro motif of designing a white unibody for the entry-level device, while the other Macbooks took on the brushed aluminium design.

Macbook Air simply selling too well

The plastic white Macbook’s death comes as a result of two factors – the first being that as a result of the Macbook Air update late last year, that device has been selling by the truckloads for Apple. At the same time as that, it’s likely sales of the white Macbook began falling off a cliff over the last two years, as its specs began to pale in comparison to that of the entry-level Macbook Pro, which offered far superior performance at just £200 extra.

Even the equally-priced 11-inch Macbook Air’s performance outdid that of the white Macbook, likely necessitating its demise. For fans of the Spartan white Macbook design and, equally, for those who are not so fond of the present day aluminium design, this is a sad, sad day. For everyone else, you may as well embrace your new ultra-thin Macbook Air update and the direction Apple is trying to take its computing.

Photo: connorsmac / Flickr

It’s no secret that Apple has new Macbook Airs they’re brewing up. The refresh has been on the cards for several months now, and the first piece of hard, real world evidence has begun surfacing. BestBuy.com in the US is no longer shipping the current Airs, and the availability of Airs in Best Buy stores in the UK is limited, too.

Best Buy short in the US

9to5 Mac was first to spot that the electronic goods retail giant had stopped shipping four of the current Air models. As the site points out, ‘This typically means that supplies are so constrained that they have to focus their remaining inventory on their popular physical retail store.’ 9to5 continues, writing: ‘BestBuy.com does not provide a date for when they will be shipping the notebooks again, but these types of things are usually indicative of a product refresh.’

Further on the ground reporting had numerous Best Buy stores in the US saying they were low on Air stock.

Best Buy short in the UK

In a prime example of consumer journalism at its best, Doug, a 9to5 Mac reader, did some investigating in the UK, reporting that: ‘On bestbuy.co.uk you can only order to collect the 128GB MBA in store and it’s only in stock in a few stores. The other MBA’s are totally out of stock.’

All the signs are there that a new Macbook Air is imminent.

What you get

Based on our reports on what is expected with the Macbook Air refresh, it seems worthwhile waiting a little before you make the plunge. We previously wrote: ‘This is not the first time we’ve heard rumours that Intel Sandy Bridge processors would be arriving on Apple’s ultraportable laptops, with CNET first reporting on the development back in February of this year already. Since then others have come forward at different points to say that the Intel Thunderbolt I/O standard would arrive on the laptops, too.’

Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt. Put off purchasing laptops a little longer if the Macbook Air refresh sounds like what you’re looking for.

Photo: connorsmac / Flickr

It’s long been rumoured that the Apple Macbook Air lineup was due an imminent refresh, but with reputable news agency Reuters throwing its weight behind the claims, it seems the refresh is very imminent. Keen-eyed shoppers will start seeing the new Macbook Air on store shelves from this month already.

Healthy shipments

Citing industry sources, Taiwan’s Economic Daily [via Reuters] claims that the new ultraslim Apple computers will ship in late June with an initial allotment of 380,000 units in the first shipment. This means just shy of one in every two Airs released this month will be the new ones, with a reported 460,000 units of the current model shipping, too.

The Taiwanese connection – and interest – spawns as a result of Taiwanese companies Quanta Computer and Catcher Technology being key manufacturers of the new Macbook Air. The companies saw their respective share price soar 2.5 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively, in trading after the report was made.

The bet for the future

The ultraslim Apple laptop, which was initially released several years ago to a lukewarm reception, was refreshed in late 2010 and has been wracking up major sales for Apple. The company says they believe the new Macbook Air represents the direction all future laptops will take, and with it likely to become Apple’s top seller – and several competitors releasing several of their own ultraslim designs – one can see why Apple believes this.

On that note…

The Economic Daily has also echoed reports that the iPad 3 would break with Apple’s regular annual release schedule, and see release in Q4 2010. The publication says that the tablet PC would have 5-6 times the resolution of the iPad 2, lending gravity to previous reports doing the rounds on the updated device’s display.

Nevertheless, the takeaway here is, if you’re in the market for a new Macbook Air, it might be worth your while to hold out. You may be rewarded with a laptop that’s significantly more powerful, as a result.

Photo: velorowdy / Flickr

Apple’s Macbook Air, a product the company says represents how all laptops will look in the future, is set to get its first major update soon, and it’s a doozy. With the updated notebooks, Apple will be bringing two of Intel’s most recent inventions – its Sandy Bridge processors, as well as Thunderbolt I/O interface.

June/July

The hardware updates will come to both the Apple Macbook Air 11.6- and 13.3-inch laptops, with the hardware shipping to retailers in May still for availability in either June or July, according to Digitimes.

