MacBook Air Performs Poorly Compared With Similarly Priced Windows Laptops

I'm growing tired of these comparisons. For me: I prefer Mac. Other people prefer Windows. I actually have one of the new MacBook Airs (the 13" upped to 4gb RAM and 256gb hard drive) and it's hands down the best Mac I've purchased.

This doesn't mean that if I bought an equally priced (and benchmark-ed-ly faster) Windows machine that I'd be happier. I would basically just have a machine that is a little bit faster with an interface that I strongly do not prefer. Saving a couple bucks in this way would not make me happy.

These comparisons seem great for people that are truly apathetic to their interface, environment and workflow... the only people I know that fit that description are not playing Call of Duty.

I'm not saying that Mac is better than Windows. I'm saying my preference is a Mac, and with the perceived price-per-power that I normally feel with Macs, I feel like I got a great deal. It's quick, the battery lasts about twice as long as I'd ever need it to, and I'm happy with my purchase.

And at the end of the day, that is what matters.

I think they ignored the fact that people buy the Air because it's ultra thin and light.

I mean, the Alienware they are comparing it to for example has a height of 1.29 inches whereas the Air is 0.11 to 0.68 inches.

Then for weight the 11" Alienware is 4.39 lbs but the 11" Air is 2.3 pounds.

Obviously there is merit in these alternatives they are rating but I wish they put some value into the thinness and weight numbers that people buy Airs for.

False comparison: "if you’re interested in getting the most pop possible for your buck, it’s clear that the MacBook Air isn’t the best way to go." I knew that in advance. The Air is not about pure performance.

Dumptrucks make lousy airplanes.

While a lot of people are poo-pooing the article, just earlier this week I heard someone make the comment that the 13" MacBook will run circles around PC laptops.

I think its a useful datapoint for consumers, even if it isn't a single datapoint that can be used to drive all decisions.

\begin[possibly failing]{humor} Alright! Apple did something wrong! Took PCWorld long enough to bring it to our attention. I mean, what, didn't the MacBook Air come out yesterday? And it can't perform well as items already on the market? \end{humor}

Why didn't they just go the full hog and compare them against desktops of the same price?

Steve Jobs was saying that netbooks are merely cheap laptops: bad as ultramobile devices and bad as laptops.

How is the 11" Air compared to a regular netbook?

They forgot to compare the similar priced Macbook and Macbook pro.

What's surprising here is that the difference is so small.

Consider the source. 'nuf said.