No Backlit Keyboard? GLOSSY screen????!!!!!

Thank you guys for confirming the bad news of no backlit keyboard. I LOVE all things Apple but this is strangely a deal breaker for me. I bought the MBA in August 2009 and literally traveled the world with it for 4 months. I though I would sell it when I am done but I LOVE it. The new ones with 256GB memory and 4GB RAM option made me immediately try to sell my current one. But no backlit keyboard means a show stopper for me. Bummer.

to everyone complaining about no backlight. do you also use a imac or mac pro? do you complain about that not having backlight either?

I just looked at our belgian apple store and it shows the Air with a backlit keyboard .

I just looked at the Dutch language Belgium Apple Store (online) -- couldn't find anything stating that the new MBAs have backlit keyboards. Where, exactly, did you see this?

Anyway, several posters to this forum have apparently called Apple directly and been informed that none of the new MBAs have backlighting. Difficult to believe that Belgium is getting something different...

i guess they forgot to change that ,

Am gutted. Was do excited when ordering my new 2.13 air today with 4gb RAM and now am so disappointed. It never occurred to me they would drop the backlightinh which I use all the time in dimmed lighting. So I am cancelling my order tomorrow. it's too much money to spend to be disappointed. Having waited 9 months for this seemingly perfect machine I feel fed up at the thought of waiting who knows how long for them to bring back the backlit lighting. If they did ask customers does that mean we are in the minority and why not give us the choice. I wonder how many returns there will be when loyal air users realise their new machine doesn't have this feature which isn't power hungry but essential for some of us. What happened to common sense? I guess though Apple are so successful they can afford to take thus hit.

Apologies for typos in the above am typing on my iPhone. At least Im very happy eith my new iMac which I purchased last week. No disappointments there.

frunkis54 wrote:
to everyone complaining about no backlight. do you also use a imac or mac pro? do you complain about that not having backlight either?

I don't complain about the lack of backlighting on my Mac Pro keyboard because I don't haul it around to dimly-lit places.

milbrua wrote:

frunkis54 wrote:
to everyone complaining about no backlight. do you also use a imac or mac pro? do you complain about that not having backlight either?

I don't complain about the lack of backlighting on my Mac Pro keyboard because I don't haul it around to dimly-lit places.

fair enough.
i don't need to look at a keyboard to type 90% of the time so it won't make a difference to me. the times that i do need to are when i need plenty of light anyway so im fine with it.

Message was edited by: frunkis54

Comparing the MacBook Air keyboard to an iMac keyboard is ridiculous. I own both. My iMac sits in a fixed location in a well-lit office intended to be a full-time workplace. It has a keyboard with white buttons which are easy to see. My MacBook Air is used away from home in dimly lit coffee shops and restaurants and has black buttons on its keyboard that are difficult to see.

No backlit keyboard on a MacBook Air is like driving a car without dashboard lights at night. Looks like someone is asleep at the wheel in Cupertino. This new computer is going to be an absolute failure and may put the entire MBA line at risk of being discontinued.

I agree with you guys. Not buying till they put the backlit keyboard back and upgrade the processors (i3 or i5).

I am in the exact same situation. I had the top new MBA in my shopping cart, ready to finish the deal and then I stumbled on this. I have been waiting sooo long for more memory, storage and processor power and I can't believe they've dropped the backlit keyboard. UGH!

I didn't need it smaller, or thinner. I just needed it to be faster and more powerful so that I could run the last couple windows apps I need in Fusion or Parallels (along with OSX apps) without bringing the MBA to its knees.

I was really hoping that I could luxuriate with a fully loaded 11.6" MBA, but it was not to be. The exclusion of the backlight lost the sale for me. I would gladly pay a premium for the option. I have no doubts Apple will add this as an option for at least the 13.3" in the not-so-distant future. But I was really looking forward to another home-run from Apple, needless to say I am disappointed.

Apple needs to place a clear warning on their website alerting potential buyers that there is no keyboard backlight.

Glossy Display is also a problem. They produce MBA as an ultraportable notebook but how can it work under the sunlight with glossy display. U can use the light of screen to type in the dark but using MBA outdoor must be disaster!!!!!!!!!!