This is not the first time we’ve heard rumours that Intel Sandy Bridge processors would be arriving on Apple’s ultraportable laptops, with CNET first reporting on the development back in February of this year already. Since then others have come forward at different points to say that the Intel Thunderbolt I/O standard would arrive on the laptops, too.
And given that Intel Thunderbolt debuted on Apple’s Macbook Pro platform, the rumour is not at all far-fetched.

What do the updates entail?

Both the Intel Sandy Bridge processing chips and the Intel Thunderbolt I/O standard represent dramatic speed increases for Apple’s computers. Intel’s latest microprocessing standard is said by the company to be the biggest leap in processing speed ever, with PC World’s benchmark test finding it represented a significant speed boost over its predecessors.

The Intel Thunderbolt I/O standard, for its part, offers data transfer speeds of up to 10GB/sec in both directions simultaneously. Incidentally, while Apple supports Intel’s new I/O protocol, not everyone is as convinced Intel’s tech will be the Macbook maker. During its earnings call recently, Hewlett-Packard said it would be sticking to USB 3.0 in the meantime, since it has not ‘found a value proposition yet’ for Intel’s offering.

Eyes open

Nevertheless, keep your eyes peeled for the new Apple Macbook Air computers. This rumour sounds very believable.

Photo: Samsung

The Samsung Series 9 laptop, the world’s latest Macbook Air Killer, is ready to ship. While it’s an ultra sleek proposition likely to get a rabid following, its pricing might lead to it struggling in unseating Apple.

Ultra-slim is ultra chic

Right now ultra-slim laptops are all the rage, and the Samsung Series 9 laptop first unveiled at CES 2011 immediately grabbed a great deal of mindshare.

The 13-inch head-turning beauty measures in at a slick 0.64-inches thick, and it weighs just shy of 3 pounds. It comes with 128GB SSD memory, and with a respectable 4GB of RAM.

The ultra-slim Samsung Series 9 laptop also comes in an 11-inch version, scheduled to arrive in April. It ships with 2GB RAM, and 64GB SSD memory.

The Macbook Air comparison

Unfortunately for Samsung, there’s no way for the company to escape the unfortunate Macbook Air killer billing, and on this it’s hard to say the company fares too well.

The most immediate comparison is with respect to pricing. Where Apple’s 13-inch Air costs $1,599 with 256GB flash storage or $1,299 with 128GB flash, the Samsung Series 9 laptop starts at $1,649 if you buy the Windows 7 Home Premium version, or $1,699 if you purchase the Windows 7 Professional addition. That’s a big price difference, especially given Apple’s reputation for always being the ‘premium, expensive’ brand.

Apple versus Samsung

What’s most interesting to me about the Samsung Series 9 – the Macbook Air Killer apparent – is it’s another area where Apple and Samsung are squaring off. We’ve been predicting that 2011 would be the year these two titans would finally go tooth and nail at each other, and it is already happening in the smartphones game. It will be interesting to see if it happens with tablet PCs and ultra-slim laptops, too.

Photo: losimo / Flickr

When Apple introduced the new Macbook Air, the company said that it considered it the future of computing. If an analyst’s report is to be believed, sales of the ultra-thin laptop prove that consumers agree.

One million in one quarter

Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with Concord Securities, has told AppleInsider that recent checks with his supply contacts in Asia indicate that Apple sold a whopping 1.1 million units of their new Macbook Air computers in the fourth quarter of 2011. As if Apple breaking records left, right and centre with the iPad and iPhone is not sufficient, this also makes sales of the ultra-thin laptops one of the most successful Mac computer launches ever.

Blowing away estimates

What’s more, Kuo pointed out that the figures are 400,000 units greater than his initial estimate of 700,000 units sold. That’s a dramatic 63 per cent more than he expected the Cupertino giants to ship.

To give you further context, Apple, who does not give a series breakdown of Macbook sales, says it shipped 2.9 million Macbooks in Q4 2011. If this estimate of 1.1 million units sold is true, it means the new Macbook Air computers already comprise a third of total Mac sales.

Momentum continues, but slows

Kuo says the ultra-slim laptops continue to sell well, with his estimates for Q1 2011 sales at 700,000 units. This is down from what they shipped in 2011, but Apple may still set a new record for most Macbooks sold in a single quarter, with sales of the newly released Macbook Pros expected to be extremely strong.
However you spin it, Apple is bossing the mobile computing industry, and setting the tone in terms of where things are headed. Nobody wins forever, but at present, nobody is winning as big as Steve Jobs and Co. are.