And yet again a flurry of negativity flows in from various camps in the gadget scene, only this time, this issue was taken out-of-context from a published technology article. But because it was met with approval by a significant number of people, let's investigate. After Apple revealed the hardware specifications of the MacBook Air, the latest product from the Cupertino-based company was welcomed with a lot of flak.

Questions were raised on the new laptop's apparent lackluster features, portable computing utility, and worth that spurred speculative camps to believe that Apple may have lost touch with what laptop users would really need. So have they lost touch?
 
It's difficult to say, for the Apple MacBook Air does sport a competitive feature set that holds its own even against the latest from competitors DELL and Hewlett-Packard. The two consumer computing solutions companies, however, do offer products with features much appreciated by a significant number of laptop users, whereas the MacBook Air carries but a few. Yes, it's no enthusiast or extreme laptop, but some customers expressed wishes that it would at least perform the part, just to justify the cost.

There have been qualms about the lack of built-in stereo speakers and a built-in Ethernet port, as well as desires for a better video graphics solution than Intel's Graphics Media Acceleration engine. But as the MacBook Air's to ship in less than two weeks, there's little hope that Apple could make any further augmentations to their Air line.

There were other qualms about pricing and how ASUS and Lenovo's offers would serve as perfect stand-ins to the MacBook Air, given its hefty tag. But given the low production costs of the Eee PC and the new line of slim Lenovo laptops, this wouldn't be a surprise. Both Asian manufactured products are a shoo-in for mass market favorites, even while compared with the feature set of the Air.

We guess people are entitled to their opinions, and some features are just more important than others. After all, the MacBook Air is fit for mobile computing at its average level (non-avid gamers and tech enthusiasts must look elsewhere) in a sleek, slim, and luxuriously profiled form. It's the perfect travel companion, and likely to look the part, too. More Air updates as the roll in.