Steve Jobs today announced yet more new shiny things from Apple.  Notably, a refresh of the now ageing MacBook Air product.

The new 'MBA' comes in two flavours, 11 inch and 13 inch, starting at $1199 for the 11 inch which comes with 2GB Ram and 64Gb of Flash memory.  You can price them right up to $2248 with the 13 inch running a 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo with 4GB Ram.  So, its a huge range in price, and with so many Apple products in that range, it's a really interesting space to watch.

Essentially, the MacBook AIR range targets the 'Cloud based' users who have email in the cloud, files in the cloud and live on the road, but as a basic start up Mac it does offer the experience at a low price.

Given however the Basic MacBook also starts at $1199, you really would have to be after portability (low weight) if you were to choose the AIR.

The Air has always had this strange space in the Mac Range, and this is no different, plus, when you add the iPad into the mix and consider a 64Gb iPad comes in at a similar price, this is a confusing time for people with $1500 or so to spend on a Mac!

Don't kid yourself, getting a Mac notebook, either Macbook or Air is often done for the very sake of getting that shiny light up Apple logo facing people looking at you - and for good reason, these are cracking good looking units.

If you've got the cash, there's no reason not to get the MacBook Air.  Be clear though, space is at a premium, and there is no optical drive, so, you need to be sure this is a consumption device, but you can't even consume DVD Movies!  SD card and USB are the main inputs for the average user.

Make no mistake, I want one, oh how I want one... Need though? That's another question.

I think I've found my sweet spot with a top notch desktop at home, and an iPad for the road - it's serving me quite well as a combo.

What do you think?  Could you find a place and justification for a MacBook Air?

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