Apple, the name conjures up images of originality and free thinking. Perhaps this is partly due to their unique ad campaigns, including their famous “Think Different” advertisements. Their advertisement most likely to be in people’s minds nowadays is the macbook air commercial, which is very cleverly done. The commercial manages to emphasize the MacBook’s uniqueness and give everyone a reference point for exactly how thin the laptop actually is. Moreover, the smart ad is accompanied by an upbeat and cheerful tune, which has more or less become the signature macbook air song. The song’s lyrics say that I am a new soul in this unknown world, just as the MacBook Air is taken out of the envelope and unfolded. There is a reason why the company is known to be especially creative and beloved by artists. But Apple has undoubtedly also manufactured some very pioneering and trend setting devices recently, such as the iPod or iPhone, both of which created their own genres. Though now Apple is also gaining clout on another level, the level upon which they are based and best known for; namely, their computers. Indeed, given the success of Apple with their mp3 player products and now even phones, many people have forgotten slightly how the company has their original roots in manufacturing computer. Apple too, it seems, almost wants to perpetuate this notion as they dropped the “computers” part from their official title of “Apple computers” in 2007. However, their computers are definitely not to be underestimated and have gained both increases in market share, as well as increased performance. Apple laptops, especially, have witnessed tremendous gains.
Apple’s success in the laptop arena is of course partly due to the increased popularity of laptops, but also due to their fantastic engineering and performance. Many complaints over Apple computers and laptops are no longer relevant. For starters, Apple computers now include Intel chips and have done so since 2006. Moreover, Apple laptops are also capable of running Windows and more importantly Windows software. As a result Apple laptops have become the favourites of many professionals and users. Of course Apple also manufactures more than one type of laptop, after starting with the iBook back in 1999.
The iBook was the first laptop model introduced by Apple. The laptops design looked very similar to the iMac, and was more revolutionary for its appearance than anything else. In fact, the iBook was even marketed as the “iMac to go”. However, some of the main innovations undertaken by Apple to close any perceived performance gap, such as switching to Intel processors, never took place during the iBook’s life. Instead the new Apple computers with Intel processors began with the new Macbook models. The hugely successful MacBook replaced the iBook, while the MacBook Pro replaced the PowerBook. These models achieved the largest successes for Apple’s line of laptops and the anxiously awaited next generation models were only recently released. The MacBook Pro was recently revised and upgraded in February 2008, while Apple then released a completely new model, namely, the apple macbook air. The MacBook Pro concentrates on performance and targets professionals, but the MacBook Air has other focuses. The foremost is its lightweight and compact dimensions. Because the MacBook Air purports to be the world’s thinnest laptop, indeed it takes portable and compact among laptops to new heights. Of course, the Macbook Air did have to make some sacrifices to achieve this remarkable feat, the biggest of which is most likely the lack of an included optical drive. Although Apple naturally anticipated this problem and introduced a separate external USB optical drive, termed the apple macbook superdrive, specially for their Air model. The MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air characterize Apple’s current laptop offerings are the main reasons for the company’s recent success in the computing field. For even though Apple has dropped the “computers” part from their name, and their biggest successes to date probably remain the iPod and iPhone, the company continues to produce excellent computers and laptops.
