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

No thanks, Apple.

Omitting the backlit keyboard was a HUGE mistake on your part. Additionally, the Macbook Air was the last bastion at Apple for those of us who prefer (and rightly so) MATTE finish displays. A glossy display on an ultraportable is like Christmas in July - it just doesn't belong.

I'll be holding out until someone at Apple comes to their senses and re-installs the backlit keyboard. I guess I'll get quite a few more miles with my Rev. C Macbook Air after all......... 8-(

Macbook Air Rev. C, Mac OS X (10.6.4), no backlit keyboard = NO SALE!

Posted on Oct 20, 2010 2:16 PM

Reply
376 replies

Oct 20, 2010 5:42 PM in response to Todd Stack

I ordered the 11.6 today before I realized the keyboard was not backlight. It never even crossed my mind that apple would remove this key feature that had been part of the MBA since it's inception. I am canceling my order as well.

Did anyone at Apple try typing on their black keyboard with the lights down?

Besides, if the issue was battery life, they could have simply given us the option of turning off the backlighting. To remove it altogether is a total FAIL in my book.

Oct 20, 2010 7:01 PM in response to Wild_Bill

I couldn't agree with you more. I was just going to purchase the new 13" MBA with 2.13GHZ, 4GB RAM, and 256GB of memory to replace my older MBA. I cannot lose the backlit keyboard feature since I often work on the road in dimly lit coffee shops and hotel rooms. This was the deal breaker for me. Maybe I'll consider the next generation model when the problem is corrected.

Oct 20, 2010 7:41 PM in response to Wild_Bill

I'm kind of surprised by the number of people who think they need the backlit keyboard. Sure, it can be nice, but I learned to touch type so long ago, that I hardly ever need it. Light from the screen is more than enough for those few times. Now, if they had made a less-than-full size keyboard, I would have been upset.

I'm a bit more peeved at the missing IR receiver. I use my old MacBook for presentations all the time, and I love the remote that came with it. I'm not looking forward to the third party options.

Oct 20, 2010 8:28 PM in response to osx86x

Besides, if the issue was battery life, they could have simply given us the option of turning off the backlighting. To remove it altogether is a total FAIL in my book.


Very true. Once you have lit keys, you never want to be without them. The backlit keyboard is lit by just a few LEDs which use very little power. LEDs cost very little too. I can't believe Apple went and done that. I won't order one now either. I wonder who signed off on this? I read Jobs does not believe in focus groups, but when he does a presentation, he keeps expressing how Apple listens to what customers want. Really. Well if you polled 100 people that used a laptop with backlighting, how may do you think would settle for one without? User uploaded file

Let Apple know how you feel. http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookair.html

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

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