For many reasons. Way too many design compromises.
Note: The recently (2010-10-20) announced/released MacBook Air 11" looks like a winner. Small enough, with more screen real estate than the PowerBook 12", and 128GB Flash Drive storage, it'll (finally!) make a nice replacement. The remainder of this page is about the original 13.3" MacBook Air.
Mostly about fashion (perhaps for the exec (or wannabe) who wants to look hip and cooler than the other execs in the boardroom).
The MacBook Air is too fat. This is the biggest (so to speak) problem with the original MacBook Air.
The lack of Firewire = no target disk mode (essential for all laptops), no ability to easily hookup a bus powered external drive.
The only workarounds/exceptions to this are: 1) Always have file-sharing turned on so you can pull files off of it even if the display is broken, and 2) use a USB bus-powered external drive like a classic iPod if necessary.
Return to BugReports | DoWant \ FrontPage