A 5400 RPM 1.8" Hard Drive!

Electronista has reported on Toshiba's introduction of 5400RPM 1.8 inch hard drives with SATA interfaces. As some of you may already know, the MacBook Air (along with the iPod Classic) makes use of a 1.8" hard drive. As anyone whose read one of my interpretations of the MacBook Air, one of my main gripes (if not the main one) is regarding its super-slow 4200 PATA hard drive. So, I read about this new advancement from Toshiba with great enthusiasm and hope for the next MBA refresh. Such a drive would solve the MBA's slowness problem, giving it SATA and the acceptable speeds of a standard notebook HD. However, this enthusiasm quickly left as I read that Toshiba's new disks will be 8mm tall. Unfortunately, to make the MBA so thin, Apple has designed the MBA's chassis so that only a 5mm tall 1.8" drive. Toshiba's drives are too big, unless Apple makes some slight design changes. I hope they do, because as MacRumors reports and this Toshiba announcement demonstrates, most, if not all, 1.8" drive advancements (both speed and size) occur with the 8mm variations, leaving the 5mm models to rot in technological obsoleteness! For example, I've criticized the Air's small 80GB HD. Larger 1.8" drives exist, but are - you guessed it - 8mm tall, and thus, too big for the MBA.My assessment? In this area, the MacBook Air currently is too thin (albeit only slightly) for its own good, and will greatly restrict its ability to stay innovative, competitive, and current in the fast slim and light PC industry. Let's hope Apple recognizes this, and makes the design changes needed to propel the MacBook Air to the front of the class! Some related reliability information I found interesting about the Air's 1.8" hard drive (from AppleInsider):

While desktop hard drives are generally expected to live reliably for three years, iPod sized hard drives have a roughly two year expected lifespan, as their AppleCare warranty options suggest. Take a hard drive apart and you'll understand why. Their ultra fragile mechanisms spin platters at thousands of RPM and are read by featherweight arms with a magnetic head that floats over the disk surface on a cushion of air. After just a few minutes of activity, these drives quickly become too hot to comfortably handle. It's amazing they can last as long as they do.When exposed to regular shock and vibration, the chances of the head touching the surface or otherwise failing quickly rises into the danger zone. Once a disk fails, it is usually impossible to repair and often very expensive to attempt to recover data from. SSD solves all those fragility problems by using electronic chips instead of moving parts. Apple's business in iPods and with the iPhone give it high volume component pricing on the latest SSD devices, but its still an early adopter technology. Apple's SSD offering on the Air should both bring attention to the technology and help push SSD into the mainstream. 

 

MacBook Air & Intel Montevino

I would like to briefly revisit two of my previous posts on the MacBook Air and Intel’s upcoming Montevino platform with some new insights

First, besides the MacBook Air’s limiting specs, it is a first generation product that typically comes with its own issues that will need to be worked out. One of the very important issues being exhibited by the MBA is taking an extreme amount of time to recharge its battery. Obviously, this flaw would certainly hamper its performance as a mobile computer and could have a verity of sources. The battery could be at issue, maybe the power adapter isn’t powerful enough, maybe voltages were cut to reduce heat, etc. We don’t know for sure. However, the one thing that is certain is such an issue is unacceptable and must be fixed by Apple in future revisions. Additionally, may have reported that with extended use or CPU-intensive applications, the MBA get s hot (real hot) and to reduce heat, the system automatically shuts down a CPU core, thereby cutting the already mediocre processor performance in half. Again, if I’m already settling on a lower-specked processor, I want to use all of the processor’s capabilities. Such a performance/heat dissipation issue will also have to be fixed in future revisions.

One such fix for heat dissipation would be a lower voltage processor, and as reported earlier this week by Digitimes, such processors are on the way as part of Intel’s Montevino platform due to launch in May. A leak of processor clock/voltage/pricing allowed us to take a look at what very well could be at the heart of the next MacBook Air refresh. The two most likely candidates for the Air run at 1.6 GHz and 1.86 GHz (the same as current Air possessors), yet reduces voltage from 20 to 17. Such a reduction (albeit slight) would help both with battery life, as well as heat dissipation. While the processor clock would be essentially the same, performance increases would be seen by way of an increased front side bus, larger caches, and an improved Intel graphics processor. The unfortunate news, however, is that the higher-clocked processors (those above 2 GHz) will be coming in at a voltage of 25 (down from today’s 35), so while a clock-speed increase is not out of the question for the Air, it seems rather unlikely. So, it unfortunately seems that the Air may be stuck at 1.6/1.8 GHz for the foreseeable future. So, while the Montevino platform should bring its own improvements and upgrades to the Air, Apple could and should refine the machine on its own by switching to a SATA bus (and faster hard drives), adding a 2nd USB port, a stereo speaker, and maybe a gigabit Ethernet port. Such enhancement would be greatly welcomed by critics and users alike, and would effectively solve my issues with the machine.

