Originally Posted by GadgetFreak
I am a very happy 12 inch Powerbook user. I have a Bluetooth phone with the unlimited internet option on TMobile and it isnt the fastest connection but it is easy and fast to get online. I got it mainly for the connectivity being built in. However, I think eventually they are going to have to cut the weight. You can get a Wintel with the same major features that weighs a lot less.
True. However, part of the reason is also the nature of the marketplace. Most Mac buyers get one because it runs the Mac OS - they like it, they're used to it, their colleagues use it, whatever. In the Windows world, Toshiba doesn't have that differentiator over IBM, Sony and Dell. Windows laptops have to push the hardware envelope harder to get a competitive advantage. As long as Apple stays close enough in that regard, and continues to define the state of the art in areas it's known for such as industrial design, it will be OK.
The good news is that this hardware strategy leads to high reliability (per a recent
Consumer Reports article, which put Apple at the top of the heap in this respect). They can wait until other folks try the latest weight-saving circuit gizmos and pick the ones that work.