Cancelled my MacBook Air Order…

I wrote about ordering a MacBook Air after some encouragement from my wife. A few days ago I canceled the online order and while I’ll miss being one of the first to have the world’s thinnest notebook, I know this is the right decision.

I like a lot of Apple’s products and I definitely like how thin the MacBook Air is, but that’s about it. After re-reading my original post about the MacBook Air, I realized that I made an incredibly impulsive purchase for all the wrong reasons.

I was being egged on by wife to buy one, presumably so she could carry it around instead of her full-sized company-issued notebook, especially when she’s traveling. I was so excited that she actually wanted me to buy a gadget that I didn’t thoroughly examine our needs for it. Also, $2000 is a LOT of money to spend on a notebook that will play third-fiddle to my primary notebook and her work computer.

In my rush to be first, I also made the mistake of placing the order in part because of of vanity and fond memories of my senior year in college…two things void of sound logic. The PowerBook G4 was the best looking notebook when it launched and I wrote about my experience with it the day the MacBook Air launched:

I was one of the first to buy the Titanium PowerBook G4 when it was launched seven years ago and when I brought it out in public jaws dropped and people crowded around me and begged to touch it. I’ve never had a similar reaction to ANY other notebook since then, but I have a feeling the MacBook Air will draw a crowd.

People fawning to touch my computer just isn’t as important to me anymore now that I’m all grown up.

Another thing that really pushed me to cancel the order is that I realized there were very few situations where I could actually use the MacBook Air and leave my MacBook Pro, or one of our Windows notebooks behind.

The idea of flying with the MacBook Air is very appealing, but a look at our past and future travel itinerary shows we’d probably be flying with a dead MacBook Air more often than not. The MacBook Air’s battery is rated to last just five hours and there are no extra or extended battery options since the battery is built-in to the notebook. Other web sites and reviewers have said five hours is fine for a cross-country flight, but when traveling for business I need more power to get me through waiting at the gate and flight delays.

All lithium-ion notebook batteries wear out over time, and sending it back to Apple for five days to for a replacement is not something I’d be willing to do. Sure, I could replace the battery myself with the help of a small screwdriver, but it’s not worth voiding the warranty to simply install a new battery.

I also enjoy watching DVDs when traveling and the idea of using an external DVD player on a plane really defeats the concept of traveling light. In fact, carrying around the DVD player and ethernet adapter add 3/4 of a pound, bringing the total weight up to 3.75 pounds. This is just four ounces short of a wide range of other 13.3-inch notebooks that have integrated DVD burners, dedicated graphics cards, much faster processors, large capacity hard drives and various battery options.

Sony Vaio SZ series notebooks, for example, weighs four pounds. The Sony VAIO SZ has an integrated DVD burner, hybrid graphics (integrated and dedicated graphcs cards), built-in wireless broadband (Sprint EVDO Rev. A) and up to 250GB hard drive capacities. You have a choice of full-sized, full-speed Intel notebook processors.

I thought I could deal with the single USB port by carrying a compact USB hub, but that adds to the weight and clutter the MacBook Air is supposed to get rid of. At the very least I need to be able to charge my iPhone, import pictures from my digital camera and use my Sierra Wireless 595U wireless modem wherever I go.

I have a ton of other USB devices that I might like to use, but those are my top three uses for my USB ports on any given day. I pictured myself having to strategically plan using my USB port for uploading photos or charging my iPhone and had mini-panic attack. All three of my three primary USB devices would have to compete with external DVD drive for that precious, single USB port. The simpler solution is to just carry a computer with a full array of ports.

The final reason I canceled this order after my initial ‘gotta have it now’ impulses passed was because of my negative experiences with my first three iPhones. Early adopters pay a price premium, and often have to suffer through first rev growing pains. I’m willing to be a guinea pig for Apple or any other tech company on a computer or gadget that I’ll use on a regular basis, but not on something I’ll use occasionally.

Speaking of using it occasionally, I concluded the only time I’d actually use the MacBook Air was when I needed to use a computer at a cafe. When I’m working I need real power. When I’m traveling I need less clutter and longer battery life. When I’m at home or on leisure time I want access to my music, photo and video library (80GB isn’t enough).

There will be a lot of happy MacBook Air owners, but there will be a lot of frustrated ones who discover the tradeoffs don’t make a lot of sense. The happy owners will be those who are after simplicity, have relatively basic computing needs and value the MacBook Air’s thinness above all else.

It’s great to see Apple offering a wider variety of notebooks, but I wish the MacBook Air could deliver a little more.