Freelance writer David Chartier raises an interesting question about the new MacBook Airs: The continued absence of a SIM-card slot. As he points out, most productive work these days demands an internet connection and, despite their day-long battery life, the Airs are hampered by their reliance on wifi.
This is something I have covered before, as early as 2010, when I said that the cellular connectivity was a surprising ommission from the MacBook range announced that October. Surprisingly, this is one of the most searched-for articles in MacFilos so it seems that many users and prospective purchasers are interested.
Since 2010, though, we have seen more connectivity options, in particular more widespread wifi but also the easy-to-use personal hotspot feature on the iPhone, introduced with iOS 4.3 in March 2011. These days, if I am caught short without a connection, I invariably turn to the iPhone.
But not everyone has tethering enabled on their phone and I know that many MacBook Air users would welcome the ability to slot in a SIM card, just as we do with the iPad. What do you think? Should Apple add wireless to the Air range or is it now something that isn’t needed?