Why was the MacBook Air discontinued?

100 Watt Walrus wrote:

And by the way, the $999 MacBook Air has a 5-hour battery — two hours less than the discontinued MacBook.

Again, Mr. Walrus, you are completely misinformed. ALL 2011 Apple MacBook products have a NEW battery rating. Apple modified their battery tests so all MacBook products have a "lower" (or more realistic) hourly battery rating than previous models. Maybe if you took the time to read about the products, and read product reviews, you would understand the technical aspects before conveying wrong information to attempt to make your point.

From Macworld:

"Apple says the MacBook Pro battery should last up to 7 hours. Apple changed the way it tests battery life, so it’s hard to know whether 7 hours represents an improvement over last year’s MacBook Pros. For the old models, Apple claimed up to 10 hours of battery life for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and between 8 and 9 hours for the 15- and 17-inch models."

Here is the link, if you don't believe it: http://www.macworld.com/article/157931/2011/03/early2011macbookpro.html

Ziatron wrote:

The plastics failed after a year, which caused Apple to replace the cases out of warranty.

The plastics on my three-year-old white MacBook are in perfect condition.

Most people that I know went to purchase a MacBook, However upon discovering there was no FireWire port (starting about two years ago). They purchased a MacBook Pro or a Windows machine.

For a lot of people I know, it was the removal of the FireWire port not faulty plastics that hurt the MacBook sales.

That was only one model because the FireWire returned the following year. You are lucky if your non-unibody white MacBook didn't start flaking away. Apple extended the warranty repairs for those models because it was obvious that the plastics were not strong enough. Apple replaced the cases with stronger plastics to prevent the stress fractures. The unibody model helped correct that problem, until the rubber bottom was also found to be faulty on some units and needed to be replaced. Not many cheap Windows laptops have FireWire either, unless you bought a Sony Vaio.

Is every other person on this discussion an Apple operative or what? Clearly, Walrus is not looking for a Macbook. He just thinks Apple is being elite by not offering a real laptop for under $1000. PCs are about a fourth the price of Macs. The Air is no Macbook. The Macbook was a real machine at a bargain price. The Air is a novelty at Macbook prices. However, with Pros starting at $1200, Apple made a decision to drop the plastic Macbooks which had failing plastics and let folks pay the extra $200 to get: more processor, a sturdy aluminum frame, and a keyboard backlight. It is worth the extra money, and if you can raise $1000 you can raise the extra $200 if you really want it. Like the other poster said, Apple made the decision that they could sell all the machines they need to at the $1200 price point. That's business; they aren't a charity (though they are offering the cheaper machines to education markets.)

Sorry but I feel this argument pointless. Any commercial company has every right to make its own decsion on marketing strategy and product lines. Regardless of whether Apple has continued MacBook or not, it is Apple's call. If Apple loses certain consumer groups belongs to MacBook, then probably they are no longer Apple's targeted consumers. This may sound harsh but a commercial company has no obligation to provide its products that suit everyone's budget.

It is a shame that not everyone likes Apple's products can afford them. But there is no point to blame the company.