Friday, February 22,2008 @ 12:05pm
MacBook Air build inefficient, say Japanese engineers
Japanese engineers from the Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad judge the MacBook Air as being wasted space inside its otherwise efficiently designed chassis. According to TechOn the engineers claim the ultra-portable uses entirely too many screws to secure various pieces, counting over 30 to secure the keyboard, for example. The engineers say that they could produce the same computer with fewer screws, and a resulting lower cost.
"If I proposed such a design, our company would never approve it," said one of the engineers. "When it comes to Japanese PC manufacturers, their manufacturing plants will complain or add their own technical efforts to lower cost, if a proposed structural design was insufficient. The MacBook Air gives me an impression that its manufacturing plant packaged the computer exactly as ordered by Apple."
The engineers also note that some of the parts appear to be crafted with cutting techniques, rather than simply just being molded. They noticed the issue when examining both the top case and the screen hinges.
While not covered by the Nikkei ETS, a large concern for MacBook Air owners is that of the integrated battery. The battery itself costs no more than those for a MacBook Pro, but for the installation to take place, the laptop must be sent back to Apple, or taken to an Apple store. The swap, fortunately, is free of charge, according to CNN Money. Canadian and international Air owners can also have a swap done in any Apple Authorized Service Provider.