Furthermore, it was reported earlier this week by a Japanese engineering firm that the MacBook Air’s internal build quality is greatly lacking, leaving a lot of room for design improvements by Apple. Additionally, such build inefficiencies could also indicate Apple rushed the Air to market, and didn’t have time to refine its manufacturing process. The report mentions an excess of screws. As we all know, screws add weight (sometimes unnecessary weight) to the chassis. By reducing the amount of screws and improving the Air’s internal structure, quality, and manufacturing process, Apple could very well free up both weight and space, allowing it to add welcomed enhancements such as the 2nd USB port, a Mic port, an Ethernet port, and stereo speakers. Hopefully, Apple will address these issues with the next MacBook Air revision as well. Even if the processor isn’t significantly increased, if the Air gets Montevino, a 2nd USB port, and faster Hard Drive and SATA, I know I and many others would become proud new MacBook Air owners! I can only hope Apple is listening!

Some links for further reading:

• Electronista on Montevino specs
• MacBook Air Build Qualtity - "Nothing but Waste"

Intel Montevino & Apple

It was reported by Digitimes earlier today that Intel next Centrino mobile chipset platform, code-name Montevina, will be released in June, featuring processors clocked at 2.26 GHz to 3.0 GHz dual core, a 1066 MHz front side bus (up from 800MHz), DDR3 memory, 2 and 4 core CPUs, WiMAX, and the all new Intel X4500 graphics processor. Montevina is the successor to Intel’s Santa Rosa platform launched in May 2007 as well as its Penryn 45 nanometer processor upgrade. Additionally, it is interesting to not that the “packaging” miniaturization of the CPU found in the MacBook Air is part of the Montevina platform, while the chipset and processor are from last years Santa Rosa platform (not Penryn). Needless to say, with Apple not having already released it long-rumored and apparently immanent Penryn MacBook Pro (and MacBook) upgrades, it calls into question Apple’s release schedule for Montevina as well as the existing Penryn.

With the switch to Intel-based processors, Apple began competing in the spec-race with PC manufactures, specifically Sony, Dell, and Lenovo. Needless to say, these companies will no doubt be releasing Montevina upgrades immediately around the release by Intel in June (as they have done in the past). However, if Apple releases Penryn upgrades now, just a few months before Montevina, Apple will probably not be releasing upgrades again in the June/July timeframe causing Apple to fall far behind in the spec-race. Let’s take a look at this in a little more detail:

Apple usually releases two mobile product upgrades per year, with an average product life-cycle of about six to eight months. Both the MacBook and MacBook Pros were last updated in early October (Full Santa Rosa upgrade for MacBooks; minor processor bump for MacBook Pro only). Both portables are due for an update before the summer, and Apple seemingly (and understandably, albeit frustrating) never releases a MacBook update prior to a PowerBook update. Forgetting about Montevina, and solely looking at Apple’s upgrade cycle, than a MacBook Pro update is likely immanent with the MacBook being updated in the April/May timeframe. However, both of these obviously would miss the Montevina launch, leaving Mac portables stuck with Penryn (except the MBA). Apple could very easily delay the MacBook refresh by a month or two and introduce it with Montevina. However, the result would be a better/faster/newer MacBook, leaving the higher-performance MacBook Pro stuck with Santa Rosa/Penryn. Would Apple do this? I would hope so, if they want to remain competitive with Sony, Dell, and IBM. The other option would be for Apple to moderately bump both products now, and then update to Montevina in Sept/Oct, yet this option leaves Apple way behind and consumers in a precarious situation of potentially purchasing a PC notebook as opposed to a Mac.

None of the above situations are considering a full product refresh either, which is something both the MacBook and MacBook Pro could use to position it better in the market. The MacBook Pro’s design (case) has essentially been the same since the last few PowerBook revisions way back in 2005. Likewise, the MacBook design hasn’t been touched in nearly two years, and could use an upgrade. The MacBook Air set a new design premium for Apple, one that reflects curves, aluminum, and lightness/thinness that needs to be reflected in its other products. Neither the MacBook or MacBook Pro will ever be as light or thin as the MacBook Air, but they could be made lighter and thinner than they currently are, and the Montevina chipset, with its smaller size and better power savings would present are remarkable opportunity to do so. I would target around 4 pounds for the MacBook and 5.1 for the MacBook Pro. If both Dell and Sony can produce a sub-4.5 pound 13.3 notebook, than there isn’t any reason why Apple couldn’t either. In fact, Apple will need to if it wishes to remain competitive.

