Categories: Articles

Apple MacBook Air Versus My Sony Vaio

In yesterday’s post – MacBook Air – Apple Does It Again… And Me Wants – I was all hot and bothered by Steve Jobs from Apple and his announcement about the new Apple MacBook Air – an ultra-portable laptop. As you can read by the comments, plus the general reviews available all over the Web, Apple does what it does best – creates a brand that people either love or loathe.

I think I can add a different perspective to the current views because I am the owner of a Sony Vaio VGN-TZ160C. I owned the older version of the Sony Vaio ultra-portable laptop and, ultimately, I’m a huge fan of these types of laptops.

What do I look for? Good memory, speed, long battery life, keyboard and the screen.

Now, let it be said, I have been looking for the right reason to switch from PC to Mac. I felt like it happened yesterday with the launch of the MacBook Air, but I’m having second thoughts for these reasons:

– After two hours of using my Sony Vaio yesterday, I still had close to seven hours remaining according to the battery indicator. The way I travel and the flight delays I have been stuck in, the battery is a huge priority for me. So, although the MacBook Air claims a 5 hour battery, it’s still not even close to the Vaio.

– Form factor. The thinnest part of the Vaio is the thickest part of the MacBook Air. That may seem like a lot, but the Vaio is really, really thin and I’m willing sacrifice that extra thickness for my built-in CD/DVD drive. When I need to install software, when I want to watch a DVD on a flight, I’m always happy to have the drive available. While the promise of Remote Disc sounds good in theory, I’m hardly around other systems to install software on, and then remotely link them to get a CD install going. It’s simply not convenient for me. I know Apple is also selling an external drive, but I moved to the Sony from the original Toshiba Portege‘s to avoid exactly that.

Other than that, the specs are pretty similar. Both screens look great. I prefer the smaller screen of the Sony Vaio (simply because the entire laptop takes up less space), and they both have a built-in camera at the top of the screen.

If Sony could steal the awesome multi-touch feature of the trackpad, the backlight on the keyboard and the instant-on function, it would be the perfect laptop.

As for the, "yeah, but you have to deal with Microsoft Vista" comments, I don’t have an issue. I’ve been on a PC forever and I quite like the Windows platform. I’ve even resolved any major Vista issues by using the ReadyBoost function to add ghost memory via a SD Card.

That all being said, I do have my gripes with Windows, but by following the Blogosphere, it’s nothing more (or less) than the complains and strains people are having with Apple’s OS.

So, what’s the final verdict? I want to actually play with the MacBook Air before passing final judgement (and buying one), but from checking out the Apple site, watching the Guided Tour and flipping through a bunch of other Blog postings, it seems like my Sony Vaio still suits the job. Plus, if I can’t use my Podcast production software (CastBlaster) on a Mac, that’s anther showstopper for me.

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.