Why the MacBook Air should not be counted out yet

I'm quite amused by some Apple fans as well as tech blogs who say that the MacBook Air is on its way out. I find this a bit naïve, though I'd find it really disappointing if what they're saying turns out to be true since the MacBook Air is such a great-looking product. Like Apple TV, MacBook Air I think is an Apple product that is ahead of its time, that might receive a much-needed update very soon. I even have a hunch that the Air might become the flagship Apple laptop in the near future, that is, should Apple decide to keep the Macintosh line and not become exclusively a hand-held device company like many Mac fans are fearing.

Let's take a look at some of the ideas floating around:

Rumor 1: Apple will start to concentrate on cloud storage, even for iTunes.

The main complaint with MacBook Air is its lack of storage. That's a valid complaint...last year. The first generation iPad, currently selling like crazy, has only 64GB max. If Apple can come up with a new generation MacBook Air, make it even more irresistible than the current design and with a cheaper price, then I don't think this lack of storage would matter. Certainly, there are now third-party services, both free and paid, that allow users to store gigabytes of data in the clouds. And certainly there are apps for that.

Rumor 2: A hybrid?

Speaking of apps, a persistent (perhaps far-fetched) rumor is that Apple is coming up with a hybrid computer that combines Mac OS and iOS's touch capability. What other Apple computer can be a more ideal one to have such features than the MacBook Air, powerful enough for Mac OS yet light enough to be carried around like an iPad.

Also:

A bit tacky, but can't you imagine MacBook Air as two tablet screens folded together, with one screen capable of pulling up a virtual keyboard to give you...a touch MacBook Air?

And finally, way into the future:

Introducing the Apple Air.

Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?