Finally, what about the MacBook Air? Off of a six to eight month lifecycle, it would seem to be ready for a refresh around the time of the Monition launch or soon after (July through Sept). The Montevina was practically made for the MBA (as is shown by its use of the packaging material), and would provide an excellent opportunity for higher clock speeds in excess of 2.0Ghz (hopefully higher) and better battery life. Furthermore, Apple could use the Montevina upgrade opportunity to improve the Air’s design, adding a 2nd USB port, gigabit Ethernet, faster SATA HD, RAM expandability, and a stereo speaker to allow competition with the onslaught of ultra-portable notebooks inaugurated by the MBA and the Lenovo X300. And Apple, don’t tell me the above isn’t possible: Lenovo could do all of the above on the X300, as well as add a internal DVD and still come in between 2.9-3.1 pounds!

My MacBook Air Analysis

As most people are probably well aware, Apple last month introduced a new sub-notebook called the MacBook Air. A new addition to the MacBook product line, the MBA's real strength and differentiation lies in its svelte size (extremely thin and only 3 pounds) and stylish design. One frequent criticism lies in the MacBook Air not being small enough, due to its 13.3' screen and the MacBook size form factor this brings withit. However, I disagree. I want just such screen size, and anything smaller is too small - what really matters to me is weight, and then thickness (weight=portability). However, as most critiques' and bloggers have mentioned, Apple may have made too many sacrifices in specs, such as lack of expandability and low performing components, to achieve its amazing size. But, when compared to some competitors (such as Dell and Lenovo), Apple may not have needed to make such compromises at all. If PC makers can deliver a sub-notebook that's faster, has far greater expandability, with Ethernet and multiple USB, a removable battery, and an optical drive for essentially the same size and weight (maybe slightly heaver/thicker), why couldn't Apple? I know I would have preferred a MBA at 3.5 pounds and a little thicker if it could have been more competitive spec-wise in the market. Thus, I'm really torn on this product. I really want to like it, and I would really like my next Mac to be the Air! However, I think the cons might outweigh the positives in this case. Additionally, I'm asking myself how I can justify purchasing the Air when it's PC competitors can offer much more (not to mention the MacBook). The MBA is fairly weak, with a 1.6 or 1.8 GHz CPU and a non-expandable 2 GB of memory. Will these specs be able to adequately run apps and the Mac OS two years from now (as my PowerBook G4 can)? Can the MBA adequately run Windows Vista? Will a 4200 pATA hard drive prove too small and slow for my file use? I have my doubts. As many have pointed out, the Air's specs and lack of expandability really position the MBA as one's 2nd, mobile Mac - certainly not ones sole Mac, as something more powerful will undoubtedly be needed for graphics and processor intensive tasks and future compatibility/performance. The problem is, my next Mac will be my sole Mac, and it look's like the Air won't be up to the task. I've analyzed my largest concerns regarding the MacBook Air below.

