AppleInsider Staff report that Apple slotted a less powerful variant of its 13.3-inch MacBook Air into the space left by last week’s “end-of-life” discontinuation of the white polycarbonate 13-inch MacBook that had been selling to education customers for $899.
The new 13-inch MacBook Air model, offered to educational institutions buying in bulk (quantities of five or more), will sell for $999 per copy, will only be offered in Apple’s education channel, and has pretty much the same internal specification as the 11.6-inch MacBook Air Apple sells to general consumers for $999, only with the bonus of a larger 13.3-inch display.
The 13.3-inch education model and entry-level 11.6-inch MacBook Air share a 1.6GHz dual-core Core i5 Intel processor with Intel’s HD Graphics 3000 chipset, two gigabytes of RAM and a 64-gigabyte solid-state drive.
9To5Mac’s Mark Gurman notes that the 11.6″ MacBook Air will also be available in bulk to education institutions starting at $929, and that higher-spec. Airs in both sizes will also be offered at commensurately higher prices, culminating with a 13.3 inch machine powered by a 1.7 GHz Core i CPU, 4GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, and AppleCare extended warranty protection at $1312.
Gurman also reports that Apple is also offering educational institutions a MacBook Air mobile labs program that bundles ten or twenty 1.6 GHz 13.3 inch MacBook Airs with a mobile cart that incorporates an AirPort Extreme wireless hub. Ten-unit carts will sell for $11,399, while the twenty-unit model $21,599. AppleCare coverage can be added for $2000 and $4000 respectively.
For budget-minded “civilian” MacBook Air aspirants, Apple will sell you a refurbished Core 2 Duo Air starting at $699 or $849 for one with Sandy Bridge Core i silicon, supported by the same warranty and AppleCare eligibility as a new machine.
For the full reports visit here:
http://bit.ly/yGyuF4
and here:
http://bit.ly/xu7ZbU