• Slow/Small 80GB 4200 pATA Hard Drive
  • In my normal computing use, I use the HD - a lot! I download large files, transfer them to other computers or external storage, peruse large numbers of pictures and video, and hold a lot of music. In terms of sheer storage capacity, 80GB is too small for a modern digital hub. It's the same size as the disk in my 2+ year old PowerBook, with which I'm constantly running out of space. I'm of the opinion that when upgrading, you should get more than you had previously, and this certainly isn't the case with the MBA's HD (as compared to my PB). However, I could work around the storage limitation. What I can't work around is the disk speed, and that is what's really alarming about the MBA. With my typical disk use, I think I would see a huge slowdown with the MBA. In fact, Ars Technica noted tremendous system slow downs and lockups due to the drive speed, even when doing some rudimental file movements. This is truly unacceptable, and remains the major fault keeping from purchasing the Air.
  • The solution to the MBA's slow disk speed is simple, you might say: Buy the 64GB SSD version. The solid-state drive would certainly be faster and consume less power, except for the fact that it is constrained by its pATA interface too (as opposed to the faster, more modern SATA). However, if I would have a problem with a 80GB HD, 64GB would certainly be too small. That's not withstanding the SSD model's approximately $1300 price premium - certainly not worth it considering the MBA's other specs.
  • I will admit, however, solid-state drives certainly are the future for the MacBook Air. They are thin, and fast. Especially considering that the MBA's 80GB 4200 RPM HD is currently the largest (and unfortunately, fastest) single platter 1.8" drive available. The problem - solid-state drives are very expensive and currently don't come larger than 64GB.
  • Solution: So, what is the answer when building the next MBA revision? I don't know. The MBA's thickness limits it from accepting slightly physically larger drives that are faster with more capacity, and SSD are too expensive. Thus, there's no good answer at the moment. Unless a faster single platter 1.8" drive appears, or SSD drastically comes down in price, my hope would be that Apple would make the MBA ever so slightly thicker to accommodate a 2 platter 1.8" drive or standard notebook drive.
  • Note: There seems to be a load clicking sound being constantly produced by the Air's 1.8" HD.
  • One of the features I'm looking forward to as part of the MacTel upgrade is the ability to one Windows, both natively via Boot Camp and possibly through virtualization. Here, the Air's limited storage space is a real killer! A 10GB NTFS partition is pretty small (considering Win can't read HFS+) for Windows, and it would take up a good portion 1/7 of the total HD capacity - Too small in my opinion!
• Integrated Memory:
  • The Air's two gigabytes of integrated memory may be fine now, but what about in the future? How will the next Mac OS X version run? Equally important, how will Windows run under Boot Camp or virtualization? Is this too little RAM for virtualization to be adequate? Additionally, with Vista a RAM hog, at least 3 GB would be preferred!
  • Solution: Upgradable memory (at least build-to-order configurations) or at least ship with 3GB + integrated.
• Processer speed:
  • Too slow! 1.8 GHz (the upgraded model) is too slow to reliability run Photoshop, Virtualization, Vista, and media applications. Additionally, I've read reports about the Air's dual core processor shutting down a core when the temperature gets too high, further reducing performance - and this is usually during processor intensive actions where the performance is needed!
  • For the price, and to remain competitive with PC notebooks currently on the market, the MacBook Air really should have a 2 GHz processer. My guess is that Apple clocked the processors lower for both energy savings and heat dissipation, issues which I hope can be overcome through the use of Intel's new processors and chipsets in the Air next revision.
  • Solution: 2.0+ GHz Processor
• Only 1 USB Port:
  • Solution: Two USB Ports
  • There are a lot of times I need to have to USB devices connect at the same time. My music library is one such example, and becomes even more indicative of MacBook Air usage when considering it's small HD capacity. I keep all of my iTunes Music Library on an external USB drive. When I connect my iPhone, I have to also have the USB drive connected in order to sync existing or new songs. I couldn't do this with the Air without the use of a USB hub.
  • A USB hub is not the answer! True, it can temporarily circumvent the 1-port issue, but its inconvenient (when traveling), unnecessary, and reduces bandwidth-intensive uses like external HDs.
  • What about Firewire? I'm actually OK with withholding the FireWire port since the only thing it is good for anymore is working with older digital video cameras (newer ones use USB). However, how about a Firewire to USB dongle so I can still use my old camera? Additionally, how about a USB target disk mode?
• No Built-In Gigabyte Ethernet:
  • Since the Air has such a small capacity HD, it's necessitating the need to easily and quickly move the files to an external storage device, like my file server. What better and quicker way to do this than by Gigabit Ethernet.
• Battery:
  • Not user replaceable/swappable - this isn't such a big deal, since it seems easy to do anyway and I've never swapped batteries.
  • In fact, this may even be a plus - by not having the battery as part of the case, it makes it easier for 3rd-party suppliers to create cheaper, higher capacity batteries for the Air.
  • Battery Life: I've read some negative reports on battery life and charging times.

MacBook Pro Mock-Up

Spicu has come up with a very interesting, and may I say beautiful design mock-up for Apple’s forthcoming MacBook Pro update. The mock-up incorporates some of the design elements from both the MacBook Air (such as the keyboard, trackpad, and thinness) and the current iMac (rounded aluminum edges). I have to say I’m digging the rounded edges, as I absolutely love the look of the iMac. I can only hope, however, that whatever Apple does, they somehow figure out how to decrease its weight - 5.8 pounds is just too much for me! While I love my PowerBook, the MacBook Pro’s current weight (actually heavier than my old PB) is a deal killer, pushing me down to the MacBook (which isn’t much better, btw, at 4.8 pounds) or dare I say it, a sometimes higher-specd, lower-weight PC such as the Dell XPS M1330.